How the Jones Act and Labor Unions are Blocking Oil Spill Cleanup

[EarthFriendlyMover]

Rather than compromise the Jones Act (which works with national security in mind), how about these foreign-flag shipowners re-flag their ships under the American flag temporarily (if not permenantly)? I realize this spill is a disaster and we could use all the help we can get, but it would be a common occurance if the Jones Act was compromised.

[AlembicVapor]

THIS IS TOTAL BS! THE JONES ACT IS KEY IN THE EMPLOYMENT OF OVER 1/2 MILLION AMERICAN WORKERS! THIS IS MORE OF THE "LET'S DESTROY AMERICA" POLITICS OF THESE NEW WORLD ORDER FUCK-HEADS IN WASHINGTON DC - AND ABROAD. Go to: Horizon Lines. In the company website, you will see a link that reads: "Jones Act and the BP oil spill". This will explain what the truth is concerning the BS that everyone has been told. My brother is on Horizon Lines board of directors. VOTE OUT JOHN MCCAIN!!!

[admirable]

Oil Spill, Foreign Help and the Jones Act

Q: Did Obama turn down foreign offers of assistance in cleaning up the Gulf oil spill? Did he refuse to waive Jones Act restrictions on foreign-flag vessels?

A: No to both questions. So far, offers from six foreign countries or entities have been accepted and only one offer has been rejected. Fifteen foreign-flag vessels are working on the cleanup, and none required a waiver.

[admirable]

The Jones Act did not hinder any government operation. The Deepwater Horizon was 52 miles from the nearest land. There were already a fleet of foreign flag vessels involved in the cleanup and no waivers were requested! Deregulation of Inspection Standards and construction standards by Bush and Cheney are what lead up to this disaster!

[levijmay]

Repealing the Jones Act would mean the elimination of hundreds of thousands of good AMERICAN jobs in maritime, longshore, ship building and other vital industries. The McCain bill would threaten national security by depleting the pool of American vessels and skilled mariners who can be deployed during times of war and military conflict. Why would you support having Hundreds of Thousands more Americans Unemployed and more Vulnerable? We're resourceful and we have the means. GO USA!

[Max200849]

@levijmay Not repealing it is causing hundreds of thousands of our resources and wildlife to be depleted. Believe me, there ARE jobs out there if people are willing to WORK!!! But, then isn't it interesting how the Bible predicted that man would destroy itself eventually and once things have gotten so ridiculously wicked, our world will come to it's final destination following the timeline of the Old Testament to the New...THE END.

[levijmay]

@Max200849 I agree that resources and wildlife are being depleted, but the Jones Act isn't to blame. The Jones Act keeps Americans working Vs. Foreign crewed ships replacing those jobs. Your Foreign flagged vessels are bigger environmental offenders than US Flagged ships. I won't justify my beliefs, yet I know God loving and all powerful who looks after us. We need to love each other and take care of each other and our home. Be apart of the solution, it starts in your own community. Take care!

[tiger355]

Heres the waiver within the Jones act. If a U.S. ship is available, and can do the same job as a foreign vessel then they are not allowed within the 3 mile border of the shoreline. Otherwise all foreign vessels are allowed to help outside the 3 mile border of the shoreline. In otherwords the smartest thing Obama did was keep the Jones act intact. No foreign vessels have met the criteria of the Act since

there have been plenty of U.S. vessels available to clean up the mess.

[soulpeaceinchrist]

REPEAL THE JONES ACT.... WE NEED HELP !!! 

[johnnyk67]

The favorite talking point for conservatives is an urban myth - the Jones Act is the reason we can't contain the spill? The law doesn't even apply in this case. It only applies inside the 3 mile limit - the oil spill is 53 miles off shore. Coast Guard Adm. Thad Allen, who is running the cleanup effort, said he’d received “no requests for Jones Act waivers” from foreign vessels or countries. There are currently 24 foreign vessels from 9 foreign countries helping with the response effort.

[CPOSharkey01]

@johnnyk67 So are you saying their is no oil within 3 miles of US beaches? If Obama and his team had gotten off there Asses you might have been correct.

[johnnyk67]

@CPOSharkey01 : I'm not saying that, but the majority of the oil is not within 3 miles and that is where the majority of help is (24 foreign vessels from 9 foreign countries). If we only had to worry about oil 3 miles out, I don't think we would need help, we could cover that ourselves. For Jones and others to claim that Obama didn't accept foreign help is just plain wrong, and them guys need to get informed instead of believing everything they read from right-wing blogs and talking points.

