There need to be some Guam-level exemptions to the Jones Act... I will discuss these with various stakeholders, including the shippers and members of Congress, toward legislation.
I will work toward Guam-level exemptions to the Jones Act and pursue legislation to reduce shipping costs for everyday goods.
Occurrences
Moylan also raised several other Guam priorities, including restoring the de minimis exemption for Guam and other U.S. territories outside the U.S. Customs Zone, Supplemental Security Income parity, reauthorization of the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, Jones Act and air cabotage relief, expanding the Guam-CNMI Visa Waiver Program to include the Philippines, childcare affordability, economic and workforce development, and stronger federal services for Guam’s veterans and rural communities.
Evidence
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U.S. Congressman James Moylan and Rep. Ed Case announced they were leading the re-introduction in Congress of three legislative proposals to reform the Jones Act. The release says their proposals would target shipping monopolies that inflate the cost of imported goods and that Moylan said he was happy to lead the bill and continue supporting solutions for Guam and the Pacific.
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Congress.gov shows H.R. 667 was introduced in the House with Moylan as an original cosponsor. The bill would allow transportation of merchandise in noncontiguous trade on foreign-flag vessels, directly revising Jones Act coastwise restrictions.
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Congress.gov lists H.R. 665 as introduced with Moylan as an original cosponsor. The bill would exempt certain noncontiguous trade from the coastwise laws unless enough qualified carriers already operate on the route, a targeted Jones Act exemption tied to shipping competition.
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Moylan's office said he and Rep. Case were working together to advance bipartisan legislation including the Noncontiguous Shipping Relief Act, the Noncontiguous Shipping Reasonable Rate Act, the Noncontiguous Disaster Shipping Act, the Merchant Marine Allies Partnership Act, and the Noncontiguous Energy Relief and Access Bill, all framed as ways to lower costs for Guam and other noncontiguous areas.
Assessments
Moylan did meaningfully pursue the promise in office: he co-led and cosponsored Jones Act reform bills and publicly advanced noncontiguous shipping relief measures aimed at lowering costs for Guam and similar areas. But there is no evidence that a Guam-level exemption was enacted or that shipping costs were actually reduced, so the promise was only partially fulfilled rather than fully delivered.
The promise was framed as an effort commitment: to work toward Guam-level Jones Act exemptions and pursue legislation to reduce shipping costs. Evidence shows Moylan co-led or cosponsored multiple 119th Congress bills targeting Jones Act reform and noncontiguous shipping costs, including H.R. 667 and H.R. 665, and continued publicly advancing related bipartisan measures during the same term. Because the promised action was pursuit of legislation rather than enactment of a final exemption or cost reduction, the documented legislative activity satisfies the promise.