Congressional scrutiny of the Trump administration’s Jones Act waiver is growing, with Representative Salud Carbajal demanding answers about whether foreign vessels operating in domestic US trades are complying with immigration, tax and maritime laws. In an October 16 letter to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, first reported Monday by Bloomberg Government, Carbajal raised concerns about oversight of the waiver, particularly following reports that foreign flagged tankers had transported millions of dollars worth of petroleum products between US ports without making required disclosures.
The reporting trail is specific. gCaptain’s September investigation identified evidence of 14 previously unreported domestic tanker voyages, plus a possible 15th, expanding on a Bloomberg Government investigation that found at least a dozen foreign vessels had moved more than 40 million dollars in petroleum products without appearing in the Maritime Administration’s public waiver records. A gCaptain review of MARAD’s September 16 data counted 255 reported movements under the original March 17 waiver and its May extension, but the additional voyages suggested that figure was incomplete. MARAD has previously told Bloomberg Government it lacks the legal authority to compel vessel operators to submit the required reports; enforcement of the Jones Act falls to Customs and Border Protection, under the Homeland Security Department.
Carbajal, the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee, asked how the department is applying the rule that generally prohibits foreign crew admitted under D nonimmigrant status from working on domestic vessel movements, whether any crew were found in inconsistent status or had absconded, and whether the department has coordinated with the Treasury and the IRS after recent guidance that income earned by foreign corporations carrying cargo between US ports under the waiver is domestic source income that does not qualify for the international shipping exclusion. “The Administration has now authorized the waiver for an aggregate period of approximately 250 days, making oversight particularly important,” he wrote. “Congress has a responsibility to ensure that a national-defense waiver is not being treated as a broader exemption from federal law.”
The administration has tightened the process as scrutiny builds: a second 90 day extension that took effect on August 17 requires operators to submit a Vessel Availability Request so the government can check whether a qualified US flagged vessel is available before authorizing foreign tonnage. Carbajal said public information indicates more than 25 domestic voyages have been completed under the current waiver. He requested a response by October 31. The current extension runs through November 15. Bloomberg Government reported that the Homeland Security Department declined to comment and referred questions to the Defense Department, which did not respond.