[jaywks77]

They would like to waive the act not for oil spill clean up but for other reasons, Jones act creates 500,000 American Jobs, and contributes 29 Billion dollars per year to the US Economy Directly, and another 63 billion Indirectly. American Seaman are the biggest supporters of American Made Products. Politicians have friends in foreign countries that own ships and want to man them with slave labor. The result is close to 100 billion less dollars being spent in the US PER YEAR.

[dudesons441]

Didnt Bush lift the Jones Act in order to clean up the oil after Katrina? I wouldnt be surprised if Obama ordered for the spill to happen.

[MyRich7]

The unions are in charge now and want a huge disaster the bigger the better.Hey after all everybody wanted jobs so they will create them.

[jameswendellmiller]

This actually has nothing to do with the Jones Act, which only prohibit foreign ships from transporting goods from one US port to another US Port in foreign vessels. Their are already 15 foreign ships operating in the gulf. Check it out

searcg Factcheck org for Jones act

[Chrisfre]

The admin will not allow assistance from foreign ships because of the unions who "want the work". Screw the oil on the beaches....the eco-freaks want it on shore so they can slow down oil drilling by any means necessary.

[Chrisfre]

maybe Joe "plugs" binden can plug the whole

[DewbieHaut]

Theyre afraid that the foreign ships are going to spy on us

[premoblan]

lol fox news is not even news why the fuck did i click on this link for this vid. by the way i did not even watch this once i seen fox news aka failnews, propaganda at it's finest. hay if i go on fox news and tell you guys to kill yourself i bet you well sheep are sad people who don't know nothing and just want to be told what to do, its like they don"t have brains and to lazy to think god has given up on humans like these sheep.

[biggerturtle]

@premoblan go suck on Obummers's dick you cretin. He is the WORST president in 100 years. a complete and utter failure. Simply a liberal version of Bush another failure. Time to clean out Washington destroy the buerocracy and start over

[dudesons441]

@premoblan Don't know nothing? Improper english dumb ass. Also prove that Fox is "failnews". Prove that it's propaganda. I bet if i went on CNN and told you to kill yourself you'd probably end up doing it!

[blite13]

Wow, what propaganda....it's because they want this to be huge. This is the ushering in of a global government and you all believe this bullshit this prop for BP is telling you. Anyone who watches fox news is having their brains smashed in. This is nothing more than a blame game by BP and the "elite" union bashing to try and break ALL unions. Be careful what you wish for. This is the government, for acting as if they can do nothing. Haliburton and BP for rigging it, I'm sure there's more.

[HUGEBRANE]

The BP oil gush is Obama's Katrina.

Pandering to unions and redistributing income is everything for Obama & Co.

Voters get what they deserve, right?

[skategeezer99]

@HUGEBRANE Explain how this is like Katrina? and by that I mean pointed comparison not just dittoing Fox News quotes. Also those union workers are still working Americans who need their jobs just like you do.

[HUGEBRANE]

@skategeezer99 : Just a way of saying that Bush was blamed by his haters because the government didn't respond adequately to the devastation following Katrina. Never mind the sluggish efforts by officials in New Orleans and Louisiana's own governor at the time.

No, Obama can't "suck up the oil with a straw" (his words) but denying help from the Dutch--who sure as hell know water--was stupid and, yes, Obama panders to unions. Note that unions are KILLING California which is where I live.

[skategeezer99]

@HUGEBRANE Well from what I have heard we cannot use the Dutch option anyway. It dumps some oil back into the water in a ratio that is too high for our clean up standards. And Obama does not make those decisions anyway it is the coast Guard and the State Dept.

[HUGEBRANE]

@skategeezer99 : Could be, but there was an editorial in yesterday's " Wall Street Journal" saying that the Jones Act was an impediment to cleanup efforts with Dutch help. Implication was that the government (Obama & Co. if not Obama personally) was pandering to union supporters. Coast Guard acted on government orders, etc.

[skategeezer99]

@HUGEBRANE The Dutch cannot help us. The solution they where offering dumps a lot of oil back into the ocean. Also the Jones Act does not block all foreign help. The Netherlands, Norway, Canada and, Mexico are there right now. So saying there is no foreign help is inaccurate. Look it is stupid to say Obama does not care or does not want to cleanup the oil. Really he is a monster? Not possible. Bush was accused of all kinds of things that where not true during and after Katrina.

[ccapatriots]

A 1920's law stopping the most catastrophic disaster in the history of the USA from being cleaned up? That is just O's way of sticking it to Americans again. He has broken so many American laws now and does it intentionally that it is obvious he is just paying off more of his personal debts with the lively hood and lives of Americans. Obama breaks every law on the books to steal and cheat Americans and this is no different.

[zandriaaz]

@ccapatriots i totally agree with everything you said ! he is doing this at the expense of the world ! he has kids doesn't he want to leave his kids and his future grandchildren a clean and better world? it's all messed up.

