WHEREAS:

The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil per day into the Gulf of Mexico;

The coastal waters of the Gulf Shores region are home to thousands of species of marine life threatened by the huge volume of crude oil escaping from the Deepwater Horizon spill;

Skimmer ships and other critical resources needed to assist in coastal cleanup and wildlife rescue efforts have been, and continue to be, available and standing ready from sources around the world, but are being prevented by the Obama Administration from being deployed;

The Obama Administration has blocked the use of many of these resources in the coastal waters of the United States, citing certain provisions of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920 known as the "Jones Act";

The President of the United States is fully empowered by law to waive the provisions of the Jones Act by Executive Order when necessary, but has so far refused to do so; and

The President of the United States has cited no legitimate reason whatsoever why why the use of these resources should be further delayed and why all available resources should not be employed in this critical cleanup effort;

The economies of the Gulf States are heavily-dependent on the continued vitality of fish, shrimp and other wildlife living in the coastal waters of the Gulf Shores; and

Marine biologists have made clear that time is of the essence if the ecology of the Gulf Coast region is to be rescued and the regional economy protected;

WE THE UNDERSIGNED call on President Barack Obama to immediately waive the Jones Act and allow all available resources to be employed in the cleanup effort to save the fragile marine life of the Gulf Coast region and protect the economies of the Gulf States.

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