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Rep. Krishnamoorthi Leads 20 Members of Congress In Letter On Using Infrastructure Bill To Resolve Supply Chain Issues

January 18, 2022

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Congressman Antonio Delgado (NY-19), and Congresswoman Carolyn Bourdeaux (GA-07) sent a letter with 20 Members of Congress to Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Secretary Gina Raimondo, and Mr. Brian Deese and Mr. Mitch Landrieu of the White House's Infrastructure Implementation Task Force requesting that the funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act prioritize near-term projects with the potential to immediately address the current supply chain crisis. As part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, $17 billion was allocated to ports and waterways to "strengthen supply chain resiliency."

"As a result of the supply chain crisis, rising prices have put financial pressure on many Americans, especially low-income households," the Members wrote. "While we may expect these inflationary pressures to subside over the next year, we also must be cognizant that consumers' expectations of sustained inflation could produce a dangerous cycle of rising wages and prices, known as a wage-price spiral. It is therefore critically important that immediate improvements be made across the supply chain to expand capacity and bring down shipping costs as soon as possible."

In the letter, the members requested that the Administration provide detailed information on how the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is being implemented to increase capacity throughout the supply chain, from marine terminals to highway freight.

"Moreover, we urge you to prioritize funding for projects that would provide near-term solutions to the present supply chain crisis—building pop-up container yards, lengthening operating hours, expanding port gate access points, modernizing cranes and other systems, and aligning data sharing between different entities at coastal ports, like New York, Savannah, and Los Angeles, and at inland rail hubs, like Chicago," the Members wrote.

To read the letter, click here.