The bottle neck isn’t at the barges or ships.

It’s on the docks AFTER the supplies reached Puerto Rico.

This is from 7 days ago.

http://www.cnn.com/2017/09/27/us/puerto-rico-aid-problem/index.html

The Jones act is it’s own problem (as is lacking 5th, 6th & 7th freedom rights in air travel), however that isn’t the cause of challenges with disaster relief in the current instance. Promoting that talking point is to mislead as to the reasons of difficulty in Puerto Rico. Local truck drivers need to show up and haul the freight sitting on the docks. Local crews need to clear the roads to enable the truck drivers to get the goods where they need to go.

As for the longer term, bigger picture: Only a powerful central Government can dispense favors to the few at the expense of the many. The Jones Act is but one of those “gifts” that keeps giving. Ditto the restriction on 5th-7th rights in air travel. Powerful unions and powerful business interests conspire to screw the American consumer with higher priced, lower quality transportation services to line their own pockets.

A classic case of concentrated benefits and dispersed costs.

Amending would be far easier politically than repealing. Why not be 95% guaranteed of improving the act instead of having a 5% chance or repealing the act? Perfect is the enemy of good.