Jones Act dispute
flares in Congress

A Michigan lawmaker is backing
Hawaii ranchers as they seek
foreign competition in cattle shipping

From staff and wire reports

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D, Honolulu) and a colleague from Michigan have waded into the long-running debate over the Jones Act, the law that requires domestic cargo to be carried on U.S.-owned, -built and -crewed ships.

Rep. Nick Smith (R, Mich.) has taken up the cause of the Hawaii Cattlemen's Council, which wants foreign-flag carriers allowed to compete with Matson Navigation Co. for shipping Hawaii cattle to the U.S. mainland.

In a letter to fellow lawmakers, Smith outlined the ranchers' plight, calling it the "Jones Act Horror Story of the Day."

"It doesn't have to be this way," Smith said. There are 64 foreign-flag cattle carriers plying the world's oceans "that would love to be of service to the Hawaiian cattlemen but are barred from serving them because of the Jones Act."

Smith said he will introduce a bill soon that would change the Jones Act.

Abercrombie has countered with the "Jones Act Fact of the Day," a correspondence to lawmakers comprised mainly of a letter from C. Bradley Mulholland, Matson's president. "It's unsettling that anyone in Congress would seriously contemplate turning over America's $15 billion domestic waterborne transportation system to foreign, tax-exempt, floating weatshops," Mulholland said.

Hawaii ranchers send many young animals to the mainland by air for fattening and slaughter because, they say, shipping is more expensive. Matson disputes that claim.