Representative Mike Garcia (CA-25) and a group of bipartisan lawmakers sent a letter to President Biden urging him to take executive action to alleviate supply-chain congestion, specifically for agricultural producers and small business owners who rely on exports for revenue.
 
The lawmakers stressed the impact supply-chain congestion is having not only on imported distribution, but particularly on export distributions, causing U.S. farmers to struggle in their ability to compete in global markets.
 
“Currently, while ocean carriers coming from Asia are imported into the U.S. at full capacity, those same carriers are all too often declining to take U.S. agriculture commodity exports,” the lawmakers wrote. “Foreign-owned carrier lines are returning empty containers for a quick turnaround towards more lucrative Asian imports. A record 70 percent of containers leaving California ports are leaving empty.”
 
The lawmakers explained that while they continue to wait for House-passed legislation to make it through the Senate and be signed into law, the critical nature of this problem requires an immediate intervention.
 
“Congress continues to push for reforms like the House-passed H.R. 4996 Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021. However, given the critical nature of this threat to the U.S. reputation as a reliable exporter, we urge you to further use your emergency powers to address this supply chain crisis and mitigate the risks to agriculture in the United States,” the lawmakers wrote.
 
The lawmakers made the following requests to President Biden:
1. Utilize available emergency authorities to temporarily incentivize the outbound shipment of full containers
2. Utilize any emergency actions that allow gross vehicle weight limits to exceed 80,000 pounds, even if only on a temporary basis
3. Utilize any available tools or authorities to provide immediate access to critical shipping and logistics equipment
 
Garcia has continually discussed how failed California policy has contributed to the supply chain crisis due to the shortage of truck drivers to move the containers, ultimately creating a major backlog in the ports. 

Click here to read the letter.