With consumer prices spiking on a variety of items nationwide, Congressman Fred Upton has co-sponsored the bipartisan Ocean Shipping Reform Act. It’s intended to help alleviate the supply chain bottlenecks at ports across the country, especially in Los Angeles and Long Beach, California. Upton tells WSJM News thousands of shipping containers are sitting at ports unloaded.
“We have a lot of ships that are off our coast that are waiting to be unloaded,” Upton said. “The president made the right decision a week or two ago to say we need to unload these ships 24/7, but the damage has been done.”
The legislation waives any fees that are currently being applied to American truckers and ports for delays that are caused by the ocean carriers themselves.
“The act itself recognizes that shipping is important and that we need to take every step we can to be able to unload some of these containers. Whether they be off the coast of Washington state or California, we have literally more than a half a million containers that are stacked up.”
The legislation would also require ocean carriers to adhere to minimum service standards that meet the public interest and require ocean carriers or marine terminal operators to certify that any late fees comply with federal regulations or face penalties. Upton says the plan “cracks the whip” when it comes to ensuring ocean transportation is reliable.
