U.S. Rep. Frank Lucas (R-OK) recently helped introduce Republican legislation aimed at reducing the nation’s supply chain congestion.
“With inflation rising, Congress and the administration must help alleviate the supply chain logjam and remove burdensome regulations standing in the way of that solution,” Rep. Lucas said on Nov. 16.
The Truckers Responding At National Shipping Ports Overcoming Retail Turmoil (TRANSPORT) Act, H.R. 5846, was sponsored on Nov. 3 by U.S. Rep. Tracey Mann (R-KS) and lead original cosponsor Rep. Lucas. U.S. Rep. David Valadao (R-CA) was also among the 10 Republican original cosponsors of the bill.
If enacted, H.R. 5846 would require the U.S. Transportation Secretary to relieve congested ports during either a national state of emergency or when ports are congested by 50 percent or more, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Lucas’ office.
“Our nation is facing detrimental supply chain challenges and Americans are paying the price. Slowed global production, pent-up economic demand, and multi-sector labor shortages are fueling the supply chain crisis leaving billions of dollars’ worth of goods sitting idly on cargo ships or stuck in backed-up ports,” said Rep. Lucas. “I’m proud to cosponsor Congressman Mann’s TRANSPORT Act, which would ease the bottleneck pressure in our supply chains and help our economy and businesses return to normal operation.”
H.R. 5846 also would require the Transportation Secretary to issue federal grants from unused pandemic relief dollars to motor carriers to transport goods from a port of entry to a destination point, the summary says, and would temporarily waive operating standards should those standards be more stringent than the federal standard.
The legislation is under consideration in both the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and the U.S. House Oversight and Reform Committee.