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It's time for the costly Jones Act to be suspended.
Since Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the cost of gas, goods and services have steadily increased and impacted our cost of living. The parent company of Hawaii's only oil refinery, Par Pacific Holdings of Houston, recently announced they would stop purchasing Russian oil, which makes up 25 percent of their crude.
Due to the Jones Act, Hawaii historically has had to buy oil transported on ships that are U.S. built, flagged, owned and crewed by Americans. This has made it very expensive to ship goods to Hawaii.
I support our congressional delegation asking President Biden to grant Hawaii a one-year exemption of the Jones Act to give our federal decision-makers the opportunity to look at reforming this act, created in 1920, to be more in line with 21st century concerns.
Exempting Hawaii could help stabilize our costs for fuel, building materials for affordable housing, delivery costs for small business and household items like batteries, canned food, toiletries and other goods and services.
This act has contributed to our increasing cost of living and I say it's time to reform this law to "level the playing field" in the form of reduced fuel and shipping costs for Maui County and state residents.
The time is now for Maui County to add their voice to the call for exempting the Jones Act and I will be offering a resolution to the Maui County Council to support this effort.
Mike Molina,
Maui County Council member
Makawao