DHS/GOP/SENATE/TRANSPORTATION/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “President Donald Trump is set to meet with Republican senators on Wednesday [5-1-19] over a proposal to waive rules that only U.S.-flagged ships can move natural gas from American ports to Puerto Rico and the U.S. Northeast. The nearly 100-year-old Jones Act mandates the use of U.S.-flagged vessels to transport merchandise between U.S. coasts. Bloomberg News reported last week the administration was seriously considering waiving the requirements for some energy shipments and that Trump was leaning in favor of some kind of waiver…In 2017, the Department of Homeland Security waived the requirement for one week to allow oil and gas operators to use often cheaper, tax-free, or more readily available foreign-flagged vessels to ensure enough fuel reached emergency responders during Hurricane Irma and following Hurricane Harvey.”
–David Shepardson, “Trump to meet with Republican senators on U.S. shipping rules,” Reuters, April 30, 2019 1:11 pm