Trump Refuses To Waive Shipping Restrictions That Would Speed Puerto Rico Relief

Rather than speed up relief efforts, the Trump administration seems to be actively working to slow them down. 

Puerto Rico, as Donald Trump has astutely pointed out, is in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. So when it comes to getting relief to the disaster-stricken island, there are more hurdles to overcome than in other American disaster areas.

So one would think that given the already challenging situation that Puerto Rico is facing, the president would want to do what he can to speed the relief effort.

One would be wrong.

President Trump on Tuesday denied a request from several members of Congress to waive shipping restrictions that would help get gasoline and other supplies to Puerto Rico faster.

According to Reuters, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) declined the request to waive the Jones Act, which requires vessels meant for Puerto Rico to first stop in the United States.

Senator John McCain urged the agency to reverse its decision by citing the agency’s willingness to waive the Jones Act for relief efforts in the wake of hurricanes Harvey and Irma.

“The Department of Homeland Security has been given the ability to waive the Jones Act to accommodate national security concerns, and has done so twice in the last month,” McCain wrote.

“These emergency waivers have been valuable to speed up recovery efforts in the impacted regions. However, I am very concerned by the Department’s decision not to waive the Jones Act for current relief efforts in Puerto Rico, which is facing a worsening humanitarian crisis following Hurricane Maria.”

“It is unacceptable to force the people of Puerto Rico to pay at least twice as much for food, clean drinking water, supplies and infrastructure due to Jones Act requirements as they work to recover from this disaster,” McCain continued.

“Now, more than ever, it is time to realize the devastating effect of this policy and implement a full repeal of this archaic and burdensome Act,” he wrote.

[image via CSPAN screenshot]