Posted on July 13, 2026
The Washington Post published my letter this morning directly refuting its own Editorial Board’s position on the Jones Act. This is significant.
Thank you to The Washington Post for publishing a different point of view on this important national debate. My LTE below and a link in comments.
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Don’t extend Jones Act waiver
July 12, 2026 (online)
July 13, 2026 (print edition)
By: William P. Doyle
The July 2 [Washington Post] editorial “Republicans for higher gas prices” argued that extending the Jones Act shipping waiver will lower gasoline prices. But after nearly five months, Americans no longer need economic predictions.
The waiver was justified as an emergency measure to lower fuel prices. It should be judged on whether it achieved that objective. And despite more than 130 foreign voyages under the waiver, consumers have seen little measurable relief at the pump.
For many Gulf Coast state leaders, including Louisiana, home to the nation’s largest concentration of Jones Act mariners, shipyards and maritime businesses, this is not a mere academic exercise in economics. It is about American jobs, industrial capacity and national security.
Those concerns are reinforced by the waiver’s actual use. For example, the Chinese-owned, Chinese-crewed and Chinese-built vessel Jin Zhou Wan is currently transporting asphalt between U.S. ports while Houston-based Kirby Corporation has qualified American vessels and mariners available.
The results are in: The waiver failed to produce meaningful savings for consumers while doing nothing to address the underlying causes of high regional fuel prices. It is time to let the waiver expire, restore the Jones Act in full, and put American mariners back to work.
William P. Doyle, York, Pennsylvania
The writer is CEO of the Dredging Contractors of America and a former commissioner of the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission.
