False notion about Jones Act waivers and oil cleanup just won't subside

Paul Rubin, an economics professor at Emory University in Atlanta, has a column in The Wall Street Journal today that ranks as the paper's second most e-mailed item. Rubin makes several strong points about the need for a stronger federal response to clean up the oil from BP's continuing blowout in the Gulf of Mexico, but he repeats an off-base talking point that has become myth.

"The Obama administration can waive the Jones Act, which restricts foreign ships from operating in U.S. coastal waters," Rubin writes. "Many foreign countries (such as the Netherlands and Belgium) have ships and technologies that would greatly advance the cleanup. So far, the U.S. has refused to waive the restrictions of this law and allow these ships to participate in the effort."

You've probably heard this assertion before, but it's wrong, according to FactCheck.org and a story from McClatchy Newspapers, written by William Douglas.

FactCheck, a service of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, reported June 23: "No waiver has been needed. The Jones Act requires goods carried between U.S. ports to be shipped aboard U.S.-flagged vessels built in the U.S. and owned by American citizens. The law doesn’t apply to ships operating far from the U.S. coastline, skimming oil or performing other such chores and not hauling cargo from one American port to another. In the case of the BP oil spill, the Jones Act hasn’t prevented several foreign-flagged ships from delivering resources and skimming oil. And the administration says it’s prepared to expedite requests for waivers, should any be needed." (Read more)

A week later, McClatchy published a story saying much the same thing, and citing FactCheck, with a tough headline: "GOP's false talking point: Jones Act blocks Gulf help." It reported a State Department announcement "that new offers of aid would be accepted from 12 foreign countries and international organizations, but spokesman P.J. Crowley noted that booms donated by Mexico, Norway and Brazil had been in use since May 11, and that 24 foreign vessels from nine foreign countries already have been helping with the cleanup." (Read more)

FactCheck has other "whoppers" related to the blowout.