There's a lot of disinformation being spread by the divisive right wing of the Republican party (Sarah Palin, et al). These are the ones playing divisive politics and it is shameful. The truth is the Jones Act so far is a non-issue. There are at least 15 vessels from foreign countries helping, and one turned down was one from France that offered a chemical dispersant that would do more harm than good. It's also important to note that none of the offers that I'm aware of offered for free. They are offering to sell their services, which puts a whole different spin on things. Like taking bids from contractors, we have to choose the ones that will do the job right for the right price.
From FactCheck.org:
"...In reality, the Jones Act has yet to be an issue in the response efforts. The Deepwater Horizon response team reported in a June 15 press release that there are 15 foreign flagged ships currently participating in the oil spill cleanup. None of them needed a waiver because the Jones Act does not apply. The Jones Act is a trade and commerce law that was enacted in 1920 as part of a larger Marine Merchant Act. It requires all trade delivered between U.S. ports to be carried in U.S. flagged vessels constructed in the United States and owned by American citizens. The law states its purpose is to develop a merchant marine for national defense and commerce.
Why was the Jones Act waived as part of the Hurricane Katrina response, and why hasn’t it been waived now? Katrina inflicted massive infrastructure damage, which restricted the availability of key resources. According to the Deepwater Horizon response team: "A Jones Act waiver was granted during Hurricane Katrina due to the significant disruption in the production and transportation of petroleum and/or refined petroleum products in the region during that emergency and the impact this had on national defense." The Deepwater Horizon spill has yet to affect infrastructure or oil and gas availability; the damage is environmental, and foreign vessels are approved for delivering resources and conducting offshore skimming. Although the Jones Act is currently not applicable, the federal government has taken steps to expedite the waiver process should the oil spill response require a Jones Act waiver for trade and commerce.
Also, contrary to reports such as the one on "Fox & Friends," international assistance has been accepted. To date, 25 countries and four international organizations have offered support in the form of skimming vessels, containment and fire boom, technical assistance and response solutions, among others. A chart provided by the State Department shows that as of June 23 five offers had been accepted and 50 were under consideration — including multiple offers from a single country or entity. One offer had been declined: France offered a chemical dispersant that is not approved for use in the United States..."
http://www.factcheck.org/2010/06/oil-spill-foreign-help-and-the-jones-act/
The enviroment has already lost.If the Jones Act had been waived by Obama the shipping resources of the world could have been used to help solve this disaster.The delay has already been enviromentally costly imo.BP has also decided to use a solvent toxic to marine life to disperse the oil spill instead of Bacterial remediation . BP has thereby chosen to compond the damage their negligence caused. What do you think woud happen if any US citizen drove down to their local beach to change their vehicles oil?I wish the US government showed as much concern regarding offshore drilling. 