[House Hearing, 117 Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
ASSESSING THE STATE OF AMERICA'S SEAPORTS
=======================================================================
HEARING
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON
BORDER SECURITY, FACILITATION,
AND OPERATIONS
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED SEVENTEENTH CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
__________
JANUARY 19, 2022
__________
Serial No. 117-39
__________
Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security
[GRAPHIC NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.govinfo.gov
__________
U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE
47-192 PDF WASHINGTON : 2022
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COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi, Chairman
Sheila Jackson Lee, Texas John Katko, New York
James R. Langevin, Rhode Island Michael T. McCaul, Texas
Donald M. Payne, Jr., New Jersey Clay Higgins, Louisiana
J. Luis Correa, California Michael Guest, Mississippi
Elissa Slotkin, Michigan Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Jefferson Van Drew, New Jersey
Al Green, Texas Ralph Norman, South Carolina
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Mariannette Miller-Meeks, Iowa
Eric Swalwell, California Diana Harshbarger, Tennessee
Dina Titus, Nevada Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
Bonnie Watson Coleman, New Jersey Carlos A. Gimenez, Florida
Kathleen M. Rice, New York Jake LaTurner, Kansas
Val Butler Demings, Florida Peter Meijer, Michigan
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California Kat Cammack, Florida
Josh Gottheimer, New Jersey August Pfluger, Texas
Elaine G. Luria, Virginia Andrew R. Garbarino, New York
Tom Malinowski, New Jersey
Ritchie Torres, New York
Hope Goins, Staff Director
Daniel Kroese, Minority Staff Director
Natalie Nixon, Clerk
------
SUBCOMMITTEE ON BORDER SECURITY, FACILITATION, AND OPERATIONS
Nanette Diaz Barragan, California, Chairwoman
J. Luis Correa, California Clay Higgins, Louisiana, Ranking
Emanuel Cleaver, Missouri Member
Al Green, Texas Michael Guest, Mississippi
Yvette D. Clarke, New York Dan Bishop, North Carolina
Bennie G. Thompson, Mississippi (ex Andrew S. Clyde, Georgia
officio) John Katko, New York (ex officio)
Brieana Marticorena, Subcommittee Staff Director
Natasha Eby, Minority Subcommittee Staff Director
Zachary Wood, Subcommittee Clerk
C O N T E N T S
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Page
Statements
The Honorable Nanette Diaz Barragan, a Representative in Congress
From the State of California, and Chairwoman, Subcommittee on
Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations:
Oral Statement................................................. 1
Prepared Statement............................................. 2
The Honorable Clay Higgins, a Representative in Congress From the
State of Louisiana, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Border
Security, Facilitation, and Operations:
Oral Statement................................................. 3
Prepared Statement............................................. 4
The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress
From the State of Mississippi, and Chairman, Committee on
Homeland Security:
Prepared Statement............................................. 5
Witnesses
Mr. Christopher J. Connor, President and Chief Executive Officer,
American Association of Port Authorities:
Oral Statement................................................. 7
Prepared Statement............................................. 8
Mr. Anthony M. Reardon, National President, National Treasury
Employees Union:
Oral Statement................................................. 11
Prepared Statement............................................. 12
Mr. Eugene D. Seroka, Executive Director, Port of Los Angeles,
City of Los Angeles:
Oral Statement................................................. 21
Prepared Statement............................................. 22
Ms. Cathie J. Vick, Chief Development and Government Affairs
Officer, Port of Virginia, Virginia Port Authority:
Oral Statement................................................. 28
Prepared Statement............................................. 29
Mr. Richert L. Self, Executive Director, Port of Lake Charles:
Oral Statement................................................. 32
Prepared Statement............................................. 34
ASSESSING THE STATE OF AMERICA'S SEAPORTS
----------
Wednesday, January 19, 2022
U.S. House of Representatives,
Committee on Homeland Security,
Subcommittee on Border Security,
Facilitation, and Operations,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:07 p.m., via
Webex, Hon. Nanette Diaz Barragan [Chairwoman of the
subcommittee] presiding.
Present: Representatives Barragan, Correa, Green, Clarke,
Luria, Gottheimer, Higgins, Guest, Bishop, and Clyde.
Ms. Barragan. The Subcommittee on Border Security,
Facilitation, and Operations will come to order.
The purpose of today's hearing is to assess the state of
our Nation's seaports. Seaports are critical to the movement of
commerce and thus critical enablers of the U.S. economy,
especially as the country continues its fight against the
COVID-19 pandemic.
As the Chairwoman of the Border Security, Facilitation, and
Operations Subcommittee and the Member representing the Port of
Los Angeles, the largest container port in the Nation, I
understand how important it is that our seaports have the
resources they need in order to support the safe and timely
processing of trade and travel. I am encouraged that Secretary
Walsh and Secretary Buttigieg have traveled to the Port of Los
Angeles to see the challenges first-hand. The administration's
attention and investment in our seaports, including the Port of
Los Angeles, is critical to ensuring that goods coming through
the ports make it to their final destination without delay.
The Port of Los Angeles, like seaports across the Nation,
has continued operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic,
despite the dangers posed by the virus.
As people have shifted spending habits toward more consumer
goods, cargo levels have surged. This makes the issue of
staffing and protecting staff at our seaports from the virus
even more important. Our seaports have long been understaffed
by U.S. Customs and Border Protections Office of Field
Operations, which is the lead agency responsible for
facilitating trade and travel at ports of entry. This includes
our seaports, land ports, and airports. While the decline in
air travel and cruises during the pandemic initially allowed
CBP to redirect staff toward seaports to help with surging
cargo, travel volumes are now rising across all ports of entry.
In fact, some CBP officers from seaports are being detailed to
assist with rising travel at land ports of entry. Even with the
reduced and redirected staff, seaports were paying for
additional overtime and services through the Reimbursable
Services Program. As I expect we will hear from our witnesses,
this Band-Aid approach toward staffing is not sustainable.
We also need to ensure that CBP and our ports are taking
appropriate steps to protect the work force during this
pandemic. These front-line workers continue to facilitate trade
and travel despite the risk posed by the virus. They have this
committee's gratitude for their efforts. Seaports have also
struggled with infrastructure and technology challenges which
have hampered trade facilitation over the last year. For
example, at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach a lack of
storage space and increase in daily ships has contributed to
congestion at the port. Other smaller ports have also
experienced high wait times as CBP examination of high-risk
cargo has at times taken up to 3 weeks to complete.
Fortunately, those examinations have decreased to under 10 days
since their peak. However, concerns persist, particularly in
relation to cybersecurity. Cyber attacks against U.S. maritime
targets increased 400 percent in 2020. As cyber attacks
continue to become more dangerous, a successful cyber attack
against a major seaport could cripple trade and have
significant implications for the U.S. economy.
Now, in addition, appropriately resourcing our seaports
continues to be a challenge. We have heard concerns that CBP
has at times turned to seaports to fund upgrades to facilities
and new equipment. CBP has attempted to alleviate long-standing
challenges through programs like the Reimbursable Services
Program and the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism.
While these programs help meet short-term needs, we must and we
need to make sure we are addressing systematic challenges.
Seaports are also facing significant cyber threats and are
critical to the American economy. We must look toward fully
resourcing them as cargo volume shows no sign of decreasing as
the economy continues to reopen.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on what
assistance Congress and my subcommittee can offer to better
support and resource ports. I am also interested in hearing any
recommendations from our witnesses on changes that need to
happen to CBP's public-private partnership program.
[The statement of Chairwoman Barragan follows:]
Statement of Chairwoman Nanette Diaz Barragan
January 19, 2022
Seaports are key to the movement of commerce, and thus critical
enablers of the U.S. economy, especially as the country continues its
fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. As the Chairwoman of the Border
Security, Facilitation, and Operations Subcommittee, and the Member
representing the Port of Los Angeles--the largest container port in the
Nation, I understand how important it is that our seaports have the
resources they need in order to support the safe and timely processing
of trade and travel.
I am encouraged that Secretary Walsh and Secretary Buttigieg have
traveled to the Port of Los Angeles to see the challenges first-hand.
The administration's attention and investment in our seaports,
including the Port of Los Angeles, is critical to ensuring that goods
coming through the ports make their final destination without delay.
The Port of Los Angeles, like seaports across the Nation, has
continued operations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic despite the
dangers posed by the virus. As people have shifted spending habits
toward more consumer goods, cargo levels have surged. This makes the
issue of staffing, and protecting staff at our seaports from the virus,
even more important.
Our seaports have long been understaffed by U.S. Customs and Border
Protection's (CBP) Office of Field Operations, which is the lead agency
responsible for facilitating trade and travel at ports of entry. This
includes our seaports, land ports, and airports. While the decline in
air travel and cruises during the pandemic initially allowed CBP to
redirect staff toward seaports to help with surging cargo, travel
volumes are now rising across all ports of entry. In fact, some CBP
officers from seaports are being detailed to assist with rising travel
at land ports of entry. Even with the redirected staff, seaports were
paying for additional overtime and services through the Reimbursable
Services Program. As I expect we will hear from our witnesses, this
Band-Aid approach toward staffing is not sustainable.
We also need to ensure that CBP, and our ports, are taking
appropriate steps to protect the workforce during this pandemic. These
front-line workers continue to facilitate trade and travel despite the
risks posed by the virus, and they have this committee's gratitude for
their efforts. Seaports have also struggled with infrastructure and
technology challenges, which have hampered trade facilitation over the
last year. For example, at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, a
lack of storage space and increase in daily ships has contributed to
congestion at the port. Other, smaller ports have also experienced high
wait times as CBP examination of high-risk cargo has, at times, taken
up to 3 weeks to complete. Fortunately, those examinations have
decreased to under 10 days since their peak.
However, concerns persist--particularly in relation to
cybersecurity. Cyber attacks against U.S. maritime targets increased
400 percent in 2020, as cyber attacks continue to become more
dangerous. A successful cyber attack against a major seaport could
cripple trade and have significant implications for the U.S. economy.
In additions, appropriately resourcing our seaports continues to be a
challenge. We have heard concerns that CBP has, at times, turned to
seaports to fund upgrades to facilities and new equipment.
CBP has attempted to alleviate long-standing challenges through
programs like the Reimbursable Services Program and the Customs Trade
Partnership Against Terrorism (CTPAT). While these programs help meet
short-term needs, we need to make sure we are addressing systematic
challenges.
Seaports are also facing significant cyber threats, and are
critical to the American economy, and we must look at fully resourcing
them as cargo volume shows no signs of decreasing as the economy
continues to reopen.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today on what
assistance Congress and my subcommittee can offer to better support and
resource ports. I am also interested in hearing any recommendations
from the witnesses on changes needs to CBP's public-private partnership
programs.
Ms. Barragan. So now, as the Chair, I will recognize the
Ranking Member of the subcommittee, Mr. Higgins of Louisiana,
for an opening statement.
Mr. Higgins, are you on?
Mr. Higgins. I am, good lady, and thank you for the
technological advice.
I thank my friend, the Chairwoman, for holding this
important meeting today and I would also to thank our witnesses
for joining us, especially Director Self, Richert Self, from
the Port of Lake Charles in my district.
In today's global economy maritime trade is a critical
component of our Nation's daily life. Commerce, the future of
our Nation, depends upon maritime trade. As many across the
Nation have seen recently, disruptions in our Nation's ports
can have disastrous consequences to our Nation's supply chain
and in our daily lives. While the media and our Government have
focused heavily on the COVID-related disruptions at ports in
California and New York, there are ports from around the
Nation, such as the Port of Lake Charles, the twelfth-busiest
port in the country and the seventh-fastest growing seaport in
America, Lake Charles has faced natural disasters and COVID
head-on. The Port of Lake Charles relies on the Calcasieu Ship
Channel for access to the Gulf and its main cargo includes
petroleum, aluminum, forest products, steel, bulk grain, other
materials. It is an energy port and significant products move
through it for the betterment and survival of all America.
The Port of Lake Charles was severely impacted by the two
major hurricanes that his Southwest Louisiana last year. The
port and associated businesses suffered over $240 million worth
of damage between Hurricanes Laura and Delta and only weeks
apart. That is still being addressed today and the long-term
recovery is something my office greatly supports. But the
impact of natural disasters, combined with COVID and work force
shortages, they affect the lives of every American and we are
focused on that today in this hearing.
The primary issue faced by the Port of Lake Charles and my
district is the slow pace of Federal funding and approvals of
that funding from agencies like FEMA. It is an unnecessary
injury on top of injury. Ensuring our ports are fully
functional and operational from Lake Charles to Los Angeles is
key to our Nation's recovery. A healthy port system greatly
contributes to our National and economic security.
I look forward to hearing from all of our witnesses today
and I hope we in Congress can work together to solve many of
the challenges our Nation's seaports face.
I thank the Chairwoman and I yield.
[The statement of Ranking Member Higgins follows:]
Statement of Ranking Member Clay Higgins
Thank you, Chairwoman Barragan, for holding this important hearing
today. I would also like to thank our witnesses for joining us, and
especially to Director Richert Self from the Port of Lake Charles in my
district.
In today's global economy, maritime trade is a critical component
of our Nation's daily life, commerce, and future. As many across the
Nation have seen recently, disruptions at our Nation's ports can have
disastrous consequences to our Nation's supply chains and in our daily
lives.
While the media and our Government have focused heavily on the
COVID-related disruptions at ports in California and New York, there
are ports around the Nation, such as the port of Lake Charles, the
12th-busiest port district in the country and the seventh-fastest-
growing seaport in America, which has faced natural disasters and COVID
head-on. The Port of Lake Charles relies on the Calcasieu Ship Channel
for access to the Gulf, and its main cargo includes petroleum coke,
aluminum, forest products, steel, bulk grain, and other materials,
making it an energy port.
The Port of Lake Charles was severely impacted by the two major
hurricanes that hit the southwest Louisiana coast last year. The port
and associated businesses suffered over $240 million worth of damage
between Hurricanes Laura & Delta that is still being addressed today.
However, the primary issue faced by the port and my district, is the
slow pace of Federal funding approvals from agencies like FEMA.
Ensuring our ports are fully functional and operational from Lake
Charles to Los Angeles is key to our Nation's recovery. A healthy port
system greatly contributes to our National and economic security. I
look forward to hearing from all our witnesses today, and I hope we in
Congress can work together to solve many of the challenges our Nation's
seaports face.
Madam Chairwoman, I yield back.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Ranking Member. I want to thank
the Ranking Member for his opening statements.
Members are reminded that the subcommittee will operate
according to the guidelines laid out by the Chairman and
Ranking Member in their July 8 colloquy. The Chair is looking
to see if the full committee Chair, the gentleman from
Mississippi, Mr. Thompson, is on so I can recognize him for an
opening statement. Let me scroll through my various screens
here. I don't yet see him on. I don't think I see him here. OK.
So having not seen him on my screen, I will move on. I also
don't see the Ranking Member Katko. So I will also move on as
well.
Member statements may be submitted for the record.
[The statement of Chairman Thompson follows:]
Statement of Chairman Bennie G. Thompson
January 19, 2022
Our seaports are vitally important to trade and commerce, not only
here in the United States but around the globe. Over the course of the
COVID-19 pandemic, we have come to rely increasingly on our seaports.
Critical medical equipment and personal protective gear passed through
these ports, while consumers have shifted toward buying more goods and
fewer services. These trends, coupled with the threat of COVID-19--
especially for front-line workers who are unable to work from home--
pose serious challenges for our seaports.
Some of these challenges exacerbate long-standing issues--like
chronic understaffing. This staffing shortage hurts workforce morale,
while slowing trade and commerce and affecting seaport operations.
Some ports have attempted to mitigate staffing shortages, including
through the use of CBP's Reimbursable Services Program, or RSP. Through
RSP, ports can reimburse CBP for additional customs, immigration, or
agricultural services at ports of entry. However, this program is meant
to be a temporary solution for short-term needs--it should not become a
Band-Aid for systematic issues.
CBP also offers the voluntary Customs Trade Partnership Against
Terrorism (C-TPAT) program to the trade community. This program helps
expedite trade while securing the supply chain, benefiting CBP and
participants. However, there may be a need to expand and improve this
program.
I am also concerned about the cybersecurity of our seaports.
Ports around the world have been the victim of cyber attacks during
the pandemic--including Houston last summer. While the Port of Houston
was able to defend against that attack, attacks on the maritime and
logistics industry are increasing. A successful cyber attack on a major
seaport could have devastating implications. I understand that
witnesses here today have taken action to protect against this threat,
and I look forward to hearing their perspectives on how the Federal
Government can support these efforts.
I am also eager to hear from our witness today on their suggestion
for addressing the staffing, security, and congestion challenges facing
our seaports today amidst the pandemic, as well as into the future.
Ms. Barragan. With that--you know, they can join us later
on--I want take the opportunity to welcome our panel of our
witnesses. Mr. Christopher Connor is the president and chief
executive officer at the American Association of Port
Authorities. His Association is comprised of 78 public port
authorities along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf Coast, the
Great Lakes, and in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the
U.S. Virgin Islands.
Our next witness, Mr. Anthony Reardon, is the national
president of the National Treasury Employee Union. He
represents over 29,000 Customs and Border Protection Office of
Field Operations employees stationed at 320 air, sea, and land
ports of entry across the United States and 16 Preclearance
stations at airports abroad.
Mr. Gene Seroka is executive director at the Port of Los
Angeles. Mr. Seroka oversees the busiest seaport in the Western
Hemisphere and has over 33 years of maritime shipping
experience in the United States and abroad. I am proud to work
very closely with Gene. So I welcome Mr. Seroka with us.
I now want to recognize Congressman Luria to introduce our
witness from the Port of Virginia.
Ms. Luria. Well, thank you, Madam Chair and Ranking Member
for letting me join your subcommittee today. Although I am a
Member of the Homeland Security Committee, I am not formally on
the subcommittee. But I had to take the opportunity to join and
introduce Cathy Vick from the Port of Virginia. If you will
indulge me for just a second I can brag a little bit on the
Port of Virginia.
