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Saturday, June 18, 2011

Pierluisi Seeks Obama Administration’s Support for Jones Act Study and Additional Resources to Fight Drug-Related Violence

San Juan, Puerto Rico—Following up on the discussions he held with President Barack Obama during his recent visit to Puerto Rico, Resident Commissioner Pedro Pierluisi urged the co-chairs of the White House Task Force to support his request to obtain a comprehensive, objective and timely report from the General Accountability Office (GAO) examining the economic impact of the Jones Act’s application in Puerto Rico and his request to increase the federal resources allocated to combat drug-related violence on the Island.

In a letter sent to Cecilia Muñoz and Tom Perrelli, the Resident Commissioner said that he was pleased to hear the President reiterate his Administration’s commitment to take concrete action at the federal level to help strengthen Puerto Rico’s economy and improve the quality of life for its residents.

“I strongly share the President’s vision for job creation and economic recovery in the United States, including in the U.S. territory of Puerto Rico. The GAO study on the Jones Act that I have requested will provide federal policymakers with the information we need to make sensible decisions aimed at maximizing economic opportunity on the Island,” wrote the Resident Commissioner in the letter.

The GAO is in the process of considering the Resident Commissioner’s request for a study on the economic impact of the Jones Act’s application in Puerto Rico. In determining when to commence work on a requested study, GAO considers a range of factors, including whether the request is endorsed by a chairman or ranking member of a congressional committee or subcommittee of jurisdiction.

“Given the importance of this issue, I seek the Administration’s support for this GAO request. In particular, it would be helpful if the Administration would encourage the leadership of the respective committees of jurisdiction—the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the House Natural Resources Committee, the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, and the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee—to endorse my request. With their endorsement, GAO would be in position to commence the requested study without delay,” said Pierluisi.

Pierluisi has called upon stakeholders in Puerto Rico to create a united front in support of his request to GAO and has pledged to seek the Island’s exemption from the Jones Act should the study demonstrate that such an exemption would improve Puerto Rico’s economy. The Resident Commissioner’s initiative has been supported by the Private Sector Coalition, which includes over twenty organizations on the Island, as well as by renowned economists.

In his letter to the Task Force co-chairs, Pierluisi also sought the Administration’s support for his efforts to ensure that federal law enforcement agencies in Puerto Rico are better able to recruit and retain agents to fight drug-related violence on the Island. This issue was also the topic of conversations between Pierluisi, Governor Fortuño, and President Obama.

“I urge the Administration, in the strongest possible terms, to take immediate and concrete steps to provide Puerto Rico with the personnel, assets and funding it needs—and deserves—to reduce drug-related violence on the Island,” said Pierluisi.

To help address this issue, the Resident Commissioner recently introduced bipartisan legislation that would require the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security each to establish a program to recruit, assign, and retain individuals to serve in federal law enforcement positions in jurisdictions, like Puerto Rico, that are experiencing high rates of homicide and other violent crimes. In the 50 states, there is an average of 36 federal agents for every 100,000 residents, whereas in Puerto Rico there are only 31 federal agents per 100,000 residents.

At Pierluisi’s urging, Congress has already taken constructive steps on this issue. Earlier this month, the House Appropriations Committee expressly acknowledged that drug trafficking through Puerto Rico is a significant concern and is linked to Puerto Rico’s unacceptably high murder rate. The Committee directed the three primary component agencies of the Department of Homeland Security—ICE, the Coast Guard, and Customs and Border Protection—to report to the Committee by December 1, 2011, on how these agencies are deploying the resources necessary to effectively counter this illicit trafficking.

In addition to requesting support for these two measures, the Resident Commissioner thanked Muñoz and Perelli for helping to arrange such an historic visit to the Island by President Obama.