[skategeezer99]

What law's did he break be specific.

[starlight1946]

So why isn't Obama doing a waver of the Jones Act? Does Obama really care?

[GodGunsGutsGlory777]

@starlight1946

You know the real answer to that question.

[ccapatriots]

@GodGunsGutsGlory777 God, guns and guts made America Free and it will take all 3 to keep it free so you got it right and so did O-Hitler that is why he wants to steal ours like he does everything else.

[GodGunsGutsGlory777]

@ccapatriots

Oh indeed. The elite know damn well taking any one of the three will cause America to degrade. So they are working against them all!

[skategeezer99]

Really he you think a former US senator, The American President does not care? If you really believe this or you fear it may be true. Fear mongering.........

[ccapatriots]

@skategeezer99 It is fact WAKE UP while there is still time

[skategeezer99]

No he does not care. He is a heartless liberal. (sarcasm) He cares, but our country is so busy trying to discredit the other side with lies and half truths. The facts are there are actually several foreign countries involved in the cleanup effort. Mexico, Netherlands, Norway and, Canada. but no one is covering that. Case in point the Jones act was created to protect American shipping companies in this economic time we (America) need all the jobs we can get.

[RamsesReturns]

Ordo ab Chao is their slogan!

New World Order out of THEIR chaos. So they think!

[DirtyVegas7]

They want this just the way it is....bastards. DAMN THEM.

[Urbanwild1]

It just appears that our government has no interest at all in cleaning this up. Fuck organized labor!

[skategeezer99]

Really so you want to screw over the American worker because they are in a union?

[ccapatriots]

@skategeezer99 Like I said WAKE UP he has totally ignored the Constitution

(the supreme law of the land) violating every part he has been able too get away with and when 70% of the American people said no to Obamacare but with lies,back room deals and bribery to get senators to agree using Our Tax money to pay them off. O and most of congress should be in front of a firing squad. but an Obot like you will refuse to see the truth in front of your face. WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP! WAKE UP!

[skategeezer99]

@ccapatriots What part did he violate? Be precise. I was all for Health Care reform as was about 46% of America not 30%. The lies that where told about reform have all been proven wrong. As a matter of fact in my current health care plan the new law changes nothing. You need to wake up and smell what Fox has been shoveling. If the health care plan was really that bad the Republicans needed to block it. Not stand back with their bottom lip quivering like spoiled children.

God Bless America.

[ccapatriots]

@skategeezer99 I see you will never really wake up even Fox has some ties to obama and his czars is that 48 or 50 something? Telling you anything is a waste of time in spite of your statement you are an Obot. If you wake up do your research as I and so many others did it’s the only way you will truly understand.

[skategeezer99]

@ccapatriots Understand what? Please tell me. What are the facts? I want to know the truth.

[MELISSA84008]

Email White House @ 'Whitehouse(dot)gov/contact" although when I emailed this morning ...after submitting, a message comes up saying that it's temporarily down for 'repairs" (yeah right.....)

[GodGunsGutsGlory777]

@MELISSA84008

Some assbag flagged your comment as spam.

[morningmayan]

@MELISSA84008 THanks for this Melissa - this is horrible and the people of the country need to know- god bless you all in florida-

[babalina]

they are closing down air space and not letting the 14 countries come in and help because they do not want the world to see the extent of the spill and take pictures. It has nothing to do with unions

[GrandArchitect3D]

he isnt waiving the jones act because he is helping to protect american jobs.

[RothdeMan]

@GrandArchitect3D Yeah, Union Jobs. Who cares about cleaning up the spill as fast as possible so long as unions are happy. Wonder what the reaction would have been if Bush decided not to wave the jones act for katrina, hmmm....

Ah whatever, so long as Unions are happy. They should be proud, Andy Stern's 22 trips have paid off for them, the Gulf be damned.

[GrandArchitect3D]

@RothdeMan Bush was a murder of 1 million iraqis and he didnt do anything to save black people in new orleans. he left them there on purpose. obama is just trying to protect american jobs.

[daveh69]

@GrandArchitect3D Through the coolaid out, you have gone past you meds due date. Bush murdered, hmm obama is still fighting in iraq and afgan, so is he also a murderer??? He isn't protect american jobs, he is destroying he is protecting unions and only unions. get real get obama out and lets get a true american and ot a socialist/marxist

[zepproxx]

@GrandArchitect3D

What BS! Bush offered help and was turned down! The Mayor and the Governor turned down assistance. Get your facts straight you idiot! Stop commenting on things you know nothing about! Protect jobs? He put a moratoreim on drilling even in shallow water and now the layoffs begin! He is a community organizer and not even close to a leader!!!! Protect jobs my ass!!! How stupid could you be? This is about stopping the leak and keeping the oil contained!!!!!! IDIOT!