We are the third-largest port on the East Coast and had a
record year in 2021. So while some other ports across the
country faced some challenges, I think the port has some unique
attributes that allowed them to not only keep up with the
increased volume throughout the year--and hopefully Cathy will
be able to highlight some of those in her remarks--as well as
the great news today that we received from the bipartisan
infrastructure package, that the Port of Virginia has received
$70 million as well for our continuation of the Federal--
dredging project, which will bring us to be the deepest port on
the East Coast at 55 feet.
But without further ado, Cathy Vick is the chief
development and public affairs officer for the Virginia Port
Authority. She oversees economic development, government, and
community relations, sustainability, and environmental, and the
Maritime Incident Emergency Response Teams. She kind-of does it
all. You can't go to the port without seeing Cathy and seeing
her great work. So we are really excited to have her speaking
to the Homeland Security Committee today and bringing some
lessons and some recommendations from the Port of Virginia.
So thank you again and I yield back.
Ms. Barragan. Well, thank you, Rep Luria. It is great to be
able to have our Members come up here and introduce folks in
their districts and to brag about our ports. We all love to do
that.
With that, I now want to recognize Ranking Member Higgins
to introduce our witness from the Port of Lake Charles.
Mr. Higgins.
Mr. Higgins. I thank the Chairwoman.
I am proud to introduce to the committee one of Lake
Charles' finest citizens. Director Self currently serves as the
executive director of the Port of Lake Charles in Louisiana. He
has been with the port since 2003 as the director of
administration and finance. He was promoted to deputy executive
director in 2017 and was hired as the executive director in
2020. He is a native of Lake Charles. He holds a bachelors of
science in business from McNeese State University, a masters of
business administration from the University of New Orleans, and
he is a certified public accountant.
In 2016 Director Self was appointed to the Louisiana Board
of International Commerce by our Governor, John Bel Edwards.
The Louisiana Board of International Commerce serves as the
authority on behalf of the State to advance the Louisiana State
international commerce economic sector.
I am honored to host Director Self today and we look
forward to hearing his opening statement and his response to
some questions.
I yield Madam Chair.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Higgins, for that introduction
of your invited witness today.
Without objection, the witnesses' full statements will be
inserted in the record.
I now will ask each witness to summarize his or her
statement for 5 minutes, beginning with Mr. Connor.
STATEMENT OF CHRISTOPHER J. CONNOR, PRESIDENT AND CHIEF
EXECUTIVE OFFICER, AMERICAN ASSOCIATION OF PORT AUTHORITIES
Mr. Connor. Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins,
Members of the subcommittee, good afternoon.
I would like to thank to thank the Subcommittee on Border
Security, Facilitation, and Operations for your recognition of
the critical role seaports play in our National security and
the challenges they face, particularly as ports have dealt with
the unprecedented demands of the global pandemic.
In view of my already-submitted written testimony, and to
respect the time constraints and leave ample time for the
impressive group of panelists gathered here today, I will focus
my brief remarks on the three issues. No. 1, screening staff
shortages at CBP; No. 2, screening facility upgrades, and, No.
3, maritime security.
As a preamble to my remarks, it is important to note that
while ports have a vested interest in secured cargo and
passenger movement, it is the duty of the Federal Government to
fund and staff customs inspection facilities. The brave men and
women of our law enforcement agencies are vital partners in
port security. We are grateful to them for their commitment
throughout the challenges of this pandemic and we continue to
advocate that they have the resources they need to carry out
their missions.
Screen staff shortages. Even before the pandemic shortages
of CBP officers and agricultural specialists were a chronic
problem at seaports. CBP's own workplace staffing model shows a
deficit of 1,700 officers. As a result, ports are concerned
about processing capacity. During this crisis, some shippers
have looked to smaller ports as a relief valve of sorts and
these ports have reported difficulties getting officer coverage
when they need it most.
CBP has allowed ports to enter into reimbursable service
agreements to pay for officer overtime. This was intended to be
a temporary fix but is becoming the norm at more and more ports
around the country. Last year one medium-sized port in
California paid over $1 million in overtime out of a budget of
roughly $20 million. These overtime expenses represent a
significant portion of our ports' already tight budgets and
limit their ability to make long-term capital investments. We
ask Congress to fully staff CBP to ensure an effective work
force and efficient cargo movement.
With regard to screening facility upgrades, CBP also faces
funding shortages for the facilities and ports of entry. To
close that gap, CBP has in recent years turned to ports to pay
for major upgrades in new facilities. This represents an
attempt to shift the burden of financing their inspection
mission from the Federal Government onto ports. This is both
unsustainable and outside the authority of CBP. Our
Association's initial research into the legal basis for these
demands shows no statutory authority that allows CBP to require
non-Federal entities to contribute to their inspection mission.
In fact, over the years legislative changes, including
amendments to the Immigration and Naturalization Act, have
restricted the ability of CBP to push off the burden of
maintaining its minimal operational requirements. Other
authorities cited by CBP merely entitle them to the use of a
room, literally a floor, to conduct inspections. Over the years
this has been expanded to include office space, IT, recreation
areas and gyms, parking, gun lockers, kitchens, and more. These
demands are excessive and well beyond the original intention of
the Free Space Agreements.
The financial burden of these requirements also wreaks
havoc on port budgets. Seaports are public entities with
limited resources. Particularly at a time when we desperately
need infrastructure upgrades to ensure our country's long-term
competitiveness, adding these expenses hampers a port's ability
to make outlays for their future.
As mentioned, ports work in partnership with CBP and our
members rely on the courageous efforts of CBP officers to keep
our gateways safe, but ports are unable to bear the burden of
the financial demands. Congress must act to provide CBP with
the resources they need to effectively carry out their
important mission.
Finally, with regard to maritime security, the Port
Security Grant Program was created in the wake of 9/11 and is
the main method by which ports can make large-scale security
upgrades. In recent years funding for this program has fallen
sharply, even as threats have increased and taken on new forms.
We ask Congress to return the Port Security Grant Program to
its highest level and ensure that ports are the main recipient
of Port Security Grant funds.
In conclusion, I appreciate the opportunity to give you an
update on our country's ports and their security needs going
forward. While the past 2 years have presented unprecedented
challenges to the supply chain, we should all be proud that
U.S. ports have remained open and safe. The pandemic has shown
us where we have problems and where was can make improvements.
As we continue to recover, ports are looking forward to
continuing their roles as gateways to commerce and the first
lines of defense against potential threats.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Connor follows:]
Prepared Statement of Christopher J. Connor
January 19, 2022
Good afternoon, Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and
Members of the subcommittee.
My name is Chris Connor, and I am the president and CEO of the
American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). I would like to thank
the Subcommittee on Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations for
your recognition of the critical role seaports play in our National
security and the challenges they face, particularly as they dealt with
the unprecedented demands of a global pandemic. I appreciate the
opportunity to discuss our maritime transportation systems security
challenges and needs. I also appreciate the subcommittee's commitment
to holding this hearing and I think it demonstrates the critical role
seaports play in our economy and National security.
AAPA is the unified voice of the seaport industry in the Americas,
and my testimony is given on behalf of State and local public agencies
located along the Atlantic, Pacific, and Gulf coasts, the Great Lakes,
and in Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
For more than a century, AAPA membership has empowered port authorities
to serve global customers and create economic and social value for
their communities. Today, AAPA represents ports in our Nation's Capital
on urgent and pressing issues facing our industry, promotes the common
interests of the port community, and provides critical industry
leadership on security, trade, transportation, infrastructure,
environmental, and other issues related to port development and
operations.
AAPA's members remain committed to the continued safe and efficient
flow of freight and goods to markets across the Nation and across the
globe. As the title of this hearing suggests, I am here today to give
an update on the state of America's seaports, including the impacts
that the COVID-19 pandemic has had on seaport security and what our
industry needs to continue to facilitate the secure movement of vital
goods into and out of this country.
seaports are hubs of cargo and passenger activity
Ports are hubs of commerce. As such, a wide range of activities
converge on the port. Ships arrive and depart, cargo is loaded and off-
loaded, passengers embark and disembark, trains and trucks move goods
around the port and to and from destinations outside. All these
elements must work together, or our supply chain will falter, putting
millions of jobs and trillions of dollars of economic activity at risk.
Because of this, ports are natural targets for those who wish to
disrupt our way of life.
Over the past 2 years, as people shifted their spending from travel
and dining out to ecommerce, the importance of a well-functioning
supply chain was made even more evident. Between an explosion in
Lebanon, a ship stuck in the Suez Canal, and cargo congestion here at
home, the maritime transportation system has been in the news
frequently and the world has seen the consequences of a breakdown in
that system. The global pandemic not only highlighted the importance of
our supply chain, but it also exposed the vulnerabilities and
exacerbated existing problems. I am proud to say, however, that
throughout the pandemic America's seaports never closed and today they
are moving more cargo than ever before. As we grapple with new, fast-
spreading variants, we must continue to prioritize critical
infrastructure--like ports--to make sure that issues like testing
shortages don't impact our ability to move goods.
As waterborne trade continues to grow, ports are eager to make the
necessary upgrades to their facilities to alleviate some of our current
challenges and make investments in the future. While traditional
infrastructure is dominating the headlines, the importance of improving
security at our maritime gateways must also be a focus of this
Congress.
It is important to note that while ports have a vested interest in
secure cargo and passenger movement, it is the duty of the Federal
Government to fund and staff customs inspection facilities. The brave
men and women of our law enforcement agencies are vital partners in
port security. We are grateful to them for their commitment throughout
the challenges of this pandemic and we continue to advocate that they
have the resources they need to carry out their missions.
screening staff shortages
Even before the pandemic, shortages of Customs and Border (CBP)
officers and agriculture specialists was a chronic problem at seaports
of entry. CBP's own Workplace Staffing Model shows a deficit of 1,700
officers. This deficit can have a significant impact on processing
times, adding an additional bottleneck to already overloaded ports, and
limiting our ability to keep up with long-term growth in trade and
travel.
As with everything else, the pandemic added another layer of
complexity to cargo screening. Social distancing rules meant that only
a limited number of officers could work in each processing facility at
one time while quarantine protocols restricted swaths of officers from
working if they had been exposed to the virus. CBP was also not immune
from the pandemic's deadly effects and, tragically, over 30 CBP
officers lost their lives.
To help alleviate some of the screening congestion, officers were
reassigned from cruise and airport screenings but with the resumption
of cruising and foreign travel, coupled with increased levels of trade,
we are concerned about processing capacity. With our major gateway
ports full, shippers have looked to smaller ports as a ``relief valve''
of sorts. These ports have reported difficulties getting officer
coverage when they need it most.
CBP also allowed ports to enter into reimbursable services
agreements to pay for officer overtime. This was intended to be a
temporary fix but is becoming the norm at more and more ports around
the country. Last year one medium-sized port in California paid over $1
million for overtime out of a budget of roughly $20 million. These
overtime expenses represent a significant portion of our ports' already
tight budgets and limit their ability to make long-term capital
investments. This also puts a strain on CBP officers. As you can
imagine, consistently working 12-16-hour shifts leads to fatigue and
increases in human error which leave our ports of entry more exposed to
bad actors.
We ask Congress to fully staff CBP to ensure an effective workforce
and efficient cargo movement.
screening facilities upgrades
CBP also faces funding shortages for their facilities at ports of
entry. To close that gap in recent years, CBP has turned to ports to
pay for major upgrades and new facilities. This represents an attempt
to shift the burden of financing their inspection mission from the
Federal Government onto ports. This is both unsustainable and outside
the authority of CBP.
One of this Government's original functions was to collect customs
duties on imported goods. For hundreds of years, the Federal Government
paid for the facilities and resources required to carry out that
function. In the last few years, however, local CBP offices have come
to ports with demands for upgrades. These demands are often coupled
with threats to slow down cargo processing or disallow the opening of
new terminals.
Our association's initial research into the legal basis for these
demands shows no statutory authority that allows CBP to require non-
Federal entities to contribute to their inspection mission. In fact,
over the years, legislative changes--including amendments to the
Immigration and Naturalization Act--have restricted the ability of CBP
to push off the burden of maintaining its minimum operational
requirements. Other authorities cited by CBP merely entitle them to the
use of a room--literally a floor--to conduct inspections. Over the
ensuing years this has been expanded to include office space, IT,
recreation areas and gyms, parking, gun lockers, kitchens, and more.
These demands are excessive and well beyond the original intention of
the free space agreements.
The financial burden of these requirements would also wreak havoc
on port budgets. Seaports are public entities with limited resources.
Particularly at a time when we desperately need infrastructure upgrades
to ensure our country's long-term competitiveness, adding these
expenses would hamper ports' ability to make outlays for their future.
Ports feel that they have little recourse to remedy this problem
without jeopardizing their operations. Our members have worked in good
faith with their local CBP offices as well as CBP headquarters to
address concerns, but CBP is unwilling or unable to make concessions.
As mentioned, ports work in partnership with CBP, and our members
rely on the courageous efforts of CBP officers to keep our gateways
safe. But ports are unable to bear the burden of their demands.
Congress must act to provide CBP with the resources they need to
effectively carry out their important mission.
maritime cybersecurity
Another vulnerability compounded during the pandemic has been
maritime cybersecurity. Cyber attacks against maritime targets in the
United States has increased a staggering 400 percent over the past
year. As port staff shifted to working from their home networks, and
cargo backups and a stalled cruise industry meant that ship systems
remained on port networks for much longer than usual, opportunities
grew. At the same time, our country relied even more heavily on the
maritime supply and crippling strikes laid bare the efficacy of
attacking critical infrastructure, providing even greater incentives to
bad actors.
The pandemic revealed what was already a growing problem. The 4
largest shipping companies in the world have been hit by ransomware in
the last 4 years. Through the proliferation of the industrial internet
of things, more and more ship and port systems are connected to each
other or the internet. A critical attack on any of these systems could
have devastating economic consequences or even lead to the loss of
life. The maritime transportation system needs resources to harden
their IT systems to prevent attacks and to respond appropriately when
an attack does occur.
The Port Security Grant Program (PSGP) is the main method by which
ports and related groups can make large-scale security upgrades. PSGP
was created shortly after 9/11 as Congress realized that ports--as
critical infrastructure--were vulnerable to threats. In the ensuing
years, PSGP funding has dwindled to a fourth of its highest
appropriated amount and much of that funding does not go to public port
authorities, as originally intended. While the nature of threats has
changed since 2001 the magnitude of those threats has not. We ask
Congress to return PSGP to its highest level and ensure that ports are
the main recipient of PSGP awards.
conclusion
I appreciate the opportunity to give you an update on our country's
ports and their security needs going forward. While the past 2 years
have presented unprecedented challenges to the supply chain, we should
all be proud that U.S. ports have remained open and safe. The pandemic
has shown us where we have problems and where we can make improvements.
As we continue to recover, ports are looking forward to continuing
their roles as gateways to commerce and the first lines of defense
against potential threats.
Investments in our law enforcement agencies and our security
infrastructure will allow us to keep the country safe while expanding
global trade and protect our ports against new and evolving hazards.
Once again, I thank the Members of the subcommittee for this
opportunity to share our industry's thoughts and concerns. I hope you
will consider the information presented here and that you will call on
me if I can be of any assistance to the subcommittee.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Connor, for your testimony.
I now recognize Mr. Reardon to summarize your statement for
5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF ANTHONY M. REARDON, NATIONAL PRESIDENT, NATIONAL
TREASURY EMPLOYEES UNION
Mr. Reardon. Thank you, Chairwoman Barragan, and Ranking
Member Higgins. Members of the subcommittee, I thank you for
the opportunity to testify on behalf of over 29,000 front-line
CBP officers, agricultural specialists, trade enforcement
specialists, and support staff at our Nation's 328 air, sea,
and land ports of entry and at Preclearance operations
overseas.
These employees ensure the efficient processing of
legitimate trade and travel and stop illicit trafficking of
people, drugs, weapons, and money. Improving security, trade,
and travel and ensuring the safest possible working environment
for CBP personnel at all ports of entry are of paramount
importance to our members, especially during the recent COVID-
19 crisis. To date, the CBP front-line work force has had over
13,000 confirmed COVID-19 cases according to CBP-wide figures,
and 59 line-of-duty deaths due to the virus. NTEU mourns these
losses with family and friends of these workers and greatly
appreciates their service to our country.
The international ports of entry are an economic driver of
the U.S. economy, contributing $74 billion in revenue in 2020.
In addition, CBP officers' drug interdiction success is
indisputable, with seizure of fentanyl at the ports of entry up
over 300 percent. Another example is in 2019 CBP seized 17 tons
of cocaine with a street value of over $1 billion from a cargo
ship at the Philadelphia seaport. However, there is no greater
roadblock to the Nation's economic and border security than the
lack of sufficient CBP staff at the ports. Unfortunately, as I
have testified in the past, the ports of entry continue to be
chronically understaffed. Despite the decrease in international
trade and travel volume, primarily at air and land ports due to
the pandemic, according to CBP's own staffing models, there
continues to be a staffing shortage of 900 CBP officers, 200
CBP agriculture specialists, and 200 CBP non-uniformed trade
specialists.
The pandemic has affected trade volume at the seaports to a
much lesser effect as water-borne vessels continue to be the
leading mode of transportation for international freight. For
example, despite the pandemic, in 2020 there was a 6 percent
increase in activity at the L.A. and Long Beach seaports that
has been felt by CBP personnel. And the significant increase of
container vessels and the L.A. and Long Beach seaports, and
other major seaports, as the world has begun to reopen, can be
seen at the docks and sitting out in the water as container
vessels wait to enter commerce.
The average 2019 dwell time of container vessels at the top
25 U.S. container ports was estimated at 28.2 hours, up from
27.3 hours in 2018. This was before the full effect of the
pandemic impacted seaport operations. While neither DHS nor the
transportation department tracked how CBP OFO staffing
allocations and CBP officer staffing shortages affect vessel
dwell time at the Nation's seaports, NTEU believes it does have
a negative effect.
In 2021, understaffed Southwest Border land ports
necessitated the deployment of up to 850 CBP OFO employees from
airports and seaports to temporary duty assignments to those
ports. The lifting of the nonessential travel ban has been at
the Northern and Southwest Border ports last November has
further exacerbated CBP port staffing shortages.
