New digital effort mobilizes Americans to demand Congress make the Jones Act waiver permanent — and pushes back on the special-interest misinformation defending a failed, century-old shipping monopoly.
ARLINGTON, VA— As reported by Bloomberg Americans for Prosperity (AFP) today launched a six-figure digital campaign calling on Congress to permanently repeal the Jones Act, the century-old shipping mandate that continues to needlessly drive up the cost of fuel, food, and energy for American families.The campaign pairs targeted digital advertising with a nationwide grassroots push that makes it easy for Americans to write their Members of Congress and demand relief.
The Jones Act (Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920) requires that any cargo moving between two U.S. ports travel on vessels that are U.S.-built, U.S.-owned, U.S.-flagged, and U.S.-crewed. More than a century later, fewer than 100 oceangoing vessels qualify, and the U.S. International Trade Commission has estimated the law functions like a 64% tax on domestic sea trade — passed straight to consumers at the pump and the grocery store.
The case for repeal has never been clearer. After the Strait of Hormuz closed in March 2026, the administration issued an emergency 60-day Jones Act waiver and later extended it another 90 days to keep fuel and energy flowing and prevent price spikes. In other words: the moment a real crisis hit, Washington rushed to suspend the very law its defenders insist is essential — because everyone knew it was driving up prices.
AFP Chief Government Affairs Officer Brent Gardner issued the following statement.
“For more than a century, Washington has forced families to pay a hidden tax every time goods move between our own ports — and it is way past time to put an end to this failed regulation that has decimated the industry it was intended to help. You cannot claim to care about the cost of living while defending a law you have to suspend every time families need relief. Our message is simple: with a single vote, Congress can lower costs for every household in the country. It’s time to repeal the Jones Act.”
The burden falls hardest on families who rely most on shipping. Hawaiians pay an estimated $1,800 more per year because of the Jones Act; Puerto Rico, which relies on ocean freight for roughly 85% of its food and 100% of its fuel, sees the law add hundreds of dollars per person to the cost of everyday goods; and rural Alaskans face some of the highest fuel and heating costs in the country. The distortions reach the mainland too — from fuel that costs several times more to move between U.S. ports than to import, to LNG the U.S. can ship to 30 countries but not from one American state to another.
The campaign will run digital ads and mobilize constituents in key states and districts, with a particular focus on members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and senators who campaign on lowering costs for working families. The goal is to build support for permanent repeal.
As part of the rollout, AFP is releasing a Myth vs. Fact resource to directly counter the misinformation being spread by special interests determined to protect a failing status quo. The waiver data tell a very different story than the law’s defenders claim: the Jones Act fleet was already fully booked, foreign vessels supplemented — not displaced — American capacity.
Read the full Myth vs. Fact resource here.
Read the visual breakout here.
Repealing the Jones Act is a free-market, pro-consumer, pro-American-energy reform that lowers costs without spending a dime. This effort escalates a May 6 coalition letter, led by AFP and joined by more than 35 partner organizations, urging Congress to make President Trump’s Jones Act waiver permanent by repealing the law, which is just one part of AFP’s larger affordability agenda.
Through broad-based grassroots outreach, Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is driving long-term solutions to the country’s biggest problems. AFP activists engage friends and neighbors on key issues and encourage them to take an active role in building a culture of mutual benefit, where people succeed by helping one another. AFP recruits and unites activists in all 50 states behind a common goal of advancing policies that will help people improve their lives. For more information, visit www.AmericansForProsperity.org
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