[bigskyguy5]

The Jones act does not have to be waived. All the owner of the vessels have to do is simply Re-flag them under the American flag. During the 1st Gulf War, 12 ULCC= Ultra Large Crude Carriers under the liberian flag was Re-flagged under the American flag so they would be under the escort protection by the US Navy. Take it from a guy who Graduated from the US Merchant Marine Academy, and Retired from the Merchant Fleet as Captain.

[catseye0]

What the hell, these are our wetlands. Bush waved the Jones act right after Katrina, but got Zero credit for it. Countries offered help shortly after the spill and it was turned down, while the oil keeps spreading, the wildlife keeps dying and the beaches get ruined. This is intentional. This makes his case for cap and tax. He has turned it into a political game, and thousands will lose jobs without the drilling, which is exactly what he wants.

[catseye0]

@catseye0 How can someone do something so inherently evil and know how many people are going down for his left wing loon ideology. This man has no conscience, how does he sleep at night. I believe what comes around goes around, he will have his day of judgment.

[ramrants]

why is FOX news the only one reporting on this?

[hottamale02]

@ramrants~ Because the media works for liberals and Barack Hussein bin Obama.

[commodoreklaus]

wow - we can use all the help we can get to skim the oil spill as fast as possible and before this toxic salad dressing reaches the East Coast. The Jones Act must be waived.

[blogbat]

If Obama would spend less time hating the "red states", maybe he'd make taking care of the gulf (instead of the golf) as well as Nashville a real priority. But in his sick way of thinking, America deserves this, so he's just going to keep letting it happen until it threatens a region that voted for him.

[skategeezer99]

So you are clairvoyant? You know what he is thinking?

[hatton1949]

BO, the biggest scam ever pulled on the American public..amazing that there were so many gullible people that never bothered to research this idiot..just believed everything the MSM said about him or DIDNT say..we are living in very scary times...America is without a leader and the whole world know it...

[ToddonCapeCod]

Waivers must be considered on a case by case basis?!?

This has already surpassed Exxon Valdez. This is dubbed" the worst environmental catastrophe, ever." Hello?!?!?! Sounds to me like a good case for a waiver of the Jones Act!!

But.... our pseudo-messiah is beholden to big labor, so the spill will get worse and worse, and we will suffer because he doesn't want to lose big labor.

Don't you all just feel so sorry for him?

[skategeezer99]

Not the worst. Google Lakeview Gusher or Ixtoc I oil spill both where larger than this one. And whats worse is after the Ixtoc I oil spill Mexico got off scott free because of foreign sovereignty. Man you guys think because it is on TV it is totally the whole truth. Oh and the Jones Act protects American shipping companies. Can we stand to lose more jobs now?

[ToddonCapeCod]

@skategeezer99 Right now, all who depending on the Gulf for their livelihood (i.e., fishing, tourism, etc.) are losing their jobs because of this.

I'd rather have as much help as possible to get this cleaned up ASAP, than anything.

One thing about you Obots: you have ZERO common sense!

[skategeezer99]

@ToddonCapeCod Well what you don't know is of the 17 countries that offered help. Only a few actually offered to send help. Most of them just wanted to sell us stuff. Fox News has no interest in covering the facts here. They only want to beat up on Obama. And I am not an Obama bot or what ever you are trying to call me. I have my own reservations about Obama. I am not a Fox or CNN zombie. I have a brain. The Coast Guard is running the cleanup anyway not the President.

[ToddonCapeCod]

@skategeezer99 I don't know where you get your whacked out information: "17 countries offered help...but only a few actually offered to send help"???? Do you ever think about what you're typing???

[joepugg]

@ToddonCapeCod Being from Cape explains it all.

[ToddonCapeCod]

@joepugg Yeah, I guess it must!

Being called pugg explains it all too

[soundsliketruck]

I'm sure the Dems will end up blaming Bush somehow.

[ToddonCapeCod]

@soundsliketruck

end up blaming him?!?!?!?!!

They blame him for the extinction of dinosaurs, fro crying out loud!!

[hairyarmedgorilla]

OMG..........BO is more concerned about 'offending' someone than he is of using COMMON SENSE. This idiot running the WhiteHouse needs to be voted out in 2012 before he completely ruins this country. What is more scary though, are the people who vote for him. You can get rid of him, but you cant get rid of them.

[1972sailor]

Arrest all the zionists and lobbists running the white house!!!!

[Garrity9290]

Now this makes sense as to why there doesn't seem to have been any big push to clean this mess up. The Obama administration should to go to jail for this incompetence and negligence.

[Antarius007]

Go figure.. this president is destroying this country daily and laughing at all of us while he does it.