Now, there is an additional pandemic-related issue that I
want to mention that threatens to disrupt our economic
recovery. The reduction in user fees collected due to the
drastic drop in international commercial travel, and to a
lesser extent, trade volume since March 2020. These user fees
fund 40 percent of CBP personnel budgeted at the port,
including 8,000 CBP officer positions. That is roughly one-
third of the entire CBP work force at the ports of entry. To
address the on-going issue Congress has provided appropriated
dollars to bridge these user fee shortfalls in the CR and
appropriators have assured NTEU that the final fiscal year 2022
deal will continue this funding. If Congress is unable to come
to a final deal and there is a full year CR, NTEU urges
Congress to ensure that there is no disruption of this funding
and furloughs will continue to be avoided. It is vital that
Congress continue to authorize and fund additional staffing to
ensure CBP employees at the ports of entry can continue to
succeed in their important work.
I thank you and I am happy to answer any questions you may
have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Reardon follows:]
Prepared Statement of Anthony M. Reardon
January 19, 2022
Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and distinguished
Members of the subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to testify
before you today. As national president of the National Treasury
Employees Union (NTEU), I have the honor of leading a union that
represents over 29,000 Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Office of
Field Operations (OFO) employees, including CBP officers, agriculture
specialists, trade enforcement personnel, and support staff stationed
at the 328 air, sea, and land ports of entry across the United States
(U.S.) and 16 Preclearance stations at airports in Ireland, the
Caribbean, Canada, and the United Arab Emirates.
CBP OFO employees are responsible for border security at U.S. ports
of entry, including anti-terrorism, immigration, anti-smuggling, trade
compliance, and agriculture protection. CBP's OFO pursues a dual
mission of safeguarding American ports by protecting the public from
dangerous people and materials, while enhancing the Nation's global and
economic competitiveness by enabling legitimate trade and travel. In
addition to CBP's trade and travel security, processing, and
facilitation missions, CBP OFO employees at the ports of entry are the
second-largest source of revenue collection for the U.S. Government. In
2020, CBP processed more than $2.4 trillion in total import value of
goods and collected approximately $74 billion in customs duties and
fees.
As with every workplace, the COVID-19 pandemic remains one of the
most significant on-going challenges facing CBP employees at the ports
of entry. The pursuit of the safest possible working environment for
CBP employees at all ports of entry, trade, enterprise services and
operations support facilities has been NTEU's paramount concern during
the COVID-19 crisis. Throughout the pandemic, many international air,
sea, and land ports of entry remained open and staffed by CBP OFO
employees 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days of the year.
Despite best efforts to protect essential front-line CBP employees,
over 13,000 CBP employees have tested positive for COVID-19 and
tragically at least 59 CBP employees have died as a result of the
virus.
I want to take a moment to honor the NTEU CBP members by name: CBPO
Genaro Guerrero--San Ysidro, CBPO Crispin San Jose--Cross Border
Xpress, CBP Technician Van Dong and CBPO Monica Riola--Los Angeles
International Airport, CBPO Alfonso Murrieta--Tucson International
Airport, CBPO Richard McCoy--Fort Lauderdale/Port Everglades Port of
Entry, CBPO Richard Rios--Area Port of Ysleta Commercial Facility,
CBPOs Troy Adkins, Rodolfo Morales, Jr., and Richard Rios--Port of El
Paso, CBPO Jose Santana--Laredo Port of Entry, CBPO Roel De La Fuente--
Port of Hidalgo, CBPO Domingo Jasso--Progreso Port of Entry, CBPO
Carlos Mendoza--Pharr Cargo Facility, CBP Agriculture Specialist Juan
Ollervidez--Hidalgo Port of Entry, CBP Field Technology Officer James
Taylor--JFK International Airport, CBPO Omar Palmer--JFK International
Airport, CBPO Ching Kok (C.K.) Yan--JFK International Airport, CBPO
Andrew Bouchard--Houston Seaport, CBPO Cesar Sibonga--Kenneth G. Ward
Port of Entry, CBPO Lucas Saucedo--Eagle Pass Port of Entry, CBPOs
Yokemia Conyers, David Saavadra, Eric J. Skelton, and CBP Technician
Francisco Tomas--Miami Port of Entry, CBPO Bruce Eckhoff--Port of San
Francisco/Oakland, CBPO Victor Donate--Atlanta Airport, and CBPO Brian
Vogel--Port of Sault Ste. Marie.
I am happy to report that since the vaccine became available to
essential Federal employees, NTEU has worked with CBP to encourage and
assist our members in getting the vaccine. According to our most recent
briefing, nearly 90 percent of CBP OFO employees are fully vaccinated
as required by the mandate. We all understand Federal workers' anxiety
about their own and their family's safety during this pandemic as they
work to keep our country safe. NTEU continues to call for all those
coming through the ports of entry to be vaccinated. As leaders, it is
important that we continue to do everything we can to mitigate the
risks they face, and we need to encourage them to do so on an
individual basis, for their own safety as well as the safety of their
coworkers and families.
NTEU strongly supports hazard pay for front-line Federal employees.
In addition to pushing for hazard pay in earlier COVID relief bills,
NTEU supports the Hazardous Duty Pay for Frontline Federal Workers Act
(H.R. 2744), introduced by Representative Donald Payne (D-NJ), which
would temporarily provide hazard pay for employees who are exposed to
an individual who has (or has been exposed to) COVID-19. We have also
been working with Members of Congress to craft legislation to provide
hazard pay specifically for CBP employees. It is hoped that this bill,
which should be retroactive, will be introduced early this year.
Along with ensuring protection from the pandemic, the most
important resource that Congress needs to provide for the successful
reopening of the economic driver that is our international ports of
entry, including seaports, is funding to address on-going CBP OFO port
staffing shortages.
CBP Staffing at the Ports of Entry.--For years, NTEU has advocated
for the hiring of thousands of new CBP officers and hundreds of new
agriculture specialists and non-uniformed trade operations personnel
that are needed based on the agency's own Workload Staffing Model
(WSM), Agriculture Resource Allocation Model (AgRAM) and Resource
Optimization Model for Trade Revenue (Trade ROM).
Pursuant to these models, the final fiscal year 2020 funding
agreement provided $104 million to fund the hiring of 800 new OFO
positions, including 610 CBP officer and CBP agriculture specialist new
hires. Unfortunately, Congress did not continue to fund to the models
in fiscal year 2021. While House Appropriators approved $171 million
for 1,150 new CBP OFO positions including $91 million for 850 CBP
officers, $10 million for 100 support personnel and $30 million for 200
agriculture specialists, the final fiscal year 2021 funding agreement
did not include any funding to increase staffing for CBP OFO.
CBP's staffing models are dynamic and reflect the impact of the
pandemic on CBP OFO staffing needs. Despite the decrease in
international trade and travel in the past year due to the pandemic,
CBP's most recent staffing models show a staffing gap of over 900 CBP
officers, 214 agriculture specialists, and 200 non-uniformed trade
specialists. However, there has been no additional funding provided for
needed CBP new hires at the ports of entry since fiscal year 2020.
Staffing shortages have been exacerbated by the lifting of the travel
ban on November 8, 2020, ending more than 18 months of restrictions,
allowing in non-essential tourists who had proof of their coronavirus
vaccination and proper documentation to legally enter the United
States.
To address the OFO staffing gap, NTEU has requested that House and
Senate Appropriators include funding for CBP OFO new hires up to levels
required by the CBP's dynamic workplace staffing models for CBP
officers, agriculture specialists and trade specialists in their fiscal
year 2022 DHS appropriations bills. NTEU is asking Appropriators to
provide at minimum $160 million in direct appropriated funding for CBP
``Operations and Support'' in fiscal year 2022 to fund the hiring of at
least 800 CBP officers, 200 CBP agriculture specialists, 200 CBP
agriculture technicians, 20 agriculture canine teams and 50 non-
uniformed trade enforcement specialists and associated operational
support personnel.
To further support this staffing request, NTEU joined a coalition
of 22 port stakeholders, including the American Association of Port
Authorities, Airports Council International--North America, and the
U.S. Travel Association on a letter dated November 15, 2021, to the
House and Senate Appropriations Committee urging funding for new
officers as the agency prepares for an influx of passengers and cargo
at the ports-of-entry once the Omicron surge subsides. (See exhibit A.)
As the letter states, ensuring CBP staffing is an economic driver for
the U.S. economy and an additional 800 CBP officers would not only
reduce wait times at ports of entry, but also provide new economic
opportunities across the United States. ``While the volume of commerce
crossing our borders has more than tripled in the past 25 years, CBP
staffing has not kept pace with demand'' the coalition wrote. ``Long
wait times at our ports-of-entry lead to travel delays and uncertainty,
which can increase supply chain costs and cause passengers to miss
their connections. According to the U.S. Department of Commerce, border
delays result in losses to output, wages, jobs, and tax revenue due to
decreases in spending by companies, suppliers, and consumers.''
CBP OFO Staffing at the Seaports.--Due to the pandemic, supply
chain and private-sector seaport staffing issues have overwhelmed U.S.
seaports. There are several witnesses testifying today that will speak
to these issues. NTEU is here today to outline staffing concerns of
NTEU CBP members at the seaports. According to the Port Performance
Freight Statistics Program's 2020 Annual Report to Congress, which was
released on January 15, 2021, waterborne vessels are the leading
transportation mode for international freight, moving 41 percent of
freight value in 2019--over $1.7 trillion. Nearly $1.1 trillion of this
amount was containerized, which is the primary means for moving
intermodal cargo. Of the top 25 U.S. international freight gateways
(airports, land border crossings, and maritime ports) by value, 10 were
maritime ports, including the Ports of New York and New Jersey, Los
Angeles, Long Beach, Houston, Savannah, Virginia, Charleston,
Baltimore, Oakland, and Tacoma. Ports are measured by: (1) Overall
cargo tonnage, (2) dry bulk cargo tonnage, or (3) by 20-foot equivalent
unit (TEU) of containerized cargo.
In 2019, the top 25 tonnage ports handled a total of 1.82 billion
tons of cargo, accounting for 77 percent of the total tons in 2019. The
highest tonnage figures are associated with ports like the Ports of
Houston and South Louisiana which handle large quantities of both
liquid bulk cargo (e.g., petroleum or chemicals) and dry bulk cargo
(e.g., coal or grain). The top 25 dry bulk ports handled a total of
667.7 million tons of cargo in 2019, accounting for 28 percent of the
total tons in 2019. The Port of South Louisiana remained in the top
spot and handled by far the greatest volume of dry bulk cargo.
The highest TEU volumes are associated with coastal container
ports, such as the Ports of Long Beach, Los Angeles, and New York and
New Jersey. The Port of Los Angeles facilitated $259 billion in trade
during 2020 and is North America's leading seaport by container volume
and cargo value. The 10 U.S. ports with the most container activity
account for 80 percent of all U.S. container port activity. New data
shows that the Port of Long Beach had a 6 percent increase in activity
in 2020 as compared with 2019.
Nationally, container and tanker vessel dwell times were stable in
2019, with little variation from 2018. The average 2019 dwell time of
container vessels at the top 25 U.S. container ports was estimated at
28.2 hours, up from 27.3 hours in 2018. In 2020 and 2021, Vessel dwell
times have been severely impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Unfortunately, the Department of Transportation does not track how CBP
OFO staffing allocations at the ports of entry and CBP officer staffing
shortages impact vessel dwell times at the Nation's seaports.
NTEU leaders at the Los Angeles/Long Beach (LA/LB) seaports note
that the CBP workforce there felt that 6 percent increase in activity
in 2020. In addition, there has been significant increase of container
vessels at the LA/LB Seaports as the world has begun to re-open that
can be seen sitting at the docks and out in the water as container
vessels wait to enter the port. Multiple news reports (both National
and local), comment about the backlog of cargo. At LA/LB, Fines
Penalties and Forfeitures continue to be short-staffed while the volume
of trade operations work keeps growing. Seized Property is experiencing
the same problem. These CBP staffing shortages at the seaports will
only be further exacerbated as cruise lines resume full operations when
pandemic-related travel restrictions ease.
In addition to CBP OFO staffing shortages, CBP vehicle shortages
are a problem at the LA/LB, Norfolk and other seaports, requiring 3 to
4 CBO officers to share a vehicle as they work. This number of CBP
officers in one vehicle is of particular concern during the pandemic,
but the lack of official vehicles for CBP employees to do their job has
been an on-going problem. CBP employees are also requesting larger
vehicles to accommodate the equipment they are required to carry to get
the job done. There is also a shortage of laptops available for use,
especially by trade enforcement employees at the ports' Centers for
Excellence and Expertise.
Temporary Duty Assignments.--Acknowledging the on-going CBP officer
staffing shortage at the ports, CBP again has found it necessary to
solicit CBP officers for temporary duty assignment (TDY) to San Ysidro,
Otay Mesa, and Calexico land ports of entry, which began in May and ran
through the fourth quarter of 2021. According to CBP, the TDY was
necessary to support the workload and operational challenges facing the
San Diego Field Office, such as wait times in excess of 4 hours. These
TDYs were filled by CBP officers currently assigned to air and seaport
locations, further exacerbating any staffing issues at seaports.
To end the need for TDYs, it is up to Congress to address the on-
going port staffing deficit by authorizing and funding CBP OFO new
hires in fiscal year 2022 and subsequent years until the staffing gap
identified in the workload staffing models are met. Without addressing
the on-going CBP officer staffing shortages, allocating adequate
staffing at all ports will remain a challenge.
Unfortunately, the fiscal year 2022 President's DHS budget request
is essentially flat and includes no increase in funding for CBP OFO new
hires. NTEU greatly appreciates the President for providing a pay raise
for Federal employees for 2022 and for including in his budget request
new CBP funding to address the annualization of the 2021 and 2022 pay
raises, the associated FERS contribution increase and funding for
certain port modernization projects. The House Appropriations Committee
approved its fiscal year 2022 Homeland Security funding bill in mid-
June, but that bill has no funding for CBP OFO new hires. As you know,
Congress has been unable to complete action on fiscal year 2022
appropriations and Federal agencies are operating under a Continuing
Resolution through February 18, 2022.
Last Congress, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental
Affairs Committee favorably reported out S. 1004, the Safeguarding
American Ports Act, stand-alone legislation that would authorize the
hiring of 600 additional CBP officers annually until the staffing gaps
in CBP's WSM is met. NTEU strongly supports the introduction of this
stand-alone CBP officer staffing authorization bill in both the House
and Senate this Congress.
CBP Agriculture Specialist Staffing.--Currently, there is a
shortage of approximately 214 agriculture specialists Nation-wide
according to CBP's own data-driven and vetted Workload Staffing Model.
Last year, Congress approved Pub. L. 116-122, the Protecting America's
Food and Agriculture Act of 2019. The new law authorizes CBP to hire
240 CBP agriculture specialists, 200 CBP agriculture technicians and 20
agriculture canine teams per year until the staffing shortage that
threatens the U.S. agriculture sector is met. NTEU's appropriations
request includes funding to hire the first wave of CBP agriculture
quarantine inspection (AQI) personnel authorized by the newly-enacted
statute.
For example, there is an on-going CBP agriculture specialist
staffing shortage at Port Hueneme that predates the pandemic. CBP
continues to try to fill agriculture specialist positions at both Port
Hueneme and at the LA/LB Seaports, but there is a shortage of this
position Nation-wide. CBP agriculture specialists and officers without
AQI training are being sent from LA/LB to help Port Hueneme leaving
those ports short-staffed. NTEU leaders at the Port of Norfolk also
report an on-going shortage of agriculture specialists.
CBP Trade Operations Staffing.--In addition to safeguarding our
Nation's borders and ports, CBP is tasked with regulating and
facilitating international trade. CBP employees at the ports of entry
are critical for protecting our Nation's economic growth and security
and are the second-largest source of revenue collection for the U.S.
Government--$74 billion in 2020. For every dollar invested in CBP trade
personnel, $87 is returned to the U.S. economy, either through lowering
the costs of trade, ensuring a level playing field for domestic
industry or protecting innovative intellectual property. Since CBP was
established in March 2003, however, there has been no increase in non-
uniformed CBP trade enforcement and compliance personnel. Additionally,
CBP trade operations staffing has fallen below the statutory floor set
forth in the Homeland Security Act of 2002 and stipulated in the fiscal
year 2019 CBP Trade ROM. To maintain CBP's trade enforcement mission,
NTEU requests that Congress provides funding in fiscal year 2022 for 50
additional CBP non-uniformed trade personnel.
User Fee Shortfalls.--One of the most critical pandemic-related
issues facing CBP OFO is the reduction of user fee funding that is
threatening the Nation's economic recovery as international trade and
travel struggles to return to normal. This funding shortfall is a
result of the reduction in customs and immigration user fees collected
due to the drastic drop in international commercial travel, and to a
lesser extent, trade volume since March 2020.
As you know, CBP collects fees under the Consolidated Omnibus
Budget Reconciliation Act of 1985 (COBRA) and immigration inspection
user fees to recover certain costs incurred for processing air and sea
passengers and various private and commercial land, sea, air, and rail
carriers and shipments. The source of these user fees are commercial
vessels, commercial vehicles, rail cars, private aircraft, private
vessels, air passengers, sea passengers, cruise vessel passengers,
dutiable mail, customs brokers, and barge/bulk carriers. International
air travel contributes 94 percent of COBRA and immigration user fees.
COBRA and immigration user fees together fund 40 percent of CBP's OFO
budget, including 8,000 CBPO positions. That is roughly one-third of
the entire CBP workforce at the ports of entry. Agriculture Quality
Inspection (AQI) user fees currently fund up to 2,400 agriculture
specialists, currently 100 percent of the CBP agriculture specialists
workforce.
Due to the pandemic's continued disruption of fee-generating
international travel and commerce, user fee collections have fallen
precipitously which has necessitated the need for emergency funding to
prevent furloughing CBP OFO personnel at a time when international
trade and travel volume is beginning to return to pre-pandemic levels.
To address the user fee shortfall, we were pleased that Congress
provided $840 million in fiscal year 2021 emergency appropriations to
maintain current staffing of CBP officers. Projected CBP trade and
travel volume data shows an estimated user fee shortfall of up to $1.4
billion through the first quarter of fiscal year 2022.
