Hawaii Rep. Case pushing for exemption to Jones Act to save residents money
'First of all isn't it about the cost of living? Isn't that what most of us are concerned about at the end of the day? It's the cost of living and the incredibly crushing cost of living here in Hawaii in particular,' Rep. Case said.
'Out of control,' diver says after others lost at sea for hours
The bill is co-sponsored by U.S. Congressman James Moylan (R-Guam). Rep. Case says the century-old law is unfair to islands within the United States orbit.
'Basically says let Hawaii and our island areas go. Hey continent, if you want to keep the Jones Act up to you, you guys keep it, but you are punishing us because we happen to be island states.'
He believes the law creates a monopoly on shipping and rates that get passed down to consumers.'Let's take a concrete example here. A dozen eggs in the store we all know there are incredible prices,' Rep. Case said. 'Let's say the average is somewhere between $9 and $10 right now. California $6. So that's $3, where does that $3 go to? 1/3 of the cost of a dozen eggs is in shipping. Those are shipping rates that are set by a monopoly that's created by federal law. There's no competition on those shipping rates from California to Hawaii, no competition at all. Matson, and Pasha, they set whatever rates they want. International shipping is out there, thousands and thousands of ships that would be willing to take that carton of eggs between California and Hawaii for a competitive price. Actually, less than half of that $3. Right there and then take that and extrapolate that to other things like the cost of building a house. Every single thing that's in a house comes from the continent. Could we get that for half the price of shipping? That differential adds an incredible burden to everyone in Hawaii.'
This comes as egg prices soar, meanwhile, the Trump Administration's Department of Government Efficiency, led by the world's richest man Elon Musk, slashed federal workers overseeing the bird flu outbreak. 25 Percent of USDA personnel, including scientists in nearly five dozen US labs, have been let go. Thousands of other USDA employees were also informed today that they will also lose their jobs. The latest government data shows the current outbreak of avian flu is responsible for the death of at least 100 million birds since 2022.
Egg prices are skyrocketing — why isn't the cost of chicken rising, too?
'Many of those actions are straight out illegal and they're illegal because they're trying to cut off federal funding that's already been passed into law, already signed by a President, a federal judge has said so,' Rep. Case said. 'They're ignoring the federal judge's orders right now so we're not having this money coming to Hawaii in key areas number 1. There are 50 plus lawsuits at this point against the actions of this President and Mr. Musk and the DOGE,'
Over the weekend President Trump posted to social media 'He who saves his Country does not violate any Law,' bringing much concern about the boundaries that the US Constitution can hold. Rep. Case is concerened that a lack of checks from Congress will put stress on the judiciary as the lone branch to hold the administration to account.
'From the perspective of Congress, unfortunately, my Republican majority colleagues, and this is really tragic it's not just unfortunate because Congress is the check and balance on the President, congress must check and balance the President. This Republican majority has decided not to check and balance this President at all. So the only recourse at this point is in the court system itself. As we've seen Mr. Musk and the President and the Vice President have said that the federal courts are not doing a good job. I think they have to do their job right now because otherwise there's no guardrails.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


Washington Post
an hour ago
- Washington Post
Tracking Trump: Columbia University's deal; USDA is leaving DC; IRS looks to end non-English services; and more
Columbia University reached a deal with the White House. The USDA is leaving the Washington area. The Senate minority leader called for an Epstein files briefing. The IRS is considering ending multi-language services. ICE ordered staff to put GPS ankle monitors on immigrants. The White House denied disaster relief funds for Maryland floods. A federal appeals court ruled that Trump can't end birthright citizenship. Before you go … Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is a longtime vaccine skeptic. His tenure at HHS has already changed how you access vaccines — here's how. Want to stay on top of President Trump's second term? Sign up for the newsletter to get the top stories every weeknight.

Epoch Times
2 hours ago
- Epoch Times
USDA Announces Reorganization Plan to Slash Washington Staff by Over 50 Percent
The Trump administration has announced a sweeping overhaul of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) that will cut its Washington-area workforce by more than half and shift thousands of positions to regional hubs, part of President Donald Trump's broader push to shrink the federal government and move agencies closer to the communities they serve. Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins announced the reorganization plan in a July 24 memo, which lays out plans to cut the department's D.C.-area staff from about 4,600 to fewer than 2,000 employees.


UPI
4 hours ago
- UPI
USDA to reorganize, move staff out of D.C. to areas closer to farmers
1 of 2 | Agriculture Secretary Brooke Rollins attends a roundtable to discuss American agriculture as part of the so-called "Make America Healthy Again" campaign at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., this past week. The USDA announced on Thursday that it will reorganize and move staff out of Washington, D.C., and into one of five hubs throughout the country. Photo by Bonnie Cash/UPI | License Photo July 24 (UPI) -- The United States Department of Agriculture will reorganize, refocusing its core operations to support American farming, ranching and forestry, moving staff out of Washington and closer to farm land, said Brooke L. Rollins, U.S. secretary of Agriculture. A press release from Rollins said, "Over the last four years, USDA's workforce grew by 8%, and employees' salaries increased by 14.5% -- including hiring thousands of employees with no sustainable way to pay them. This all occurred without any tangible increase in service to USDA's core constituencies across the agricultural sector." The statement goes on to say that the "USDA's footprint in the National Capital Region is underutilized and redundant, plagued by rampant overspending and decades of mismanagement and costly deferred maintenance." The NCR includes Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas in Virginia and Maryland. "American agriculture feeds, clothes, and fuels this nation and the world, and it is long past time the Department better serve the great and patriotic farmers, ranchers, and producers we are mandated to support," Rollins said in a statement. "We will do so through a process that preserves USDA's critical health and public safety services the American public relies on. We will do right by the great American people who we serve and with respect to the thousands of hardworking USDA employees who so nobly serve their country." The reorganization consists of four pillars: Ensure the size of USDA's workforce aligns with available financial resources and agricultural priorities Bring USDA closer to its customers Eliminate management layers and bureaucracy Consolidate redundant support functions The USDA will move staff out of the District of Columbia to five hub locations in the country, which will, according to the department, save money in salaries, the press release said. There are about 4,600 employees in the NCR region, which has a high cost of living. The federal salary locality rate is 34%, whereas the other hubs are lower. USDA's five hub locations and federal locality rates: Raleigh, N.C. (22.24%) Kansas City, Mo. (18.97%) Indianapolis, Ind. (18.15%) Fort Collins, Colo. (30.52%) Salt Lake City, Utah (17.06%) Agriculture Department officials say that, in recent years, more than 15,000 USDA employees have taken voluntary deferred resignation.