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Show Garn Introduces Legislation To Aid River Runners t Senator Jake Garn last week introduced legislation to exempt inflatable rubber rafts used in river running from the Jones Act. He said the bill will save commercial river runners, run-ners, "at least from having to make huge capital investments invest-ments or use unsafe boats, at most from having to go out of business." "The Jones Act was adopted adopt-ed in 1920 as a protective measure to assure the continued contin-ued viability of the American merchant marine and shipbuilding ship-building industries," Garn said. "It requires that shipping ship-ping between points within the United States must take place in ships manufactured in the United States. "It was never contemplated that such a law would affect. the running of rivers in til P interior of the country (J ' through a complex reguW I development, that may O 1 pen. Commercial river 3 If ners all over the country J? soon find that they are nnJ1 to use foreign-made raftsjj pursuing their trade. I " "As it happens, a W I percentage of rubber rii now in use on American rive, are foreign made. Should tl, Ct Jones Act be enforced on a L; river runners, they wonld t, forced, to make huge euta A investments, to rely on old, unsafe boats, or, possiblj.t, '4 go out of business. ' '1 "This is an almost das ,js case of bureaucratic expo. ; sion. No one has ever serio. ly argued that the Jones As was designed to prOffl0(( j, boating safety among rivs runners or even that application to rubber rafU , , essential to the maintetua,, of the American shipbuildB industry. In fact, I have bee informed that at least one 4 very few domestic mannfaa. 'i urers is ready to compete against all competitors, fa. eign and domestic What i are seeing is the application i & a law adopted for one purpo j to a completely different par. gj pose. |