To address the on-going user fee shortfall, Congress has provided
appropriated dollars to bridge this shortfall in the Continuing
Resolution and has given NTEU assurances that the final fiscal year
2022 deal will continue this funding. In the case that Congress is
unable to come to a final deal and there is a full-year CR, NTEU is
working to ensure that there is no disruption of this funding and
furloughs will continue to be avoided. Congress also provided up to
$635 million through the end of fiscal year 2022 in supplemental
funding to USDA to cover the user funding shortfall that funds CBP
agriculture specialists staffing.
U.S. businesses rely on the safe and efficient movement of goods
and people across our borders and are all working to safely resume
international travel and travel. Keeping current CBP officer staffing
levels will be necessary to successfully transition into a more robust,
safe, and delay-free travel environment and improve cargo movement.
Losing the hiring and staffing advances that CBP finally started to
gain after years of effort and much appreciated funding support by
Congress will negatively impact cross-border travel, passenger
processing, and trade facilitation in future years as the economy
returns to normal.
The critical issues that American businesses are facing to recover
from this pandemic require quick, decisive action so that our
Government can best facilitate the flow of travel and trade as the
economy recovers. Without Congress again providing supplemental funding
or reprogramming existing funds to support these CBP officers between
now and the end of fiscal year 2022, we are gravely concerned that this
loss of user fee funding will result in furloughs at a time when this
workforce is most needed to facilitate the flow of legitimate travel
and trade as the economy recovers.
NTEU requests that the committee seek from appropriators either
through reprogramming, a supplemental funding bill, or in its final
fiscal year 2022 DHS appropriations bill, funding to replace user fee
shortfalls for CBP OFO salaries and expenses and to mitigate dependence
on user fees to fund salaries and expenses of CBP OFO personnel. This
CBP OFO funding request will help to ensure that current CBP officer
staffing levels are maintained as trade and traffic volumes increase.
NTEU implores you to seek additional funding now so that CBP officers
can stay on the job during the economic recovery. CBP employees at the
ports of entry already face many challenges in the course of their work
and concerns about their health and safety or of being furloughed as
the country reopens for business should not be among them.
NTEU also strongly opposes any diversion of COBRA user fees. Any
increases to the user fee account should be properly used for much-
needed CBP staffing and not diverted to unrelated projects. In 2015,
the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act indexed COBRA
user fees to inflation. However, the Act diverted this increase in the
user fee from CBP to pay for unrelated infrastructure projects.
Indexing the COBRA user fee to inflation is projected to raise $1.4
billion over 10 years--a potential $140 million per year funding stream
to help pay for the hiring of additional CBP officers to perform CBP's
border security, law enforcement, and trade and travel facilitation
missions. Diverting these funds has resulted in CBP not receiving this
user fee funding to hire over 900 new CBP officers per year since the
FAST Act went into effect. These new hires would have significantly
alleviated the current CBP officer staffing shortage.
CBP Officer Overtime.--Prior to the pandemic, on-going staffing
shortages resulted in CBP officers being required to work excessive
overtime hours to maintain basic port staffing. CBP officer overtime
pay is entirely funded through user fees and is statutorily capped at
$45,000 per year. All CBP officers are aware that overtime assignments
are an aspect of their jobs. However, long periods of overtime hours
can severely disrupt an officer's family life, morale, and ultimately
their job performance protecting our Nation. CBP officers can be
required to regularly work overtime hours and many individual officers
have hit the overtime cap very early in the fiscal year. This leaves no
overtime funding available for peak season travel, resulting in
critical staffing shortages in the third and fourth quarter that
coincides with holiday travel at the ports.
To address this issue prior to the pandemic, CBP granted overtime
cap exemptions to over one-half of the workforce to allow managers to
assign overtime to officers that have already reached the statutory
overtime cap, but cap waivers only force CBP officers already working
long daily shifts to continue working these shifts for more days. As
the trade and travel volume recovers, CBP officers may once again be
required to come in hours before their regular shifts, to stay an
indeterminate number of hours after their shifts (on the same day) and
compelled to come in for more overtime hours on their regular days off.
Involuntary overtime resulting in 12- to 16-hour shifts, day after day,
for months on end significantly disrupts CBP officers' family life and
erodes morale. As NTEU has repeatedly stated, extensive overtime is not
a long-term solution for staffing shortages at the ports and we need
Congress' support to end this practice by funding OFO new hires as
international trade and travel volume continues to rally.
Reimbursable Service Program.--In order to find alternative sources
of funding to address serious staffing shortages, CBP received
authorization for and has entered into Reimbursable Service Agreements
(RSAs) with the private sector, as well as with State and local
governmental entities. These stakeholders, who are already paying COBRA
and immigration user fees for CBP OFO employee positions and overtime,
reimburse CBP for additional inspection services, including overtime
pay and the hiring of new CBP officer and agriculture specialist
personnel that in the past have been paid for entirely by user fees or
appropriated funding. Since the program began in 2013, CBP has entered
into agreements with over 236 stakeholders providing more than 793,000
additional processing hours for incoming commercial and cargo traffic
(see GAO-20-255R and GAO-21-234R).
NTEU believes that the RSA program is a Band-Aid approach and
cannot replace the need for Congress to either appropriate new funding
or authorize an increase in customs and immigration user fees to
adequately address CBP staffing needs at the ports. RSAs simply cannot
replace the need for an increase in CBP appropriated or user fee
funding--and they make CBP a ``pay to play'' agency. NTEU also remains
concerned with CBP's new Preclearance expansion program that also
relies heavily on ``pay to play.'' Further, NTEU believes that the use
of RSAs to fund CBP staffing shortages raises significant equity issues
between larger and/or wealthier ports and smaller ports.
Illegal Narcotics Interdiction.--CBP OFO is the premier DHS
component tasked with stemming the Nation's opioid epidemic--a crisis
that continues to get worse. On a typical day, the agency makes over
900 arrests and seizes more than 9,000 pounds of illegal drugs.
According to a May 2018 report released by the Senate Homeland
Security and Governmental Affairs Committee Minority titled Combatting
the Opioid Epidemic: Intercepting Illicit Opioids at Ports of Entry,
``between 2013 and 2017, approximately 25,405 pounds, or 88 percent of
all opioids seized by CBP, were seized at ports of entry. The amount of
fentanyl seized at the ports of entry increased by 159 percent from 459
pounds in 2016 to 1,189 pounds in 2017.'' CBP officials recently
testified that seizures of fentanyl at the ports of entry ``increased
from 2,579 pounds in fiscal year 2019 to 3,967 pounds in fiscal year
2020, an increase of 54 percent. For the comparative time frame of
fiscal year 2020 and 2021 (October to March for both years) the amounts
seized were 1,079 and 5,048. This is over a 300 percent increase with a
half year to go.''
In June 2019, 17 tons of cocaine, with a street value of over $1
billion, was seized from a cargo ship at the Port of Philadelphia. This
amount of cocaine could kill millions of people. The drug seizure is
the latest in a series of large cocaine busts at East Coast seaports.
In an earlier March 2019 bust at the Philadelphia seaport, drug dogs
sniffed out 1,185 pounds of cocaine worth about $38 million--at that
time, the city's largest seizure of the drug in more than 2 decades.
And in February 2019, CBP officers seized 3,200 pounds at the Port of
New York and New Jersey with a street value estimated at $77 million.
That was the largest cocaine bust at the seaport since 1994. NTEU's
fiscal year 2022 funding request supports the CBP officer new hires,
but also additional CBP canine teams on the front line.
On-going Morale Issues at DHS.--Adequate staffing at CBP ports of
entry is critical to our Nation's economic vitality. In order to
attract talented applicants, however, Federal agencies must also
recognize the importance of employee engagement and fair treatment in
their workplace. Unfortunately, low morale has been a consistent
challenge at CBP that is reflected in CBP's ranking in the Partnership
for Public Service (PPS) Best Places to Work in the Federal Government.
In 2020, PPS ranked CBP as 328th out of 411 component agencies
surveyed.
The Best Places to Work results raise serious questions about the
CBP's ability to recruit and retain the top-notch personnel necessary
to accomplish the critical missions that keep our country safe. If the
agency's goal is to build a workforce that feels both valued and
respected, these results show that the agency needs to make major
changes in its treatment of employees.
Of particular concern to NTEU is the increase in suicides as the
reported cause of death of Federal employees. Last year, the U.S.
Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) released data that shows that Federal
employee suicides were at their highest level in at least 15 years,
with suicides accounting for 28 percent of the 124 Federal employee
job-related deaths in 2018. Since 2011, the number of self-inflicted
intentional fatalities among Federal workers has more than doubled to
35, although the Federal workforce has remained approximately the same
size.
Most suicides continue to involve Federal employees in work related
to law enforcement, such as CBP. In 2016, 15 of the 16 reported
suicides were by Federal workers employed at a National security-
related agency. At CBP, more than 100 employees died by suicide between
2007 and 2018, according to the agency. NTEU applauds CBP for seeking
additional funding for their Employee Assistance Program (EAP). In
response to many conversations and concerns regarding the adequacy of
CBP's programs to assist employees who are experiencing mental health
issues. At NTEU's insistence CBP also agreed to bargain over the
establishment of a union/management Suicide Prevention and Resiliency
workgroup. The purpose of the workgroup is to collaborate on new and
innovative ways to promote and improve current resiliency and suicide
prevention programs within CBP.
NTEU also applauds the President for including in fiscal year 2022
budget request an increase of $2.1 million to fund onsite clinicians to
support CBP employee resiliency and suicide prevention programs.
NTEU also strongly supports H.R. 490, the DHS Morale, Recognition,
Learning and Engagement Act or the DHS MORALE Act. The MORALE Act was
approved by the House on April 20, 2021 and is awaiting action by the
Senate. The bill directs the Chief Human Capital Officer (CHCO) to
analyze Government-wide Federal workforce satisfaction surveys to
inform efforts to improve morale, maintain a catalogue of available
employee development opportunities and authorize the designation of a
Chief Learning and Engagement Officer to assist the CHCO on employee
development.
H.R. 490 also authorizes the establishment of an Employee
Engagement Steering Committee comprised of representatives from across
the Department, as well as individuals from employee labor
organizations that represent DHS employees. Last, the bill authorizes
the Secretary to establish an annual employee awards program to
recognize non-supervisory DHS employees who have made a significant
contribution to the Department. In our collective bargaining agreement
with CBP, NTEU negotiated an extremely popular employee joint awards
program. The Agency retains the discretion to determine how much of its
budget will be allocated for awards, but 85 percent of the total awards
budgeted are recommended by a joint union/management awards committee
to be distributed proportionately among bargaining unit employees. NTEU
recommends that DHS look at the negotiated CBP joint awards program as
a model for an agency-wide program.
While a major factor contributing to low morale at CBP is
insufficient staffing and resources at the ports of entry, the
provisions in the DHS MORALE Act will help to address non-staffing
issues that affect employee morale by improving front-line employee
engagement and establishing a statutory annual employee award program.
NTEU commends the House for approving the DHS MORALE Act and will
continue to urge the Senate to expeditiously do the same.
NTEU Recommendations.--To address CBP's workforce challenges and to
improve security, trade, and travel at our Nation's ports of entry,
Congress must first address CBP OFO on-going staffing shortages. It is
clearly in the Nation's economic and security interest for Congress to
authorize and fund an increase in the number of CBP officers, CBP
agriculture specialists, and other CBP employees at the air, sea, and
land ports of entry.
In order to achieve the long-term goal of securing the proper
staffing of CBP staffing at the seaports and end disruptive TDYs and
excessive involuntary overtime shifts at all ports of entry, NTEU
recommends that Congress take the following actions:
Enact a stand-alone bill to authorize funding for CBP
officer new hires to the level identified in the workload
staffing model,
Support funding for CBP officers new hires in fiscal year
2022 DHS Appropriations,
Support fiscal year 2022 funding for new CBP agriculture
inspection personnel, as authorized by Pub. L. 116-122,
Support funding for needed trade operations specialists and
other OFO support staff,
Support the Hazardous Duty Pay for Frontline Federal Workers
Act (H.R. 2744), and any new legislation that temporarily
provides hazard pay for CBP employees exposed to the public at
work during the COVID-19 pandemic, and
Oppose any legislation to divert customs user fees to other
uses, projects, or programs that are collected to fund a
portion of salaries, benefits, and overtime for CBP officers.
The CBP employees that NTEU represents work hard and care deeply
about their jobs and their country. These men and women are deserving
of more staffing and resources to perform their jobs better and more
efficiently. Authorizing funding for CBP OFO new hires will start to
relieve the stress of excessive overtime and temporary reassignments
that are a strain on CBP employees and their families.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify before the subcommittee.
NTEU Exhibit A
November 15, 2021.
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro,
Chair, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives,
Washington, DC 20515.
The Honorable Kay Granger,
Ranking Member, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of
Representatives, Washington, DC 20515.
The Honorable Patrick Leahy,
Chair, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC 20510.
The Honorable Richard Shelby,
Vice Chair, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate, Washington, DC
20510.
Dear Chair DeLauro, Ranking Member Granger, Chair Leahy, and Vice
Chair Shelby: As stakeholders interested in the security and
facilitation activities of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) at air,
sea, and land ports-of-entry around the world, we remain greatly
affected by the on-going COVID-19 global pandemic and its impact on the
processing of passengers and cargo. As the U.S. economy recovers and
international trade and travel begin to reach pre-pandemic levels, we
are increasingly concerned that CBP staffing may not be sufficient to
address these increased volumes.
While we are appreciative that both the House and Senate DHS
Appropriations bills maintain funding for current CBP officer staffing
levels, we are disappointed that neither bill included additional
resources for CBP to hire new officers. With our air, sea, and land
ports reopened to international travelers that are fully vaccinated on
November 8 and cruise ships resuming full operations on January 15th,
we are seeing a surge in travelers that will need to be processed by
CBP officers. Couple that with the identified need of 1,785 new
officers in CBP's most recent workload staffing model, finalized when
COVID-related international travel restrictions were in place, it is
clear that the agency needs additional officers to smoothly process
travelers and cargo without long delays at our ports of entry and to
facilitate new economic opportunities in communities throughout the
United States. That is why we respectively reiterate our original
request and are asking you to consider during conference negotiations
funding for 800 additional CBP officers--half the identified need--in
the final fiscal year 2022 DHS appropriations bill.
Also, we should recognize CBP's continued shortfall in user fees
collections that support 8,000 CBP officers at our ports of entry and
preclearance operations at foreign airports as a result of the
precipitous decrease in travel during the COVID pandemic. We greatly
appreciate Congress providing supplemental resources last year to
ensure that the agency maintains its staffing levels and continues to
on-board new officers during the pandemic. We also are appreciative of
the language included in the current continuing resolution that
prevents the agency from furloughing staff due to pandemic-related loss
of user fee funding. We believe additional emergency funding will be
needed in the final fiscal year 2022 DHS appropriation agreement to
sustain CBP officers as user fees have not yet returned to pre-pandemic
levels and urge this funding be included in the final agreement.
Increasing CBP officer staffing is an economic driver for the U.S.
economy. While the volume of commerce crossing our borders has more
than tripled in the past 25 years, CBP staffing has not kept pace with
demand. Long wait times at our ports-of-entry lead to travel delays and
uncertainty, which can increase supply chain costs and cause passengers
to miss their connections. According to the U.S. Department of
Commerce, border delays result in losses to output, wages, jobs, and
tax revenue due to decreases in spending by companies, suppliers, and
consumers. The travel industry estimates long CBP wait times have
discouraged international visitors, who spend an average of $4,200 per
visit, from traveling to the United States.
We share your commitment to ensuring that America's borders remain
safe, secure, and efficient for all users while enhancing our global
competitiveness through the facilitation of legitimate travel and
trade. We greatly appreciate your efforts to continue building on
staffing advances made in recent years, and we urge you to include
fiscal year 2022 funding to sustain the current CBP officers, provide
funding to hire new ones, and make up for the user fee funding
shortfall.
Sincerely,
Airports Council International--North America
National Treasury Employees Union
American Association of Airport Executives
American Association of Port Authorities
Airforwarders Association
American Society of Travel Advisors
Border Trade Alliance
Cargo Airline Association
City of Douglas, Arizona
City of San Luis, Arizona
Douglas Industrial Development Authority
Douglas International Port Authority
Douglas Regional Economic Development Corporation
Fresh Produce Association of the Americas
Global Business Travel Association
Greater Nogales Santa Cruz County Port Authority
Greater Yuma Port Authority
National Association of Waterfront Employers
National Maritime Safety Association
Texas International Produce Association
The Borderplex Alliance
US Travel Association.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Reardon, for your testimony.
I would now like to recognize Mr. Seroka to summarize his
statement for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF EUGENE D. SEROKA, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LOS
ANGELES, CITY OF LOS ANGELES
Mr. Seroka. Thank you and good afternoon, Chairwoman
Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and other distinguished
Members of Congress.
My name is Eugene D. Seroka. I am the executive director of
the Port of Los Angeles and the city of Los Angles' chief
logistics officer. Thank you for inviting me to participate
today. It's a very important hearing given the supply chain
challenges we have witnessed over the last 18 months and
progress you have made, making Federal resources available to
our Nation's ports.
The Port of Los Angeles, with our neighboring port in Long
Beach, comprise the San Pedro Bay Port Complex, which handles
nearly 40 percent of all containerized imports and 30 percent
of all exports in the container for the United States. Cargo
moving through this complex flows to and from 160 countries
across the globe and reaches every Congressional district in
the United States.
Our volume reflects changes in consumer behavior, trade
patterns, and manufacturing supply chains. Overall, trade in
the third quarter rose more than 6.7 percent, year over year,
from $73 billion quarter 3 of 2020 to nearly $78 billion in
quarter 3 in 2021. We average more than 900,000 container units
per month since July 2020, even exceeding 1 million monthly 20-
foot equivalent units in May 2021. Handling this amount of
cargo is by any measure an amazing accomplishment for our
marine terminal operators as well as our longshore work force.
Before the pandemic we averaged 10 ships calling per day. Here
at the Port of Los Angeles during the surge, we have averaged
more than 15 ships a day.
