Hawaii Congressman Reintroduces Bill to End Shipping Inequities in the U.S. Territories

The Affordable Shipping for All Act aims to address discriminatory shipping practices impacting residents of the Virgin Islands, Alaska, Hawaii, and other non-contiguous regions.

  • Janeka Simon
  • January 21, 2025
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In the first session of the 119th Congress, Edward Case, U.S. representative for Hawaii's 1st congressional district, reintroduced legislation aimed at eliminating “discriminatory and exclusionary shipping practices faced by residents and businesses in the non-contiguous areas of our country.”

Mr. Case described scenarios faced by his constituents in Hawaii that may resonate with residents of the Virgin Islands, other territories and Alaska: the lack of a free shipping option by some retailers who offer the perk to residents on the mainland, for example. Some retailers even refuse to ship to addresses that are not within the mainland. Mr. Case also cited examples of inflated shipping costs that “bear no reasonable relation to the actual distance” a package travels.

The Affordable Shipping for All Act would address all these issues by ensuring that “no shipping company, including the USPS, can impose discriminatory rates or exclude non-contiguous areas from receiving shipments,” Mr. Case declared during his remarks last Tuesday.

The bill has support from co-lead James Moylan, the U.S. Representative for Guam in Congress. Co-sponsors include representatives from Puerto Rico, American Samoa and the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. According to Mr. Moylan, the draft legislation is “a step in the right direction in solving maritime disparities in the US.”

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