The recent disasters oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has caused some Americans to take a closer look at how the government has handled the cleanup. There has been some speculation recently as to whether or not the Jones Act has hampered the cleanup efforts. There were offers made by foreign governments to send vessels over to aid in the oil skimming that was necessary to retrieve the oil from the surface of the water in the gulf. This foreign aid was turned down, even though their help could have proven very useful in expediting the cleanup effort.
The Jones Act is a piece of legislation that dates back to the 1920s. It requires that all vessels working in United States waters must be American built and manned by an American crew. This means that the United States Coast guard cannot accept assistance from European vessels despite the fact that they have been specifically designed for this type of environmental cleanup. The damage caused by the huge amounts of oil gushing from the BP oil rig has caused untold millions in damages to both the environment and the residents of the gulf coast.
The law allows a president to waive the restrictions in the event of an emergency. During the aftermath of a hurricane the previous presidential administration waved these restrictions in order to speed up the process of getting aid to those affected. The waiver given to foreign assistance during hurricane Katrina proved invaluable to those individuals affected by the disaster. During the gulf cleanup however no such waiver has been given. There is some debate as to how much assistance foreign ships could actually provide, but many believe that any help is better than nothing.
There has been speculation that the motives behind refusing to allow such foreign assistance may be politically motivated. BP has been reported to have received a waiver on certain environmental regulations and was a supporter of the current president. Some supporters of the Jones Act have even begun to distance themselves from the regulations imposed by the legislation. There have been those who have encouraged the president to allow foreign assistance to aid in the cleanup of the oil in the Gulf of Mexico. Whether or not these restrictions will be lifted remains to be seen but everyone can agree that the sooner the oil is cleaned up the more we can lessen the damage done by this disaster.
How to Fight For Unpaid Overtime A Workers Comp Lawyer is Who You Need to Call For Workplace Injuries Laws About Hiring Minors California Labor Laws and the Domestic Workers Bill of Rights Movement
0 comments:
Post a Comment