The cargo surge has affected every node within the supply
chain. Warehouses have reached capacity, container and chassis
availability has been limited. And, as a result, our terminals
are full. We put out a daily operational report on our
website's hero page made available to the public every day. As
of this morning, the situation at America's port is as follows:
18 container vessels at berth, 98 vessels have either left Asia
or are on their way into this port complex. Container dwell
times are at 6 days on dock, down from a peak of 11 days. On
dock rail dwell is at 3 days, down from a peak of nearly 13\1/
2\. But street dwell of containers and chassis stands at 11
days, nearly triple the normal street dwell time.
With the assistance of the White House, we began joint port
action meetings 3 times a week with port envoy John Porcari and
all stakeholders across the supply chain to discuss the
operational challenges we face here in the San Pedro Bay and
recommended actions. Through this effort we continue to work
directly with cargo owners to expedite the movement of their
goods out of the marine terminals using expanded gate hours and
additional work efforts. This was dubbed as ``Accelerate Cargo
Los Angeles'' .
The address of the lack of available chassis, we then
opened up cargo support facilities to accept empty containers
right near our docks and free up chassis to pick up loaded
imports, triangulating that activity. We also continued to
expand our port community system, the Port Optimizer, the
Nation's first and only port information sharing system, with
additional modules, including the signal, control signal,
control tower, and the horizon, the first ever 6-month
forecasting tool. These new modules provide our supply chain
partners with greater visibility and action based factual data.
Last, our board has adopted a container excess dwell fee
back in the month of October, which is a surcharge to ocean
carriers for import containers that dwell on marine terminals 9
days or more. That fee has never been implemented. We have not
collected a dime, but incredible progress has been made to move
cargo off our docks where this morning we reported to the White
House a 61 percent reduction in aging containers.
With the recent passage of the Infrastructure Investment
and Jobs Act we have focused on applying the lessons learned
over the past year-and-a-half to strategic investments made in
our Nation's ports and goods movement system. We believe there
are four critical areas in need of attention.
First, to ensure an adequate supply of trained workers
across the supply chain. We are working with industry partners
to develop the Nation's first work force training campus right
here in Los Angeles. Next we need investment at facilities that
allow our system to flex, to scale to the needs of the goods
movement system. Here at the port we are pursuing permanent
activation of an 80-acre site on Terminal Island to serve just
that purpose. Third, a consistent message we have heard is the
need for timely and uniform information sharing, building on
that Port Optimizer and investing in this critical technology
across the country. And, fourth, the Optimizer digitizes
maritime supply chain data, protects the owners of that data,
and provides stakeholders with improved system efficiency. And,
last, supply chain disruption and inefficiency lead to higher
emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria pollutants. We need
to invest in cleaner technology to reduce emissions that harm
surrounding communities, and that is why the Climate Smart
Ports Act is so important.
We are developing a first-in-the-Nation program to deploy
zero emission trucks in the near-term to handle cargo movement
to destinations within 25 miles of our port. This will
accelerate the development of wide-spread adoption, but also
look to funding streams to help bridge that gap between the
truck owner's needs and what major manufacturers are producing.
We intend to support this program with port funds, but will
need Federal partnership in a sustainable market maker effort.
Thank you for giving me the opportunity to testify today
and I am happy to answer any questions you may have.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Seroka follows:]
Prepared Statement of Eugene D. Seroka
January 19, 2022
introduction
Good morning Chairman Thompson, Chairwoman Barragan, Ranking Member
Katko, Ranking Member Higgins, Members of the House Subcommittee on
Border Security, Facilitation, and Operations, and other distinguished
Members of Congress. Thank you for the invitation to participate in
this important hearing.
I am Eugene D. Seroka, executive director at the Port of Los
Angeles. I concurrently serve on the board of directors for the
California Association of Port Authorities and the American Association
of Port Authorities. Also, I have been honored to serve on four Federal
committees to enhance the speed and efficiency of cargo movement and
supply chain optimization, including the U.S. Department of Commerce
Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness, U.S. Maritime
Administration Marine Transportation System National Advisory
Committee, Federal Maritime Commission Supply Chain Innovation Team,
and U.S. Department of Transportation Bureau of Transportation's former
Port Performance Freight Statistics Working Group. In addition to
spending the last 8 years at the Port of Los Angeles, I have more than
33 years of experience in the maritime shipping industry, both in the
United States and abroad. Our industry is very much a relationship-
based business and, throughout my career, I have been privileged to
engage with every link of our global supply chain.
I greatly appreciate the purpose of today's hearing because I
believe an open dialog is needed on lessons learned from the current
cargo surge, its effect on our supply chain, and how the Federal
Government can assist the maritime industry going forward. Today, the
ports and goods movement sector overall is experiencing unprecedented
disruption, especially at major trade gateways around the world. As the
Federal Government seeks to identify long-term solutions, now is the
time to discuss what we have learned and how we can be better prepared
in the future.
the port of los angeles
The Port of Los Angeles is the busiest container port in the Nation
and the primary gateway to the Pacific Rim. While December 2021 volume
is still being confirmed, we estimate that for calendar year 2021 the
port handled approximately 10.7 million TEUs (20-foot equivalent units,
the standard measure of container cargo), about 13 percent more than
its previous record set in 2018, and the first time a U.S. port has
moved more than 10 million container units in a calendar year. This
achievement is a credit to the women and men across the supply chain--
from the waterfront to warehouses. It is also attributable to the
immense operational scale of the Port of Los Angeles: 27 terminals, 270
berths, roughly 200,000 unique shippers, 1,654 annual ship calls, 100
daily trains, and 60,000 daily truck moves. We also operate cruise,
liquid bulk, and automobile business lines; however, container cargo is
the largest share of our business.
Together with our neighboring port in Long Beach, we comprise the
San Pedro Bay Port Complex, which handles nearly 40 percent of all
containerized imports and 30 percent of all containerized exports for
the United States. Cargo through this complex flows to and from 160
countries across the globe and reaches every Congressional district
across the Nation. In fact, only one-third of the cargo handled at the
port is destined for the Los Angeles region, while fully two-thirds of
our cargo is destined for the National market. As a result, changes in
consumer behavior, trading patterns, and manufacturing supply chains
show up in our volumes.
volume surge
Early in the pandemic, the port was initially down 20 percent in
cargo volumes, our marine terminals had ample space, and there was a
large number of canceled sailings. As the pandemic progressed and
consumer spending shifted, our cargo volume increased rapidly averaging
900,000 containers per month since July 2020. Comparing the first 11
months of 2021 to previous years, they are 18.7 percent higher than
2020 volumes. In cargo value, overall trade in the third quarter rose
more than 6.7 percent year over year, from $72.8 billion in Q3 of 2020,
to $77.7 billion in 2021. This pandemic-induced surge is the main
reason the Port of Los Angeles became the first port in the Western
Hemisphere to process 10 million container units in a 12-month period.
Additionally, the port processed 1,012,248 TEUs in May 2021, a leap of
74 percent compared to May 2020. It was the busiest month ever in the
port's 114-year history, the first time a Western Hemisphere port has
handled more than 1 million TEUs in a month.
supply chain impacts and response
Handling this amount of cargo is, by any measure, an amazing
accomplishment for our terminal operators as well as our longshore
workforce. Productivity at the port has never been higher. Before the
pandemic, we averaged 10 ships a day; during this surge, we have
averaged 16 to 17 ships a day.
The cargo surge has affected every node within the supply chain;
our terminals are full, warehouses have reached capacity, containers
and chassis are scarce, and ships await at berth, lining up outside the
breakwaters for days.
The surge in volumes has placed strain on the system:
Warehouses.--Despite nearly 2 billion square feet of
warehouses in our region, these facilities filled up and
resorted to using containers as temporary storage. The amount
of time it takes for a container and chassis to cycle back to
the port--what we call ``street dwell''--went from an average
of 3 days to 9.6 days.
Marine Terminals.--Shippers need to continue to pick up
their boxes here at the port, as the terminals continue to fill
up with containers. The duration of time a container remains in
a terminal before it is moved, is currently 6 days, an increase
from 5.1 days previously recorded, and 4 days pre-pandemic.
Marine terminal utilization remains elevated with terminal
tarmacs 95 percent utilized (80 percent is considered
``full'').
Turn Times.--When terminal tarmacs are stacked with
containers, it takes longer for trucks to pick up the boxes, so
``truck turn times'' increase. Ships also take longer to
process, causing incoming ships to be directed to anchor.
Ships at Anchor.--Typically, ships arrive and are assigned a
berth for unloading and loading of cargo; however, in a
congestion scenario, ships are directed to anchor off the coast
of California. In the Fall of 2021, we averaged more than 100
ships that were loitering/drifting/slow steaming heading to the
San Pedro Bay. Of those, the Port of Los Angeles has
consistently expected between 40-50 vessels, with an average
anchorage time of 20 days. On November 16, the industry moved
to a modified queuing system for safety and environmental
purposes. This has significantly reduce the number of ship
anchor within 40 nautical miles.
Rail.--The time that containers sit, waiting to be loaded on
to a train--what we call ``rail dwell time''--increased from 2
to 11.8 days. At peak, rail dwell was at 13.2 days in March
2021. Currently, thanks to the work of the Class I railroads,
our on-dock rail time to load is now 3 days.
To gain a better handle on the cargo congestion we are
experiencing, we have launched several initiatives to deal with the
unprecedent volumes, such as:
Accelerate Cargo LA.--In September 2021, after consultation
with multiple supply chain stakeholders and the U.S. Department
of Transportation, we announced expanded weekend operating gate
hours. Dubbed ``Accelerate Cargo LA,'' the Port of Los Angeles'
program operates on a pilot basis to ensure that gate
availability meets cargo demands and provides greater
transparency to improve efficiency. We have called on marine
terminal operators to incentivize the use of all available gate
hours, especially night gates, to reduce congestion and
maximize cargo throughput capacity.
Cargo Support Facilities.--Additionally, we have sought
cargo support facilities to address the physical space
limitations on our marine terminals. The Port of Los Angeles is
identifying properties within the port complex that can serve
as flex capacity, which will assist with operational challenges
such as empty container returns, staging for loaded import
containers, and other marine terminal support functions.
Port Community System.--The Port of Los Angeles is the only
port in the United States to operate a Port Community System
(PCS). While this is a common practice at ports across Asia and
Europe, the United States has lagged in its investments in
digital infrastructure. A PCS can optimize, manage, and
aggregate logistics data allowing for advanced planning and
better asset utilization.
Our system, the Port Optimizer, which is a cloud-based platform,
collects data from more than 70 sources on vessel arrivals,
container availability, marine terminal operating conditions,
gate fluidity, and other logistical factors. It provides a
single window through which beneficial cargo owners (BCOs),
non-vessel owning common carriers (NVOs), and truckers can
schedule appointments to take delivery of containers given
real-time conditions at the terminals. Additionally, it already
shares shipment data provided by carriers to some Federal
agencies, such as Customs and Border Protection.
This system is a unique approach to demonstrate the benefits of
digitizing maritime shipping data and making it available to
cargo owners and supply chain stakeholders through secure,
channeled access. Within the last year, we have enhanced the
Port Optimizer with several new features:
The Signal.--Includes a dashboard view of the total number
of shipments expected to arrive in Los Angeles over the
following 3 weeks. The data is broken down by container
type and includes details on the mode of transportation,
whether rail or truck, once it arrives at the port. This
planning tool enables stakeholders to have forward
visibility and allow them to better utilize their assets
and plan for labor, especially during volume surges like we
are currently experiencing.
The Return Signal.--A data tool that assists the trucking
community to know when and where to return empty containers
to cargo terminals throughout the San Pedro Bay Port
Complex. The system is user-friendly by simplifying the
search feature, providing a filter, and making it
customizable for the stakeholder. This can enhance the
probability of dual transactions since its data is updated
every 5 minutes. Dual transactions occur when a truck
driver returns a container or dropping off an export load
and picking up a container (either an import or an empty
for export load) in one trip.
The Control Tower.--A service and digital tool that
provides real-time views of truck turn times at all the
port's cargo terminals, as well as other truck capacity
management information, to help cargo owners, truckers, and
other supply chain stakeholders better predict and plan
cargo flows. The information is updated continuously with
GeoStamp data and broken down by historical daily and
monthly averages. It also provides recent and future
trending volume data, as well as volumes and trends dating
back to 2017, segmented by mode.
POLA Horizon.--The newest addition to the Port Optimizer
is a long-term predictive data tool. The new module offers
stakeholders the capability to gauge movement of
containers--imports, exports, and empties--at the port up
to 6 months in advance. Its forecasting technology uses an
algorithm based on historical and trending volume data
collected by the Port Optimizer. Continually taking into
account changing conditions at the port, the algorithm
constantly updates cargo volumes, allowing the Horizon to
improve forecasting over time and issue 6-month-ahead
volume updates every month.
Each of these enhancements provides the supply chain with greater
fluidity and resilience, which is critical when confronting
disruptions.
Container Dwell Time Fees and Empty Container Fees.--To
improve cargo movement amid congestion and record volume, the
Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach announced that it would
consider assessing a surcharge to ocean carriers for import
containers that dwell on marine terminals, known as the
``Container Dwell Time Fee.'' The ports would charge ocean
carriers for each loaded import container that dwells 9 days or
more. After weekly evaluations, the fee has not yet been
implemented due to the incredible progress made by cargo owners
retrieving their goods. As of January 19, 2022, we have yet to
collect $1 from the fee and the two ports have seen a combined
decline of 45 percent in aging cargo on the docks since the
program was announced on October 25, 2021. The Port of Los
Angeles has delayed enacting the fee on the import containers
because import containers dwelling more than 9 days has been
reduced by 60 percent since October 24, 2021.
Due to the success of removing older containers from the docks
since the Container Dwell Time Fee was announced, there has
been an increase of empty containers being returned to
terminals and occupying additional space which should be used
for moving cargo off newly-arrived vessels. To address this
challenge, the port is considering adopting an ``Empty
Container Fee.'' The overall concept was presented to our Board
on January 13 and the port continues to work with industry
stakeholders to refine the concept so as to avoid unintended
consequences.
lessons learned
The coronavirus pandemic, and the subsequent cargo surge, has
underscored the importance of a strong, fluid, efficient, and resilient
supply chain. Breakdowns and delays can have catastrophic effects.
Consequently, it is imperative that we engage in dialog, like that of
this hearing, to learn from our experience. There are three major
lessons I would like to share with the subcommittee:
Supply chain disruptions are global.--Since the start of the
pandemic, countries around the world have faced similar
disruptions we are experiencing here in the United States.
Federal support for supply chains must be developed with a
solutions-oriented approach and with representation from all
stakeholders.--For instance, the Biden-Harris administration
launched the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force, which
included a focus on transportation and logistics bottlenecks to
the U.S. economic recovery. After meeting with local government
leaders and companies to diagnose the problems and identify
solutions, Port Envoy John Porcari was appointed in August to
help drive coordination between several key stakeholders.
Today, the administration continues to convene with business
leaders, port leaders, and union leaders three times a week to
discuss the challenges we face across the country. As a result,
we have found solutions that are addressing major concerns such
as extended gate hours, container dwell time fees, etc.
Invest in System Resiliency and Adaptability.--The recently-
passed Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) represents
an opportunity to build resiliency and adaptability into our
goods movement system. Based on our recent experience with
supply chain disruption, we have identified the following key
investment areas:
Workforce Resiliency.--Supply chain workers are essential
workers. Ensuring an adequate supply of trained workers
across the goods movement system is fundamental to system
resiliency. Therefore, we have requested support for a
Goods Movement Workforce Training Campus on Port of Los
Angeles land. With a project cost of approximately $150
million, the facility will be the first training campus in
the United States dedicated to the goods movement industry.
It is designed to attract new workers, address skill
shortages, and provide opportunities for workforce up-
skilling or re-skilling to help alleviate the workforce
shortages contributing to the current supply chain
disruption as well as address the rapidly-changing needs of
the industry. It will also be built with an eye toward a
greener future and will be a resource for workers in the
industry to train on zero emission (ZE) technologies.
System Resiliency.--Cargo support facilities are necessary
to assist with operational challenges facing our marine
terminals. Over the long term, we recommend permanent
activation of an 80-acre site on Terminal Island to serve
this purpose. To that end, we have requested support for a
grade separation project with an estimated project cost of
$50 million that will provide unimpeded access to an 80-
acres site on Terminal Island. Currently, the site is
enclosed by a loop of active and heavily-used rail tracks
limiting accessibility by truck or other equipment. Grade
separation will open unimpeded access to this site and
enable its use as a flex capacity space to assist with
future cargo surges.
Reducing Environmental Impacts on Surrounding
Communities.--Supply chain disruption and inefficiency lead
to higher emissions of greenhouse gases and criteria
pollutants, which is why solutions found in the Climate
Smart Ports Act are important. Under our Clean Air Action
Plan (CAAP), we have set a goal of achieving a 100 percent
ZE trucks by 2035 and 100 percent ZE cargo handling
equipment by 2030. Currently, we are developing a first-in-
the-Nation program to deploy ZE trucks in the near-term to
handle cargo movement to destinations within a 25-mile
radius. This will accelerate development and wide-spread
adoption of ZE port trucks and concentrate air quality
benefits in those impacted communities along major freight
routes. We intend to support this program with port funds
and ask you to consider partnering with us to fund ZE truck
deployment and supporting infrastructure.
Visibility and Supply Chain Optimization.--As we continue
to meet with supply chain users and service providers, one
consistent message is the need for timely and uniform
sharing of information across the supply chain. Ports in
the United States remain behind their international peers
in this regard. We support continued implementation of
supply chain digitalization and interoperability. At the
Port of Los Angeles, we are investing in this critical
technology through our Port Optimizer system. The Port
Optimizer digitizes maritime shipping data for cargo owners
and supply chain stakeholders to improve system efficiency.
It helps cargo owners bring their goods to market in a more
predictable and timely manner. Expanding the use of the
Port Optimizer within the Port of Los Angeles--and
elsewhere--will provide real-time visibility and
information to supply chain stakeholders as they seek to
address the current backlogs.
