Puerto Rico Resident Commissioner Requests Jones Act Study

Mr. Pedro Pierluisi, the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico, requested on May 13, 2011 that the U.S. Government Accountability Office examine the economic implications of the application of U.S. coastwise laws (commonly referred to as the "Jones Act") to trade between the continental United States and Puerto Rico. According to the request, no similar federal government study has been undertaken since 1979 and an update was needed. Commissioner Pierluisi also rejected the view that a 2002 study commissioned by a committee of the Puerto Rico House of Representatives rendered a current GAO study unnecessary.