A bipartisan group of 18 members of the Florida congressional delegation sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Monday requesting that the administration use Florida to help with supply chain congestion.
Congressman Vern Buchanan, a Republican representing Florida’s 16th district, led efforts to send the letter to the president. “As the holidays approach, American businesses and families are feeling the effects firsthand of the continued supply chain bottlenecks,” he said. “Given Florida’s unique geographic location, our 15 deepwater seaports can handle increased freight traffic and meet holiday demands for consumers around the country, and they are ready to get to work.”
The Daily Wire reported earlier this month that Biden seems to be downplaying the supply chain crisis. “If you’ve watched the news recently, you might think the shelves in all our stores are empty across the country, that parents won’t be able to get presents for their children on holidays — this holiday season. But here’s the deal: For the vast majority of the country, that’s not what’s happening,” Biden claimed. “Because of the actions the administration has taken in partnership with business and labor, retailers and grocery stores, freight movers and railroads, those shelves are going to be stocked.”
Biden then went on to address possible shortages for Christmas items. “Now, I can’t promise that every person will get every gift they want on time. Only Santa Claus can keep that promise. But there are items every year that sell out, that are hard to find,” he said. “Some of you moms and dads may remember Cabbage Patch Kids back in the ‘80s or Beanie Babies in the ‘90s, or other toys that have run out at Christmas time in past years when there was no supply chain problem.”
Biden’s stance on supply chain congestion seems to be the opposite of the concerns mentioned in the letter from the Florida delegation. “According to recent news reports, a back-up of almost 90 cargo ships waiting to enter either the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles extended south almost to San Diego,” the letter read. “This logjam meant cargo ships were waiting, on average, almost 17 days just to off-load their containers.”
The group of 18 Florida representatives is not the first to suggest using Florida to help with supply chain issues.
In October, Gov. Ron DeSantis revealed “incentive packages to get companies to abandon clogged ports in states like Democrat-controlled California and use Florida’s ports instead, a move that he says can help solve the worsening supply chain crisis.”
The letter to Biden was signed by 16 Republicans, including Reps. Greg Steube and Matt Gaetz, and two Democrats, Reps. Charlie Crist and Stephanie Murphy.
You can read the entirety of the letter below:
Dear Mr. President:
As members of the Florida Congressional delegation representing our state’s world-class network of 15 deepwater seaports, we stand ready to work with you and your administration to help provide important and much-needed alternatives to congested shipping routes around the country.
In successfully moving over 100 million tons of cargo and millions of cruise passengers annually, Florida’s seaports currently support a vast array of global commercial industries. Working together with the federal government, Florida’s seaports can save consumers money, support American jobs, grow our economy and offer near-term relief for our nation’s current supply chain bottleneck affecting many aspects of our daily lives.
According to recent news reports, a back-up of almost 90 cargo ships waiting to enter either the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles extended south almost to San Diego. This logjam meant cargo ships were waiting, on average, almost 17 days just to off-load their containers. We believe that our seaports are underutilized assets that can help reduce, if not eliminate, the delays plaguing our domestic supply chain and are asking you to work with us to help make this a reality.
In Florida, there are currently no delays at our ports in large part because many of them have been operating 24 hours-a-day for quite some time, while other ports around the country are just now announcing around-the-clock operations. With the holiday season upon us and the United States struggling to solve crippling congestion in our supply chain, our 15 ports and unique geographical location offer a more efficient alternative to certain West Coast ports.
Since 2019, the State of Florida has invested nearly $1 billion in capacity-building projects for our ports and plans to spend $200 million over the next few years to further enhance the state’s inland freight-handling capacity. Furthermore, our ports have matched these investments and are committed to using additional resources to expand their services to meet demand. Consequently, our transportation infrastructure can handle increased freight traffic immediately and that capacity will only continue to grow.
Today, our ports stand ready to help alleviate current systemic freight backlogs all over the country and are well-equipped to handle additional capacity. In short, Florida is open for business.
Again, we welcome the opportunity to work with your administration to help take further advantage of Florida’s 15 deepwater seaports and to serve as an important part of the solution to the ongoing supply chain crisis.
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Source: Dailywire