Cyber Security Enhancement.--Greater reliance on digital
infrastructure mandates that we enhance cybersecurity. Our
objective is to move cargo uninterrupted and efficiently as
possible. Recent events have underscored that our Nation is
susceptible to crippling cyber attacks on our critical
infrastructure. As the subcommittee knows through its
oversight work, the Port of Los Angeles has launched its
own Cyber Resilience Center (CRC). Developed in
collaboration with our industry stakeholders, the CRC will
enable port community cyber defense and serve as an
information resource to assist in restoring operations
following an attack. This center will allow for limited but
vital information sharing for terminal stakeholders and is
something that the port believes will be instrumental to
remain operational as cyber attacks become more prevalent
on global supply chain infrastructure.
With that, I will conclude my remarks and I would be happy to
address any questions. Thanks again for this opportunity.
Ms. Barragan. Fantastic. Thank you so much for your
testimony and for everybody's indulgence on--I will try to give
equal time to everybody.
I would now like to recognize Ms. Vick to summarize your
statement for 5 minutes.
STATEMENT OF CATHIE J. VICK, CHIEF DEVELOPMENT AND GOVERNMENT
AFFAIRS OFFICER, PORT OF VIRGINIA, VIRGINIA PORT AUTHORITY
Ms. Vick. Good afternoon. Thank you, Chairwoman Barragan,
and Ranking Member Higgins, and other esteemed colleagues and
Members of the subcommittee and committee. Thank you,
Representative Luria, for the kind introduction, not just of
me, Cathy Vick, the chief development and public affairs
officers, but of the Port of Virginia, which is the fifth-
largest and one of the fastest-growing ports in our country,
extending our reach all the way into the Ohio Valley and
Midwest, really being a gateway of international trade with the
largest rail volumes on the East Coast, serving farmers and
manufacturers throughout our heartland.
Twenty-twenty-one was certainly our most productive year as
the supply chain congestion has shown. We are moving more cargo
than ever before. We processed 3.5 million TEUs last year,
which is a 25 percent increase over 2020. The increased volume
represented all categories, including loaded exports, and we
handled these record volumes without congestion at our berth
our our gates. We have no ships waiting at anchor and our truck
turn times have remained consistently under 50 minutes.
Over the last 5 years we have invested more than $800
million to add 1 million containers of annual capacity to our
terminals, which certainly help us be prepared for this surge
in cargo. We have also, in partnership with the Army Corps of
Engineers, started dredging a deepening and widening of our
navigation channels. As mentioned by Representative Luria, the
Federal Government is partnering with us and had an
announcement today related to that.
In addition we have the advantage of what we call the
``Virginia model'' where we have one single terminal operator
and owner that keeps us agile and flexible in the way that we
can show measurable results to our cargo owners and our ocean
carriers when they are facing delays or challenges. We are not
beholden to any particular economic interest or level of profit
and we can be flexible in our operations to accommodate our
customers as needed.
The past 2 years haven't been without our challenges
though. As mentioned by the other colleagues, COVID-19 has
certainly affected our work force, but we have been able to
overcome those challenges and keep our focus on delivering
best-in-class performance with solid efficiency, customer
service, and that record amount of cargo. What the pandemic has
revealed to us, as we saw the cascade across the global supply
chain, is that we really need to keep a focused laser focus on
supply chain and how essential it is to the Nation's economic
success and security, making it a key Federal policy and
funding priority with the ports at the keystone of that supply
chain. We appreciate the efforts that you all have done,
especially with the passage of the Infrastructure Act. I think
we will continue to see the fruits of that as we move forward.
Looking at cybersecurity, as you can imagine, as we have
introduced more technology and more efficiencies, cybersecurity
becomes even more of a threat and one of our highest
priorities. We are the most technologically advanced port in
the United States and it allows us to maximize our land use
efficiency and better handle these surges of cargo that we have
been seeing. It also allows us to plan our operations in
advance and move containers to the optimal position within the
yard to facilitate the exchanges to and from the vessels, the
rail, and the trucks. Given our reliance on technology, we do a
lot to protect ourselves. We participate in a number of advance
cybersecurity programs and have close working relationships
with the United States Coast Guard, CBP, and the FBI.
Collaboration among Federal agencies and industry helps us all
fulfill our mission and stay safe.
Shifting to CBP staffing and facilities, we share a lot of
the same concerns as touched on by Mr. Connor. We have
participated in the 559 Reimbursable Services Program.
Originally in 2015 we were paying $1.5 million annually. It was
supposed to be on a temporary basis. Nearly 7 years later we
are still continuing to pay $750,000 annually with no end in
sight.
When it comes to facilities, again those same concerns as
Mr. Connor. Specifically, we have been presented with demands
not only for space, but for equipment, system upgrades, and
then maintenance costs for those system upgrades, a lot of
times without advance notice and with a threat that there will
be service disruptions and degradation if we do not do it, even
though there was no input and no capital planning during our
budgeting process.
So thank you again for the opportunity to testify and share
our perspective. Happy to answer any questions that you all
have from the committee. Again, really appreciate your support
and the opportunity to share with you the challenges that we
are facing and how we can work together to solve them.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Vick follows:]
Prepared Statement of Cathie J. Vick
January 19, 2022
introduction
Good afternoon Chairman Thompson, Ranking Member Katko, Chairwoman
Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and Members of the subcommittee.
Thank you for the invitation to testify at this hearing.
I am Cathie Vick, chief development and public affairs officer of
The Port of Virginia. The Port of Virginia is fifth-largest and one of
the fastest-growing ports in the country. Annually, The Port of
Virginia is responsible for more than 400,000 jobs and $100 billion in
spending across Virginia and contributes more than $47 billion to the
Commonwealth's Gross State Product. The port's reach also extends
throughout the Mid-Atlantic and into the Ohio Valley and Midwest,
handling the largest rail volume on the East Coast and serving American
farmers and manufacturers throughout the heartland of our Nation. Of
equal importance, Virginia is one of the Nation's 17 strategic ports,
handles more military support cargo than any port in the United States,
and is home to the U.S. Navy's Atlantic fleet--the only nuclear-
carrier-capable port facility on the East Coast.
supply chain performance
Last week we announced that 2021 was our most productive calendar
year on record having processed more than 3.5 million TEUs (20-foot
equivalent units). This represents a 25 percent increase over 2020,
making Virginia the fastest-growing major container port in the
country. The increased volume was represented across all categories
including loaded exports, and we handled these record volumes without
congestion at our berths or gates. We have no ships waiting at anchor,
and our truck turn times have remained consistently under 50 minutes.
Over the last 5 years, more than $800 million has been invested at
the port to add 1 million containers of annual capacity to our
terminals. At the same time, in partnership with the U.S. Army Corps of
Engineers, dredging is under way to deepen and widen our navigation
channel to allow two-way flow of ultra-large container vessels,
unrestricted by tide or channel width. Upon completion, we will have
the deepest channels on the U.S. East Coast at 55 feet deep and
eliminate navigation restrictions on both commercial and military
vessels.
In addition, the advantage of the Virginia Model--where we have a
single terminal owner and operator across our 4 deep-water, multi-
purpose cargo terminals and 2 inland terminals--keeps the port agile
and provides measurable results to ocean carriers and cargo owners that
are facing congestion and delays elsewhere. We own the terminals, and
our operating company runs them. This is an important advantage because
we are not beholden to multiple economic interests, especially when we
need to be flexible in our operations to accommodate our customers and
growing cargo volumes. The Hampton Roads Chassis Pool (HRCPII) is a
great example of the advantages of being an owner-operator. We own and
operate HRCP [II] and as a result, we can make decisions and take quick
action to ensure we have an ample supply of chassis.
covid-19
The past 2 years have not been without challenges, however we kept
our focus and delivered a best-in-class performance with solid
efficiency, customer service, and a record amount of cargo. It was
truly collaborative effort between our entire team and all of our
partners--including Federal agencies and of specific relevance to this
committee the United States Coast Guard (USCG), Customs and Border
Protection (CBP), and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
Early in the pandemic, we established the COVID-19 Critical Cargo
Initiative to identify critical import cargo needed in the effort to
fight COVID-19 (including personal protective equipment (PPE) for the
medical industry [face shields, gowns, gloves], test kits, virus-
critical shipments like hand sanitizer, and raw materials going into
PPE production) moving through Virginia, and allocated the equipment
and personnel needed to get the container moving to its destination as
fast as possible (often times in less than 1 hour after the ship
docked).
The pandemic has revealed what those of us in the industry already
knew: That supply chains are essential to our Nation's economic success
and security. Protection of our supply chains must necessarily be a key
Federal policy and funding priority, and ports are the keystone to the
supply chain.
We are grateful for the $4.4 million in reimbursements FEMA has
approved to date as we have implemented robust measures to keep our
colleagues, labor partners, motor carriers, and customers safe and
healthy while we remained open throughout this pandemic.
cybersecurity
Beyond the pandemic, cybersecurity remains a constant threat and
one of our highest priorities. The Port of Virginia is the most
technologically advanced port in the United States. This technology
allows us to maximize our land use efficiency--20 to 30 percent better
usage than a conventional container terminal--and better handle surges
in cargo volumes. Our technology also allows us to plan operations in
advance and move containers to an optimal position to facilitate
exchanges to and from vessels, rail, and trucks. We have implemented
this technology in partnership with the International Longshoremen's
Association (ILA). We have had no net loss of jobs; as positions have
been eliminated those individuals have been retrained into new and
better jobs. This has also resulted in a safer and more comfortable
working environment.
Given our reliance on technology, we do a lot to protect ourselves.
In addition to our internal efforts, we have participated in a number
of advanced cybersecurity programs and have close working relationships
with the USCG, CBP, and Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). These
include being the maritime test case for the Principles-based
Assessment for Cybersecurity Toolkit (PACT) project conducted by Naval
Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) and Indiana University Center for Applied
Cybersecurity and supporting maritime sector technology exchanges with
key Government groups like the National Security Agency (NSA) and U.S.
Cyber Command. Collaboration amongst Federal agencies and industry will
help those agencies fulfill their missions and keep us all safer.
But we know more can be done. Ports are critical infrastructure,
yet Federal agencies are slow to share information and actionable
intelligence with us directly or through industry sharing and analysis
groups in a timely manner. We need our Federal partners to actively
engage and provide two-way communication in order to allow us to
prepare for and respond to threats and prevent any compromise of our
systems.
We recently received a FEMA Port Security Grant to establish a
Cyber Security Operations Center. The design and implementation are
being done in a manner so as to make it a template for other ports and
provide working space for other Government agencies to occupy in case
of an event. Despite our success with this grant, Federal funding often
does not seem to recognize the nature of technology dependence and
rather allocates money based on criteria other than risk and need.
cbp staffing
Traditional threats remain as well, and CBP is on the front line of
protecting our Nation's trade and economic prosperity. Ensuring that
the hiring and allocation of CBP officers and agricultural specialists
keeps up with the growth in trade is essential to avoiding unnecessary
delays to our supply chain. In Virginia we have benefited from two
initiatives to alleviate staffing shortages: Veterans Hiring and 559
Reimbursable Services.
The Veterans Hiring program has allowed our local CBP Area Office
to hire qualified, transitioning military members through an expedited
process and keep those officers in the local area where they have
already established roots. This is a win-win for the agency and the
officer by recruiting from a well-qualified talent pool, maintaining
local CBP staffing ahead of the rate of attrition, and allowing
officers to remain in an area they know and enjoy.
The 559 Reimbursable Services program additionally has allowed us
to pay for CBP officers' overtime at our facilities. We originally
entered into the 559 agreement in 2015 prior to the expansion at our
facilities when volumes dictated that we operate extended gate hours--
as long as 21 hours per day. At its peak, we were paying $1.5 million
annually. However, nearly 7 years later, we continue to pay more than
$750,000 annually, and it remains unclear when or how what was designed
to be a temporary supplement becomes established as part of the
baseline workload for CBP and incorporated into their staff and
allocation model.
American businesses already pay Customs duties and fees in
conjunction with these services, and while we are fortunate to have the
financial wherewithal to absorb these costs, others are not as
fortunate, creating disparity and inequity, and the supply chain
suffers. This is not a sustainable model for ports or for CBP officers
where the additional hours risk burn-out.
Ensuring the consistent use of best practices nationally--like
remote and on-site inspections--could also increase efficiency and
alleviate some of the staffing pressures.
cbp facilities
CBP also needs adequate facilities and equipment to perform its
mission. While CBP's authority to require free space from ports is
clear, in recent years, CBP's demands in this area have increased
significantly. Specifically, we have been presented with demands not
only for space but to pay for CBP equipment and systems. These demands
often exceed 6 figures and come without notice or discretion. We do not
have the opportunity to review or negotiate the need; the demands are
not coordinated with our capital budget timing or processes; and we
have no discretion in how to fulfill the needs. We do not begrudge CBP
for the equipment and systems requirements, but these need to be
addressed within the agency's budget and not foisted upon industry. We
encourage this committee and Congress as a whole to exercise oversight
in this area to ensure CBP operates within its authority; to clarify
that authority if necessary; to properly identify the facilities,
equipment, and systems required for CBP to perform its mission; and to
provide the resources for those needs through the annual Appropriations
process.
conclusion
Thank you again for the opportunity to testify and share The Port
of Virginia's perspective as you assess the state of America's ports. I
appreciate the work of this committee to ensure the continued
protection of our ports and supply chains and look forward to working
with you, your colleagues, and our Federal agency partners to continue
to deliver--and exceed--the service our customers and cargo owners
expect and deserve. Safe, secure, and fluid ports are essential to our
Nation's economic success and security.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Ms. Vick, for your testimony.
I now recognize Mr. Self to summarize your statement for 5
minutes.
Mr. Self.
STATEMENT OF RICHERT L. SELF, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PORT OF LAKE
CHARLES
Mr. Self. Good afternoon, Chair Barragan, Ranking Member
Higgins, and distinguished Members of the subcommittee. Thank
you for this opportunity to speak to you today regarding the
current state of the Port of Lake Charles, including impacts
since 2020 from COVID-19 to two devastating hurricanes here in
southwest Louisiana.
As Ranking Member Higgins said, I am the executive director
of the Port of Lake Charles. I was born and raised here in Lake
Charles, and except for about a 4-year stint where I attended
graduate school in New Orleans, I have lived here my entire
life. I joined the port in 2003 as director of administration
and finance and was promoted to deputy executive director in
2017. Just before the hurricanes hit, in 2020 I was hired as
executive director.
We are the 14th-busiest port district in America. Twenty-
twenty-two marks the 95th year of the Calcasieu Ship Channel as
a global shipping destination. America depends on Lake Charles,
Louisiana more than it realizes. The Port of Lake Charles and
the Calcasieu Ship Channel that connects to the Gulf of Mexico,
are referred to as ``America's energy corridor''. Our port and
our city support energy in three ways.
First, our region is a National leader in oil and gas,
exploration, drilling, and refining gasoline to creating other
petroleum products. The Port of Lake Charles supports the full
spectrum of the industry. Second, southwest Louisiana is a
leader in moving liquefied natural gas all over the gas. LNG
terminals operate at world-class levels here and the sector
continues to grow. Those terminals are built on land leased
from the port and they rely on the services provided by the
port and our private-sector partners. Finally, our port is an
emerging natural pathway for wind energy components. In just 2
years we have moved more than 1,500 wind components. We unload
them from vessels and rail and to wind farms across America. We
are also pursuing offshore wind initiatives as a potential
manufacturer of the components and to provide a terminal to
marshal the components onto vessels to be installed in the Gulf
and along the East Coast. In doing this we will meet the
growing need for green energy choices.
As you can see, the Port of Lake Charles serves everything
from traditional fossil fuels to the newest in renewable energy
technological. That is what makes us American's energy corridor
and that is why the Nation depends on us. What we do affects
the pocketbooks of your constituents. What they pay at the pump
for gasoline, the cost for their supply of lumber for home
improvement, whether it is for, you know, home improvement
Nation-wide or disaster repairs along the Gulf Coast.
The past 2 years have brought unprecedented challenge to
our area. The effects of COVID-19 severely impacted our tonnage
and related revenues. Our operating revenues declined by more
than $5 million during COVID-19 in 2020 and the impacts
actually continue to be felt in 2022.
These issues were compounded by the strongest hurricane in
our region's recorded history. Hurricane Laura hit in August
2020 and 2 months later we were hit by Hurricane Delta, leaving
our port in southwest Louisiana with unprecedented damage.
Entire portions of our complex were decimated. The damage to
the port is estimated at $241 million dollars and counting. We
lost three custom ship loaders and two custom ship unloaders.
Not only are they very expensive, but they require a long lead
time. We are able to load ships using ships gear and a mobile
harbor crane, but the operating costs were significantly higher
than pre-hurricane levels.
We also lost 85 percent of our covered storage and are
utilizing temporary tension fabric buildings to fill that void.
Without these facilities becoming operational, cargo owners
will occur additional costs, the port will potentially lose the
cargo, and area industries, local labor, and the farming
community will be devastated.
What has truly hampered our recovery though is the lack of
Federal disaster relief. Beyond FEMA assistance and Federal
COVID relief, although we received funding from various COVID
relief bills, it has not nearly been enough related to the
devastation from the hurricanes. Although Congress did pass a
supplemental bill in September to finally address some of the
pressing needs from the hurricanes and other disasters from
2020, it has not been enough.
Please help southwest Louisiana. We need your help by
providing additional disaster recovery funds.
I appreciate the opportunity you have given me to explain
our port and southwest Louisiana's industrial complex as a
whole and the fact that we are an economic background of
America. We are not just some place that is far away that had a
bad year that needs money. We are doing America's heavy
lifting. America needs us, your constituents need us. Please
help us convince your colleagues on Capitol Hill of the
immediate and overdue need and help we need.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Mr. Self follows:]
Prepared Statement of Richert L. Self
January 19, 2022
Good morning Chair Barragan, Ranking Member Higgins, and
distinguished Members of the subcommittee, thank you for this
opportunity to speak with you today regarding the current state of the
Port of Lake Charles, including impacts since 2020 from COVID to
devastating hurricanes.
I am the executive director of the Port of Lake Charles in
Louisiana. I was born and raised in Lake Charles and, except for a 4-
year stint of working and going to graduate school in New Orleans, I
have lived here my whole life. I have a Master's in Business
Administration, I am a certified public accountant and am a
professional port manager. I joined the port in 2003 as the director of
administration and finance, was promoted to deputy executive director
in 2017 and was hired as the executive director in 2020.
