NE Missouri News

Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Webster (R-FL) have called on President Biden to use his authority to end the ongoing strike at U.S. East and Gulf Coast ports.

In a letter addressed to the White House, Graves and Webster urged the President to invoke his powers under the Taft-Hartley Act to restore port operations and bring the involved parties to the negotiating table until their issues are resolved. They stated, “the economic impacts of failing to intervene and bring the parties to the negotiating table will be wide ranging, leaving the American consumer paying higher prices as we approach the holidays. We urge you to immediately bring the parties together and restore the full capacity of our Nation’s commerce.”

The Chairmen, along with other House Republicans, had previously written to the Administration urging action to avoid this strike. In today’s letter, they remarked, “Despite calls from stakeholders and 69 Republican Members of Congress, the Biden Administration failed to meaningfully engage the parties in an effort to reach a resolution leading up to the strike deadline. Continued inaction only compounds our Nation’s economic harm, further burdening American families’ pocketbooks.” They referenced a previous 2002 work stoppage at West Coast ports during which President Bush used Taft-Hartley powers to resume port operations until a new labor agreement was reached.

Graves and Webster added in a joint statement: “The Biden-Harris Administration needs to put the good of economy and the country over politics and step in immediately to help resolve this potentially devastating crisis. Every day of delay will cost the economy billions of dollars, and it will only be a matter of days before the resulting cargo backlogs will begin impacting consumers and the upcoming holiday season. Unfortunately, the Administration did nothing to help prevent this strike, so we now call on them to use every authority in their possession to end it and ensure the continued flow of commerce.”

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