HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION 9

(By Delegates Howell)

[Introduced January 14, 2020 ]

Urging the Congress of the United States to consider repealing the Jones Act to permit short sea shipping and useful United States waterways when shipping goods domestically.

Whereas, The Jones Act, passed in 1920, restricts domestic waterborne transport of goods to vessels that are United States flagged, United States crewed, United States Owned, and United States built.

Whereas, The requirements of the Jones Act increases the cost to purchase, staff, and maintain shipping vessels. The high costs of constructing shipping vessels in the United States increases the average age of United States shipping fleet, increases fuel costs due to age, increases maintenance costs due to age, and increases staffing costs due to age and lack of automation.

Whereas, The high costs associated with the Jones Act has many domestic businesses utilizing the nations highway and rail systems in order to transport goods to various markets, leading to increased wear and tear on the nations roadways and railways, increased maintenance costs on roadways and railways, increased fuel consumption, and may cause increased vehicle congestion on the nations roadways.

Whereas, Repealing the Jones Act would allow the nations waterways to be utilized to ship goods to ports ready to receive goods to transport to markets.

Whereas, Repealing the Jones Act would allow domestic businesses to realize cost savings by utilizing the nations waterways as a safer and easier method of transporting goods to market, would reduce the amount of vehicles on the nations highways, and would permit goods to arrive to markets in a more timely fashion; therefore, be it  

Resolved by the Legislature of West Virginia:

That the Legislature hereby urges the United States Congress to consider repealing the Jones Act; and, be it

Further Resolved, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates forward a copy of this resolution to the representatives and senators, elected by the citizens of West Virginia, in the Congress of the United States in Washington, D.C.