We are the 14th-busiest port district in America. 2022 marks the
95th anniversary of the Calcasieu Ship Channel as a global shipping
destination.
America depends on Lake Charles, Louisiana more than it realizes.
The Port of Lake Charles, and the Calcasieu Ship Channel that connects
to the Gulf of Mexico, are referred to as ``America's Energy
Corridor.''
Our port, and our city, support energy in three ways:
First, our region is a National leader in oil and gas. From
exploration, drilling, and refining gasoline to creating other
petrochemical products. The Port of Lake Charles supports the
full spectrum of the industry.
Second, the Lake Charles area is a leader in moving LNG all
over the globe. Liquified natural gas terminals operate at
world-class levels here, and the sector is growing. Those
terminals are built on land leased from our port, and they rely
on the services provided by the port and our private-sector
partners.
Finally, our port is an emerging National pathway for wind
power components. In just 2 years, we have moved more than
1,500 wind components. We unload them from vessels and rail
them to wind farms across America.
We are also pursuing gulf offshore wind initiatives as a potential
manufacturer of the components and to provide a terminal to marshal the
components onto vessels to be installed in the Gulf. In doing this, we
will meet the growing need for green energy choices.
As you can see, the Port of Lake Charles serves everything from
traditional fossil fuels to the newest in renewable-energy
technologies.
That's what makes us America's Energy Corridor.
And that's why the Nation depends on us.
What we do affects the pocketbooks of your own constituents:
The price they pay at the pump for gasoline,
Their supply of lumber--for the home improvement Nation-
wide, and for disaster repairs and reconstruction along the
Gulf Coast.
The past 2 years have brought unprecedented challenges.
The effects of COVID-19 severely impacted our tonnage and related
revenues. Our operating revenues declined by nearly $5 million due to
COVID in 2020 and the impacts continued to be felt in 2021. These
issues were compounded by the strongest hurricane in our region's
recorded history--Hurricane Laura, in August 2020 and 2 months later
Hurricane Delta hit--leaving our port, and our region, with
unprecedented damage. Entire portions of our complex were decimated.
The damage to the port is estimated at $241 million . . . and counting.
We lost 3 custom ship loaders and 2 custom ship unloaders. Not only are
they very expensive, but they require a long lead time. We are able to
load ships and unload using ships' gear and a mobile harbor crane, but
the operating costs are significantly higher than pre-hurricane levels.
We also lost 85 percent of our covered storage at City Docks and will
be utilizing temporary tension fabric buildings for storage to fill the
void until we able to replace the damaged structures.
Without these facilities becoming operational, cargo owners will
incur additional costs, the port will potentially lose the cargoes and
area industries, local labor, and the local farming community will be
devastated.
What has truly hampered our recovery, however, is this:
The lack of Federal disaster relief, beyond FEMA assistance and
Federal COVID relief. Although we received funding from the various
COVID relief bills, it has not nearly been enough to deal with the
devastation from the hurricanes. Although Congress did pass a
supplemental bill in September to finally address some of the pressing
needs from the hurricanes and other disasters from 2020, it is simply
not enough. Please help SWLA, we need your help by providing additional
disaster recovery funding.
I appreciate the opportunity you've given me to explain why our
port, and the Lake Charles industrial complex as a whole, are an
economic backbone of America.
We are not just some place that's far away, that had a bad year,
that needs money.
We do America's heavy lifting. America needs us. Your constituents
need us.
Please help convince your colleagues on Capitol Hill of the
immediate and overdue help we need.
Thank you.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Self. I want to thank all the
witnesses for their testimony.
I will remind the subcommittee that we will each have 5
minutes to question the panel.
Without objection, Members not on the subcommittee shall be
permitted to sit and question the witnesses.
I will now recognize myself for 5 minutes.
This question is for everybody who represents a port. For
nearly 2 years our country has been battling the COVID-19
pandemic, which has affected all parts of our lives. Workers at
seaports have continued to show up and work in person despite
the risk.
I would appreciate hearing from each of the seaports on the
actions they have taken to protect these front-line workers
from COVID-19 and if additional support is needed from the
Federal Government in this effort.
Why don't we start with you, Mr. Seroka?
Mr. Seroka. Thank you, Chairwoman.
Beginning early last year Los Angeles mayor, Eric Garcetti,
appointed me concurrently with my job as port director to
become the city's first-ever chief logistics officer here in
Los Angeles. Since that beginning, we have ushered more than
10.5 million units of personal protective equipment to more
than 250 Los Angeles area hospitals, health care facilities,
and labor ranging from the folks that work on our docks at
longshore, to truckers, warehouse workers, and farmers through
the central valley in California. We quickly thereafter, under
the direction of Mayor Garcetti and California Governor Gavin
Newsom, set up testing at our longshore hall and other
locations, including the international cruise facility in Los
Angeles, for longshore dock workers, truckers, and others,
including families and community members. We then jumped into
action as early as February 2021 with vaccinations, and
combined with our neighbors in Long Beach and the Long Beach
Health Department, have vaccinated more than 5,000 land-based
workers. And the International Seafarers Association has gone
on-board vessels to vaccinate crew members from across the
world.
There is much more work to do, as evidenced by Long Beach
and Los Angeles again this week partnering to ramp up testing
at our longshore dispatch hall 5 days per week with the Omicron
variant continuing to permeate our work force.
Again, a lot ahead of us. Very proud of what we have done.
More work to do in combination with the Federal, State, and
local authorities.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you.
Ms. Vick, how about you? Then we will go to Mr. Self.
Ms. Vick. Thank you, Chairwoman Barragan.
Similarly to Mr. Seroka, we were able to gain access to
early vaccinations through our local health department.
Although the State classified our workers to come much later,
the local health department set up dedicated vaccine sites for
our workers, which we were also able to extend to our CBP and
MARAD partners that are in this area.
In addition to some of the other things that Mr. Seroka
talked about, we also put in enhanced cleanings at all of our
facilities, we rented additional equipment so that each person
was able to be in their own dedicated equipment, not ride with
another colleague or use the same equipment as someone else in
the shift before. We also were able to reduce the capacity of
all of our conference rooms, let some of our admin folks
telework as needed. Because of our technology, you know, a lot
of our operators are actually inside because we are semi-
automated, so the operators are remote. We were able to space
their work stations so that they were more than 6 feet apart by
using conference rooms as dedicated work spaces instead of
having them so close together, particularly our checkers. So it
extended to our ILA partners and our management.
We really are appreciative of FEMA for the reimbursement
program. We have been able to receive Federal assistance in
just over $4 million to help with some of these measures.
So thank you very much.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you.
Anybody else want to chime in? Mr. Self, did you want to
say anything?
Mr. Self. Oh, sure. I will just point out that similar to
my colleagues, the Port of Lake Charles continued to operate
throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. We utilized enhanced
screening methods, we wore masks, we did telework when
necessary, and we had employees that worked inside their
offices with closed doors.
Ms. Barragan. Great. Thank you.
I am going to go onto the next question because I have
about 30 seconds left.
Mr. Seroka, I understand the Port of Los Angeles has a
dedicated operations center that is dedicated to combatting
cyber threats to cargo flow. How has this operation been
beneficial to the port? Do you recommend that ports establish
similar cyber operations centers? How would they do that?
Mr. Seroka. Yes, there are two areas here, Chairwoman. No.
1 is we created the Nation's first cybersecurity operations
center at the Port of Los Angeles in September 2014 with a
dedicated grant from the Department of Homeland Security. Just
last December, to up our game and bring the private sector into
play on cyber protection, we created one of the first cyber
resilience centers. Having more now than 40 members in both the
public and private sector, it is an FBI-driven neighborhood
cyberhood watch program to again protect us, defense, and share
information under a cloak of anonymity so no one is put into a
bad position commercially.
Ms. Barragan. Well, thank you.
My time has expired and I will now yield to Mr. Higgins,
our Ranking Member, for your 5 minutes.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you, Madam Chair.
Director Self, I am going to have a couple of yes or no
questions for you, sir, and then I am going to ask you to
expound upon an inquiry that I would like you to share with
America.
First, for all that you do on behalf of the Port of Lake
Charles, I thank you, sir. The port is just an incredibly
significant hub of economic prosperity and growth. I have been
there many times. I fully support the work you do. The men and
women there are amazing. Thank you for your dedication.
As a representative of the Lake Charles Port, a significant
energy exporting port, including traditional oil and gas
products, liquefied natural gas, and wind energy components,
would you agree that the Lake Charles Port supports an all-of-
the-above American produced energy policy?
Mr. Self. Yes, I would.
Mr. Higgins. Thank you.
Would you agree that having your port fully operational
allows the United States to be more self-sufficient, which
bolsters our National security while at the same time provides
robust economic opportunity for businesses across Louisiana and
indeed the Nation? Would you concur with that?
Mr. Self. Absolutely.
Mr. Higgins. OK. So let us talk about getting the Port of
Lake Charles fully operational. The port and the Calcasieu Ship
Channel $39 billion to the United States' gross domestic
product and two-thirds of the GDP of Calcasieu and Cameron
Parishes. However, a non-operational or damaged port can
certainly hurt a community and greatly restrict our National
supply chain. The Port of Lake Charles and southwest Louisiana
as a whole were devastated by two hurricanes in 2020. Well over
a year later you are still waiting on disaster reimbursements
through FEMA.
Would you concur with what I just stated?
Mr. Self. Yes, I would. Thank you.
Mr. Higgins. OK. My office has written countless letters,
we have urged within the parameters of Congressional
gentlemanly constraint, and we have also done some door-kicking
and had some very animated conversations with our colleagues
over at FEMA encouraging them to act upon the existing
applications that the Port of Lake Charles and other of our
constituents that have been impacted by the storms of the 2020
hurricane season that still languish, just to have their
applications processed.
Can you provide for my office and for this committee, so
that I can share with my colleagues across the aisle, who care
deeply by the way, that we fix this thing. Both sides of the
aisle, Republicans and Democrats, we want the Federal
Government to perform, especially when it comes to disaster
recovery. We are all subject to it, we stand shoulder to
shoulder as just solid American citizens to overcome the
bureaucratic intractable tendencies that we sometimes face.
So can you provide specific examples of Federal resources
that have been held up and delayed by FEMA?
Mr. Self. Sure, Congressman Higgins.
I mean we have spent so far over $25 million in hurricane-
related FEMA projects from Hurricane Laura and Hurricane Delta.
To date, we have received right at $1.1 million of the FEMA
portion of that. So obviously, you know, we are not--you know,
we are not the biggest port in the United States, so we are
funding that out of our cash reserves, which we----
Mr. Higgins. All right, let me just--in the interest of
time, let me just ask you to clarify for America watching and
for my colleagues on the committee here, the Port of Lake
Charles is very squared away. My interactions, you guys are
professional. So would you--your assessment of your
applications for those reimbursement fundings, $25 million,
would you say that you have done your part and you are waiting
on----
Mr. Self. Absolutely.
Mr. Higgins [continuing]. Federal Government and FEMA to
comply and perform?
Mr. Self. Absolutely.
Mr. Higgins. Well, I ask the good Chairwoman, who is a
leader that I admire and fully support, madam, I ask that we
take this under advisement and look at these examples that
Director Self will provide and let us try and let us kick a
door together over at FEMA, shall we?
I yield. Thank you, madam.
Ms. Barragan. I am happy to work with you in taking a look
at it and seeing what can be done. Thank you, Mr. Ranking
Member, and thank you, Mr. Self, for your testimony.
I am going to continue to recognize Members for questions
under the 5-minute rule. I will alternate between the Majority
and the Minority staff. Staff has given me an order of the
Members. If there is time, a second round of questions may
occur once all Members have had the opportunity to question the
witnesses.
With that, our next Member up is Representative Lou Correa
from California. You are now recognized for your 5 minutes.
Mr. Correa. Thank you, Madam Chair Barragan, for holding
this very critical hearing. Mr. Higgins, listening to your
comments, I agree with you, this is not a Democrat or
Republican issue, this is an issue of National security and of
National interest.
I only have 5 minutes so I am going to try to be quick
here.
Mr. Seroka, first of all, thank you for hosting myself and
Congress Members as we have toured your port there to make sure
we could work, we could make sure that you were up and running.
My question to you is of course related to National security.
We saw the Suez Canal and what happened there in late March. An
accident that really just bottled up that whole area of the
world. Texas Colonial Pipeline, that was essentially a cyber
attack. As we say, a chain is only strong as the weakest link.
Have you done enough, have we done enough to make sure your
partners, private and public, are up to scruff, are essentially
employing the best practices to make sure their cybersecurity
is the best it can be?
Mr. Seroka. Thank you, Congressman. Good to see you.
It is an on-going process led by our head of public safety,
Port Police Chief Tom Gazsi, across Federal, State, and local
allied agencies. But I will say this, that the cybersecurity
operations center installed here at the Port of Los Angeles in
September 2014 is now thwarting and stopping 40 million cyber
intrusion attempts per month. That is double the success rate
of where we were before COVID-19 doubled the activity. The
introduction of the CRC, or Cyber Resilience Center, is another
move in that direction. We still have a long way to go. We
perform table-top exercises on a regular basis with private and
public sector allies alike. We know that we are only as good as
the information we share across these industry verticals and
sectors to make sure that we understand what is coming, what
has been seen, and how we can protect ourselves. We need to
keep this front and center every day. We will not rest until we
continue to see progress. Very important area of our----
Mr. Correa. Sir, another question. Mr. Seroka, the Port of
Long Beach and Los Angeles account for 40 percent of U.S.-bound
imports. You said that. Last you had both of these ports
announce a container dwelling fee to hold retailers accountable
and make sure that they picked up and returned cargo containers
at sea. The Port of Los Angeles saw a 50 percent decline in
these containers since announcing the new surcharge in October,
yet the fee has been extended. Is this fee policy working? Is
it not? Help me out. Myself--saw those containers stacked up to
the heavens when we were there a couple of months ago. Tell me.
Mr. Seroka. Yes, it is working, Congressman, for a number
of reasons.
No. 1 are the data insights we get from this Nation's first
port community system. Being able to see around corners,
bottlenecks before they start, and how we can address them. We
noticed early on that with the confluence of cargo coming in
seasonally, perishables as well as retail cargo being pulled
forward for the year-end holidays, we were hit with so much
product coming in at one time that it was no longer ordered
just in time, it was ordered just in case. The entire supply
chain is off-kilter and remains that way based mainly on the
strength of the American consumer buying patterns and they are
helping us get to the other side of COVID-19 economically.
So we have to continue to flex. What we saw was cargo
piling up on our docks, some advantageous contracts that
allowed for that extra storage time. What we attempted to do
was not point fingers or publicly shame anybody, but if you
didn't need your product to market, move it aside for right
now. The threat of a penalty was enacted but never collected.
Those aging containers have been depleted by 61 percent as of
this morning.
It allowed us to get key medical products to market when
they needed to, parts and components to U.S. factories as they
continued to increase output and holiday goods to markets----
Mr. Correa. Let me interrupt you, sir. Bottlenecks. We are
trying to fix it, we are trying to get those bottlenecks, you
know, cleared up from our ports. Our partners overseas--right
now very few of our cargo containers are actually inspected.
You have got good partners overseas. Can we continue to count
on them to make sure that only good stuff arrives at our U.S.
ports and we don't have to turn around and implement some, you
know, policies that would slow down commerce in the United
States?
Mr. Seroka. When I was in the private sector, Congressman,
as you remember, my company was part of the founding group of
the Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism. It has been
extremely effective since the tragic events of 9/11. We need to
continue to expand and go upstream with the evaluation of
supply chain partners to make sure that they are truly vetted
and we understand what is coming across the seas on our vessel.
The Port Optimizer does just that with our great
partnership with CBP to make sure that we are applying the 24-
hour manifest rule and knowing, seeing, and having visible the
cargo that are on those ships.
Mr. Correa. So, Mr. Seroka, I just want to make sure that
you state for the public watching this hearing today, and for
us policy makers, that your partnership, private and public
sector, CBP, and others are working and are being effective to
make sure that nothing but good stuff is coming into our ports
of the United States.
Mr. Seroka. That is absolutely correct. When it is not, we
jump into action immediately.
Mr. Correa. Thank you very much.
Madam Chair, I yield the rest of my time, if there is any
left.
Thank you very much.
Ms. Barragan. There was no time, but thank you for yielding
back, Mr. Correa, from California.
Next I will move to Representative Guest, the gentleman
from Mississippi. You are next for your 5 minutes.
Mr. Guest. Thank you, Madam Chairman.
Mr. Reardon, in your written testimony, on page 9, you
talked about CBP's Office of Field Operations. That it is the
premier DHS component tasked with stemming the Nation's opioid
epidemic, a crisis that continues to get worse. You go on to
say on a typical day the agency makes over 900 arrests and
seizes more than 9,000 pounds of illegal drugs. You talked
about statistics. You say CBP's officials recently testified
that seizures of fentanyl at the port of entry increased from
2,579 pounds in fiscal year 2019 to 3,967 pounds in fiscal year
2020, an increase of 54 percent. You go onto say that for the
comparative time frame of physical year 2020 and 2021, October
to March for both years, that the amount seized were 1,079
pounds in 2020 and 5,048 in 2021, an increase of over 300
percent.
Then you go on in the next paragraph to talk about some of
the significant narcotic seizures that we have seen over the
last several years at some of our seaports. You talked about
February 2019 in New York and New Jersey, the seizure of 3,200
pounds of cocaine. You talk about in March 2019 in the Port of
Philadelphia, the seizure of 1,185 pounds of cocaine. Then you
mention that in June 2019, again in the Port of Philadelphia, a
seizing of an astonishing 17 tons of cocaine having the street
value of over $1 billion.
A recent report from the United States Coast Guard, which
also falls under the jurisdiction of this committee, press
release talks about the Coast Guard Cutter Hamilton returning
to port in Florida with over 2,600 pounds of cocaine and 3,700
pounds of marijuana, a street value of over $500 million.
So, Mr. Reardon, I would like to ask you, if you could,
could you speak in more detail on the use that our seaports and
our sea routes, how those are being used by drug cartels to
move their illegal products into the United States?
Mr. Reardon. Congressman, thank you.
