Is it treason to encourage lawmakers to strike down a century-old protectionist shipping law that shields a small number of U.S. businesses and workers from competition at the expense of American consumers? Of course not, but apparently, at least one member of a maritime shipping advisory panel thinks it is.
To wit: In documents the Cato Institute obtained from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) through the Freedom of Information Act, a set of recommendations from an advisory committee included a suggestion to "charge all past and present members of the Cato and Mercatus Institutes with treason." Their collective crime against the United States is simply advocating against the continued enforcement of the Jones Act, a.k.a. the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, which requires that ships transporting cargo between U.S. ports be American-made and owned and crewed by Americans.
