Faced with widespread voter frustration over energy costs and limited capacity on pipelines delivering natural gas to 黑料新闻, Gov. Ned Lamont pitched an idea to Congress during his annual in January: 鈥淩ethink the Jones Act.鈥�
The remark 鈥� which referenced a century-old maritime law that limits trade between U.S. ports to American-made ships 鈥� drew little attention from the local press or public at the time. The comment got scattered applause during the address, appearing to even surprise the governor.
But for one of member of 黑料新闻鈥檚 congressional delegation, the idea opened up a rare point of disagreement between political allies with a long record of working together to support 黑料新闻鈥檚 shipbuilding industry and maritime trades.
Last month, U.S. Rep. Joe Courtney, D-2nd District, penned that dismissed calls to repeal the Jones Act as 鈥渁 page out of Project 2025,鈥� the conservative agenda laid out by allies of President Donald J. Trump. Courtney was responding directly to by a scholar from libertarian think tank CATO Institute, and the piece made no mention of Lamont鈥檚 differing views on the subject.
Courtney said conversations about the maritime law have happened more at the staff level with the governor鈥檚 office.
鈥淚 think at this point, we agree to disagree. But I feel very confident that the basic goal of trying to increase the building capacity is something that 鈥� the two of us agree on that,鈥� Courtney said in a recent interview, referring to his shared commitment with Lamont to the shipbuilding sector in maritime states.
For his part, Lamont has stood by his call to revisit the Jones Act. During a recent event in eastern 黑料新闻, he pointed to the law鈥檚 impact on the at the State Pier in New London.
鈥淲e have to bring up all the wind turbines on international vessels,鈥� Lamont said. 鈥淭hen we have to offload them, put them onto another vessel. They go offshore, and it鈥檚 relatively expensive. You know, be very selective, but we ought to make it a little easier for us to build the energy we need in the future.鈥�
Courtney, who serves as ranking member of the House Armed Services鈥� Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee, said debate over the Jones Act has been a 鈥渞ecurring, perennial issue鈥� since he came to Congress almost two decades ago.
CATO Institute and the conservative Heritage Foundation鈥檚 Project 2025 have called for repealing or reforming the Jones Act. Meanwhile, sea services like the U.S. Coast Guard have been strong proponents of the law as well as the Shipbuilders Council of America, which represents dozens of companies that operate 80 shipyards around the country.
More formally known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, the law was written to address post-World War I era concerns about U.S. shipbuilding and the unavailability of a maritime fleet to transport troops to Europe. It requires ships going between American ports to be built, owned and operated by the U.S. and fly American flags. (The popular name of the law comes from its original sponsor, U.S. Rep. Wesley L. Jones of Washington).
More than a decade after its original passage, the Jones Act was updated to include subsidies for the construction of vessels manufactured in American shipyards. But those subsidies were eliminated by the Reagan administration in 1981. Courtney noted countries like South Korea continue to provide subsidies to their shipbuilders.
The Jones Act 鈥渞eally wanted to make sure that we were going to have a healthy merchant marine workforce and fleet,鈥� Courtney said.
鈥淭he worst thing we can do in my opinion is to whittle away at the Jones Act,鈥� he continued, adding it鈥檇 be 鈥渁 race to the bottom and would decimate any semblance of a merchant marine fleet in the U.S. and a merchant marine workforce that鈥檚 out there.鈥�
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, there were , oceangoing vessels available for port-to-port shipping last year.
Some U.S. territories are exempt from the law, including American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands and the Northern Mariana Islands. Waivers can also be temporarily issued in certain cases such as matters of national defense or in response to natural disasters.
But the Jones Act applies to other noncontiguous areas of the U.S. like Puerto Rico, which has been a point of contention for some critics in 黑料新闻 who argue it increases shipping costs for the island territory. During this year鈥檚 General Assembly session, passed out of the Commerce Committee calling on Congress to amend the Jones Act and provide exemptions for Puerto Rico by allowing foreign-flagged ships to transport certain goods, including liquid natural gas. The resolution was read on the House floor and by a voice vote.
Lamont鈥檚 interest in the Jones Act appears to be mostly focused on its impact on the cost of energy. In his State of the State address, the governor spoke about how 黑料新闻, like the rest of New England, gets the majority of its electricity from power plants fueled by natural gas pipelines.
In the winter, those pipelines become constrained due to the demand for gas to heat people鈥檚 homes, leading to .
While liquid natural gas can also be imported through terminals in Massachusetts, Lamont noted those imports come from overseas on foreign-flagged ships, due to the lack of Jones Act-compliant tankers available to carry it from ports on the Gulf Coast.
鈥淲e bring in very inexpensive natural gas from Pennsylvania, but that pipeline is at capacity, and we bring in LNG by foreign ships, which is more polluting and more expensive,鈥� Lamont said.
Whether repealing the law would actually spark a resurgence in shipping between U.S. ports is subject to some debate, however.
Ryan Kellogg, an economist at the University of Chicago, said that repealing the Jones Act would have only a 鈥渕odest鈥� impact on energy prices New England, due to the further distance ships must travel from Gulf Coast ports and lower prices when compared to overseas markets. In studying how a potential repeal would affect the price of gasoline and diesel, Kellogg and a co-author found that the biggest benefits would come to ports farther south along the East Coast.
鈥淚f anything, the problems may be a little bit worse when it comes to LNG, just in the sense of, really what you鈥檙e competing with now are these really big price differentials to Europe and Asia,鈥� Kellogg said. 鈥淎n LNG carrier is simply not going to go to New England unless they get a price that鈥檚 comparable to what they could get by sailing to Europe.鈥�
The American Maritime Partnership 鈥� a coalition that represents vessel operators, shipbuilders, repair yards and others in the domestic maritime industry and supports the maritime policy 鈥� argued that changes to the Jones Act wouldn鈥檛 remedy issues like high energy prices in the region.
鈥淐laims that the Jones Act drives high energy costs in New England reflect a misunderstanding of both the law and regional energy markets,鈥� Jennifer Carpenter, president of the American Maritime Partnership, said in a statement. 鈥満诹闲挛赔�檚 energy costs stem from its over-reliance on volatile spot markets, inadequate pipeline infrastructure, and limited storage capacity, not national security laws like the Jones Act.鈥�
In April, Trump issued an promising to reassert 鈥淎merica鈥檚 maritime dominance鈥� through commercial shipbuilding. The order directed officials to come up with a plan for new investments in shipbuilding, along with a study of existing cargo preference laws.
And federal lawmakers in both parties are looking to incentivize U.S. shipbuilding as part of legislation called the .
Courtney pointed to the planned development of Jones Act-compliant ships in Philadelphia and the construction of the , the first American-made offshore wind installation vessel, as an example of the kind of work supported by the Jones Act. (The Charybdis was originally intended to work on wind projects being launched from New London but is off the coast of Virginia).
Courtney added that the support of other prominent Republicans, including House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., is a sign of the Jones Act鈥檚 enduring popularity in Congress.
鈥淚 just think politically waiving or weakening the Jones Act is going to run into a firestorm of bipartisan opposition,鈥� Courtney said.
Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly reported that the bill didn鈥檛 come up for a vote and died when the session ended. The bill was adopted by a voice vote.
