Steel, Graves commend House committee passage of Coast Guard appropriations bill

The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 2 advanced the bipartisan Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, which includes a proposal introduced by U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-CA) to address the backlog of cargo ships at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, Calif.

“Together, the Ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles move 40 percent of all shipping containers entering the U.S., and the backlog at these ports has been a major factor in the supply chain crisis,” said Rep. Steel. 

The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2022, H.R. 6865, includes language from the bipartisan H.R. 5885, which Rep. Steel sponsored in November 2021 with original cosponsors U.S.  Reps. Josh Harder (D-CA) and Young Kim (R-CA). 

H.R. 5885 would establish an interagency task force to address the backlog of cargo ships at the Port of Los Angeles and the Port of Long Beach and in the coastal waters of Orange County, Calif., according to the congressional record bill summary.

“The cargo ship backlog has gone on for far too long, and Orange County families are tired of seeing idling ships off their coastline while they struggle to pay their bills and find the goods they need to feed their families and run their households,” Rep. Steel said.

The task force would include representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency, and several federal departments, including Agriculture, Commerce, Defense, Energy, Health and Human Services, the Interior, Justice, Labor, State, and Transportation, as well as the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Federal Maritime Commission, and the General Services Administration, according to a bill summary provided by Rep. Steel’s office.

Representatives from state agencies and the local Port Authorities would also be included on the task force, which would declare the backlog as a national emergency.

Rep. Steel urged leadership to immediately put the larger bill to a full vote on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives “so that we can ease this backlog now and provide American families with relief from the skyrocketing costs of groceries and goods,” she said.

U.S. Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), ranking member on the committee, said the passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act would help ensure the Coast Guard has the assets it needs to carry out its missions, especially important given the ongoing crisis in Ukraine.

“The Coast Guard has national defense responsibilities, as well as port security and commercial vessel safety, and security oversight missions which are of particular importance during this time of heightened international tension. The Coast Guard also helps keep maritime commerce moving, even when other parts of the supply chain are bogged down, Rep. Graves said.

“Overall, this bipartisan bill will provide the resources to help them more effectively carry out their vital missions of ensuring maritime safety and commerce, stopping the flow of illegal drugs and migrants into the country, enforcing U.S. laws at sea, and protecting our nation’s borders,” he added.