Secy Perry calls the Jones Act an impediment to energy independence

by Michael Hansen, Hawaii Shippers Council, July 5, 2017

The Daily Signal published on July 5, 2017, a news article, “Rick Perry’s Plans for US Energy Dominance,” reporting on U.S. Energy Department’s Secretary Rick Perry comments on the impediments to the Trump Administration’s goal of energy independence.

Among the impediments, Secy Perry mentions transportation namely an old law known as the Jones Act.

The Daily Signal is an American news website based in Washington, D.C. and founded in 2014. It is the multimedia news organization and publication of The Heritage Foundation focusing on politics, culture, and under-reported stories.

Key excerpts:

America is approaching energy independence, but still needs to remove obstacles, Energy Secretary Rick Perry says.

“The previous administration talked about energy independence, but wouldn’t drill and transport. It was all talk,” @SecretaryPerry says.

“We are very close to being energy independent,” Perry told The Daily Signal in a brief interview. “Regarding our ability to retrieve energy, we don’t need anybody. Transportation may be our biggest impediment.”

The United States is a net energy exporter, the former Texas governor noted, but an old law and the Obama administration’s preference for some energy industries over others prevented the nation from being as strong as necessary.

The 1920 Jones Act requires that vessels carrying fuel or other goods in U.S. waters between U.S. ports must be built, registered, owned, and crewed by American citizens.

Because it costs more to build and operate ships in the U.S. than in other countries, it can cost as much as three times more to ship oil from the Gulf of Mexico to New England states than it would cost to ship the same amount of oil from Florida to Europe, according to an analysis last month from the American Enterprise Institute.