Majority Leader Schumer Floor Remarks On The House Vote Tonight to Pass Legislation To Strengthen Supply Chains And Relieve Congestion At American Ports

Washington, D.C. –  Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) today spoke on the Senate floor regarding the House vote tonight to pass the Ocean Shipping Reform Act, which the Senate passed earlier this year. Senator Schumer’s remarks, which can also be viewed here:

A few months ago, the Senate unanimously passed legislation to fight inflation by fixing unfair shipping practices that are clogging our ports and straining our supply chains, and tonight, the House will finally act on that bill and send it to the president’s desk.

Inflation is the greatest frustration America has right now, and backlogs at our ports are one of the biggest drivers of price hikes that we will address through this bill.

By now, we have all seen pictures of scores of ships lining up in ports from Los Angeles to Savanna to Seattle to New York and New Jersey. These backlogs have not only caused great harm for American exporters trying to send their products out into the world, they have also skyrocketed the price of goods coming into this country. The backlogs create a brutal double-whammy that ultimately leaves American families paying the price.

I applaud Speaker Pelosi and all of my House colleagues for taking action on this shipping reform bill. And I want to thank my colleagues here in the Senate—Senators Klobuchar and Thune, the authors of the legislation, Chairwoman Cantwell who shepherded it through, and others—for their leadership when this bill was before the Senate.

By reforming unfair shipping practices, Congress is taking a much-needed step to lowering costs, clearing our ports, and relieving supply chains. I thank all of my colleagues for a job well done.

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