What I will say at the outset is that I am certainly no
expert on, you know, the methods that are used by drug cartels
or any of that sort of thing. What I can tell you, as the union
representative, the national president, for CBP employees and
the Office of Field Operations, is that we continue to see an
increase, as the numbers you just mentioned illustrate. That
there is a rising in the number of seizures that are happening
in this country.
So one of the things that I would mention to you is that,
you know, I think CBP does an outstanding job in interdicting
those drugs and catching folks, but I also think that CBP could
do an even better job if we fully staffed the Office of Field
Operations with the appropriate number of CBP officers, as
called for in CBP's workload staffing model.
Mr. Guest. Well, and this is an issue that is particularly
important to me. You are right, the staggering figures that we
see, particularly I mean you look at in one seizure there in
the Port of Philadelphia, a single seizure resulted in the
seizure of 17 tons of cocaine, a street value of over $1
billion. So I would agree with you that this is an area that
this committee needs to look at for us to be able to increase
our policing presence at our seaports. I believe that with that
increased presence of personnel, with staff, with additional
training, that what we are going to see is that is going to
have an increased impact on our ability to fight the flow of
these illegal drugs coming into the country.
Mr. Guest. So let me ask you, in addition to the increase
in staffing and increase in training, are there any other
things that we as a committee need to be looking at as to how
we can better improve policing in our seaports, again with the
main intent to stop the flow of illegal narcotics from coming
into the country?
Mr. Reardon. Well, I certainly think you touched on one
thing, which is training. So I think that needs to be focused
on. I think the other thing that I would mention is there are--
I mentioned in my testimony and I believe in my 5 minutes that
we had last year 850 CBP officers that had to be moved from
various airports and seaports around the country to the
Southwest Border for temporary duty assignments. So I think we
always have to remember because that is required, and I
understand that needed to happen, but what it does is it
removes those CBP officers from other ports around the country
and that really takes away from the security, the drug
interdiction, and everything else that CBP officers do in their
home ports.
So I think that is something that we have got to make sure
that we are paying attention to as well.
Mr. Guest. Thank you very much.
Madam Chairman, I yield back.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Guest, and thank you to our
witness.
I would now like to recognize the gentlewoman from New
York, Ms. Clarke, for your 5 minutes.
Ms. Clarke. I thank you, Madam Chair, and I thank our
Ranking Member, Mr. Higgins.
I would like to start my question with Mr. Reardon, because
I think staffing is at the heart of a number of our challenges.
You know, were we to create enough activity, the personnel to
make sure that that activity runs smoothly is questionable.
So I understand that our seaports have been understaffed
since well before the pandemic. Can you describe how the lack
of full staffing has impacted your members? How would it change
if CBP were able to hire the additional officers needed for
ports of entry?
Mr. Reardon. Absolutely, Congresswoman. Thank you very much
for your question.
You know, I just described one of the impacts, and that is
around the issue of temporary duty assignments. If CBP were
fully staffed, those TDY assignments in all likelihood would
not be necessary, or at least not at the level that they have
been necessary over the last several years. You know, I think
that the--in terms of staffing, one of the things--when I talk
to my members--and I just actually met with a large number of
our CBP leaders last week--and, you know, one of the things
that they often talk to me about is that, Tony, at the core of
nearly all of our problems is the issue of staffing.
So let me point to one for you. It is around the issue of
morale. If you look at the FEVS, Federal Employee Viewpoint
Survey, scores, CBP is the somewhere on the order of 341st out
of just over 400. So they are way, way, way down the line. You
know, so I think that is an issue. I think that we need to
continue to look at in CBP the issue of hiring. It takes too
long to get somebody from the point at which they fill out an
application to the point that they are actually brought on-
board. So what happens is, look, when people apply for a job,
they need a job, right. They need money to pay for rent and
everything else. What happens is when it takes that long they
decide to go to work for a sheriff's office or they decide to
go to work at some other place. So I think the hiring has to be
fixed. I know there has been a lot done that has improved, but
I think it still is in need of more fixing.
Ms. Clarke. Mr. Reardon, can you tell us how do you think
that Congress can assist in meeting the staffing needs? I
think--I am not certain whether it was you or one of our other
panelists, but clearly the fact that we have been operating on
CRs has not been helpful. What are some of the suggestions that
you can see, particularly in dealing with the staffing needs?
Mr. Reardon. Well, I think one is that you could--Congress
could enact a stand-alone bill to authorize funding for CBP
officers for new hires to the level that is identified in the
workload staffing model, which right now during a pandemic is
900 CBPOs and then other staff as well. I think that Congress
could support fiscal year 2022 funding for agriculture
inspection personnel, support funding for trade operation
specialists.
I think another thing that would be really helpful for the
employees who are already on-board is support hazardous duty
pay for CBP officers who have from the first day of this
pandemic showed up at work. They have had to be at work
protecting our ports of entry and protecting this country.
Ms. Clarke. Thank you very much, Mr. Reardon. That is very
important, the points that we have raised around staffing.
I want to ask in the limited time that I have to all of our
port leadership, I am the chairperson of the Subcommittee on
Cybersecurity, so I am really concerned about, you know, the
posture in our ports with regard to cybersecurity. Can you
describe what actions your port has taken to mitigate the
chances of a cyber attack? I know that is huge and I only have
a little bit of time, but I am going to yield to you and, Madam
Chair, yield back once they have completed their responses.
Mr. Seroka. Congresswoman, Gene Seroka from Los Angeles.
As I mentioned to your colleague from California, Mr.
Correa, the Port of Los Angeles was the first to implement a
cybersecurity operations center here in September 2014 partly
funded by the Department of Homeland Security. Today that
center stops 40 million cyber intrusion attempts per month,
double what it was before COVID-19. Following that, the
learnings that we have taken, we have also seen the NotPetya
attack in Eastern Europe that impacted the largest shipping
company in the world, Maersk, and their associated terminal
operator, APMT. We have seen liner shipping company CGM be
attacked and marine terminal in Long Beach and the Long Beach
container terminal.
Following those episodes we have instituted the CRC, the
Cyber Resilience Center, which now brings in the private-sector
partners in and around the port.
As I have stated in testimony, there is much more work to
do. I am proud of the efforts we have made so far, but we need
this to be an entire community effort, from the Federal, State,
and local level, as well as our private-sector partners.
Ms. Clarke. Thank you.
Madam Chair, I am going to yield back. I don't think we
have any further responses. Perhaps we can do a joint hearing
at some point to just hone in on this subject matter.
I yield back, Madam Chair.
Ms. Barragan. OK. Fantastic. Thank you so much.
I now will recognize the gentleman from North Carolina, Mr.
Bishop. You are recognized for your 5 minutes.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, Madam Chairman. I don't think I will
take all of them.
Mr. Seroka, I was listening and it sounds like you have got
a story of considerable improvement in the situation that we
have read about in the media, but I was furnished a statistic.
I am not sure it is right, so I just want to ask you. I am
sorry, I could not hear all of your testimony. I was distracted
by some things.
But I have got a stat that says as of last week there were
a record 105 container ships waiting at California ports. Is
that accurate or is that incorrect information? If it is
correct, if it is a record, why--it seems to run contrary to
the general tenor I detected from your testimony that things
were improving.
Mr. Seroka. Sir, with all due respect, that is a
misinterpretation of the number.
Back in the middle of November--November 17 to be
specific--the private-sector employers association, ship
owners, marine exchange in southern California decided to redo
their queuing system of arrivals. We now count ships the moment
they leave Asia until they reach the breakwater right outside
the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach as they count those 105
ships that you refer to. If we did a like-for-like comparison,
prior to that on October 13 we had 89 ships that had just
departed Asia and are awaiting to move in just outside the
breakwater.
These are ships representative of early lunar new year,
where we are really hustling cargo out of Asia ahead of their
holiday, which will begin on the evening at midnight on January
31. As I have shared, there is much more work to do in the
supply chain across both the private- and public-sector
partners that we engage, but this is not terribly worse than it
was before this new private-sector queuing system went into
place.
We need to move more cargo out efficiently or dwell times.
The amount of time a container sits on our docks has basically
been cut in half since we have instituted some of our policies.
We need to further reduce that and get into a position where
cargo is flowing through these ports safely and securely.
Another area of work that we have done, as I mentioned, is
that we have seen major retailers, importers alike, begin to
order as much as they can just in case. They didn't want to be
the paper goods retailers of what we saw at the beginning of
COVID-19. So stocking up inventories has been key because our
inventory sales ration Nation-wide is the lowest it has been in
a decade. Trying to match up with this unbelievable consumer
demand that is fueling our economy is really why you see so
much cargo coming across the Pacific.
Mr. Bishop. Yes. I got that point pretty clearly.
But just to clarify, the queuing of ships--and, you know,
it is hard for me to discern or be an instant expert on what
the different methodologies are for queuing--but we have
heard--the media stories have been plentiful about ships
waiting in an unusual circumstance. Can you compare on an
apples-to-apples basis and tell me has the problems of ships
waiting offshore to come in worsened or improved, and how
markedly?
Mr. Seroka. Improved. Three reasons why the private sector
changed their queuing system to begin measuring from departure
in Asia until we can visibly see those ships here outside our
breakwater, which sits 2 miles offshore from the Ports of Los
Angeles and Long Beach: No. 1 were the emissions that were
hitting our local residential communities by all these ships
stacked up within visible distance of our shoreline. At peak,
sir, they reached more than 80. Second, the safety and security
of our----
Mr. Bishop. The number now--Mr. Seroka, as compared to
reaching a peak of 80, what is the number now?
Mr. Seroka. Right outside our breakwater it is in single
digit fashion as of this morning. I believe the number was 9.
Mr. Bishop. Have ships been required to wait farther
offshore in order to avoid that breakwater--you know, the--
evidenced from--that you can see from shore?
Mr. Seroka. Yes, they have. You have more ships at the 180-
mile marker, which is also measured as we leave Asia. Again,
three reasons why the private sector did this. No. 1, reduce
emissions right at our coastal residential communities with
these vessels sitting 2 miles offshore. Second, the safety and
security of the crews. As we experienced high wind events,
Santa Ana winds, coming across and into the basin of the port
complex, these ships started to sway. They were parked very
close to each other at what we call anchorage. Making sure that
we had more distance for the safety of those crews was of
paramount importance in this decision. Third, according to the
employers association, the ship and vessel operator could not
request its labor fulfillment until they reached that 40-mile
marker closer. So allowing the vessel operator to institute
their request for labor upon departure from Asia also allowed
us to spread out these ships and allow for a port call
optimization model that doesn't stack them all up at one time
by racing across the Pacific.
Mr. Bishop. Thank you, sir.
Madam Chairman, I saved less time than I thought. I yield
back.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you for that.
I would like to now recognize the gentleman from New
Jersey, Mr. Gottheimer, for 5 minutes.
Mr. Gottheimer. Thank you, Chairwoman, for holding this
timely and important hearing.
Seaports are seeing record numbers of cargo volume, as we
just talked about, which as we all know is adding to port
congestion and ships have been stalled in terminals for too
long these last months and obviously having an impact on our
supply chain. I strongly encouraged the activation of the
National Guard to help move critical goods, including COVID-19-
related pharmaceutical ingredients and other urgent needs that
are stuck at our ports, and the administration to create--I
have asked them to create a strategic shipping reserve to
utilize the United States Transportation Command Fleet or non-
combattant vessels to put them to work, which can--they carry
thousands of containers for our critical supplies. Many of
these ships are sitting idle or moving goods back and forth
from Europe and Asia, having excess capacity. I think utilizing
this strategic shipping reserve would further ease supply chain
disruptions at our ports and across our country.
Mr. Connor, if I can ask you, what other options are you
and your team advocating for to decrease disruption to critical
industries and supplies at our seaports, as well as anything
else you think we should be doing that we are not doing?
Mr. Connor. Congressman, thanks for that question. I think
there is already some pretty creative things happening.
Probably the most formidable and notable is what happened right
out in the San Pedro Bay Complex where hours of operation went
from, you know, 16 hours a day to 24 hours a day or potentially
24 hours a day, 7 days a week. The other thing you have seen
happen really over the last 4 to 6 weeks is the creation of
something called pop-up container facilities. This is off-
terminal, off-marine property container yards where cargo can
flow right off the ship and be staged for pick-up there and
helping to eliminate the congestion on the marine terminal
facility.
As you know, Congressman, ports were not set up to be----
Mr. Gottheimer. Sorry, sir. I was going to say there was
money in the infrastructure package for some of these pop-up
facilities, right?
Mr. Connor. There was actually some residual from the PIDP
program that was able to be allocated for the pop-up program.
You know, that the heart of is that ports were never designed
to be storage compounds, they are designed to be transit
points, you know, on the journey of cargo from where it is
manufactured to where it is consumed. So I think opening the
terminal, making the terminals open longer hours, and getting
it--creating these pop-up facilities to get it away from the
marine compound are two examples that have definitely helped
ease some of the pain we have been feeling.
Of course we are super enthusiastic about the
infrastructure money that is headed our way, but as you can
appreciate, it is going to be 18 months or so before we start
to see the fruits of that money come through in efficiency.
Ms. Barragan. I think we are waiting on Mr. Gottheimer. May
have a--are you back with us? There you are.
Mr. Gottheimer. Is that better? Is that better? Sorry about
that.
Ms. Barragan. You are good.
Mr. Gottheimer. Thanks. Global demand for U.S. exports,
primarily agriculture and forest products, remains strong even
with growing competition, but the discriminatory practices of
foreign flag ocean carriers continue to upend global markets.
Today the total number of containers leaving the United States
we know is an all-time high, but the number of these containers
loaded with export cargo is lower than at any time since 2015.
Mr. Seroka and Ms. Vick, I would love to hear your
thoughts, your perspective from the Port of Los Angeles and
Virginia, are you experiencing this type of challenge with
these foreign flag carriers?
Mr. Seroka. Like many parts of the supply chain, it is just
not one lever you can pull.
No. 1 policy, we need to look at the Phase One trade deal
with China that has created non-compensatory pricing for the
American farmer from the moment product is harvested. Again,
taking a look--I understand folks don't share our same ideals
across a variety of issues, but this is very important. Second,
our Nation needs a National export policy. We need to bring
people back into this sector. Work on round-trip economics and
see what we can do from training, reskilling, and upskilling to
get more productivity out of both agriculture and
manufacturing. Reconnecting our American exporters with their
partners overseas. Third, while the strength of the U.S. dollar
helps our economy in so many other areas, it disadvantages some
exporters in the Asia-Pacific theater. One classic example is
Brazil's soy beans compared to those of ours from the Midwest
to the United States.
We are working very closely with the International Dairy
Farmers Association, the Agricultural Transportation Coalition,
American Manufacturers Association to find ways to bring more
exports into the flow. We have got a lot of empty containers.
The idea is work from the coast inward to try to bring that
cargo up. But on average, dairy products moving through the
Port of Los Angeles have doubled year over year. Ag products
are up by percentage points, but we have much more work to do.
Mr. Gottheimer. Ms. Vick please.
Ms. Vick. Yes, thank you, Representative.
Similarly we have seen some issues with the match back of
containers and availability of containers because of some of
the upstream constraints. What we have done is focused with a
lot of our agricultural partners on transload facilities and
being able to move that cargo more efficiently. So we will
continue to work with them along with their partners to try to
facilitate that match back and the quicker movement of the
agricultural goods.
Mr. Gottheimer. If I could just ask about that. But you are
not concerned at all by----
Ms. Barragan. Mr. Gottheimer, your time is expired.
Mr. Gottheimer. Sorry. OK.
Ms. Barragan. I have gone a little over and----
Mr. Gottheimer. Thank you so much. Thank you.
Ms. Barragan [continuing]. We wanted to do a second round
if you want to stay for a second round.
Mr. Gottheimer. Thank you so much. I yield back. Thank you
so much.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Gottheimer.
With that I would like to recognize the gentleman from
Georgia, Mr. Clyde. You are recognized for 5 minutes.
Mr. Clyde. Thank you. Thank you very much Chairwoman
Barragan.
I will tell you that I wish we had a representative of the
Port of Savannah here at this hearing and potentially the
inland Port of Gainesville as well, but we don't. I guess we
can't have every port here. There would be a whole lot of
witnesses if we did.
But these questions are for Mr. Richert Self and Mr. Seroka
and Ms. Vick. As port directors and having specific ports, we
have been hearing over the past year about the increased
quantity of cargo going through our seaports of entry. Seaports
are the gateways for the transport of these goods and services.
The volume of both inbound and outbound commercial vessels
serves to me as a reasonably reliable litmus test for the
health of the overall economy. So can you provide the committee
with insight into the overall volume of cargo vessels coming
through the port currently and how that compares to pre-
pandemic levels, say this time January 2019 or January 2020,
before everything hit the fan in March 2020?
Mr. Self, if you would go first and then Mr. Seroka and Ms.
Vick, in that order please.
Mr. Self. Sure. Thank you.
Currently the port handles about right at 15 million tons
of cargo. Pre-pandemic it was actually slightly lower than
that. The only reason there has been a shift is some of the LNG
projects that were under construction completed construction in
2020. So it is a little bit--it is kind of an anomaly because
while some of the cargoes on the petroleum products decline on
the refining side, the LNG exports greatly increased. That is
going to be a growing trend for our port. We anticipate that to
continue. There are several projects that will be making their
final investment decision in the next 12 months and we
anticipate that number to continue to grow for the Calcasieu
Ship Channel.
Mr. Clyde. All right. Thank you, sir. I appreciate that.
Mr. Seroka.
Mr. Seroka. Cargo volume year over year is up 16 percent at
the Port of Los Angeles and compared to our best year ever,
Congressman, in 2018 we are up 13 percent. On average the
number of container vessels that come to the Port of Los
Angeles is approximately 1,800. That is represented by about 10
major international carriers headquartered in Asia and Europe.
This year alone we saw 10 new entrants to the trade. Think
of those inter-Asia and long-haul inter-Asia Middle East
carriers that have shifted their vessel assets to the
Transpacific in an effort to try to help support the rising
demand of American imports. We have also seen one way charter
hires by major American retailers that have come in. In the
end, when all the vessels are counted, we are probably going to
be up about 12 to 14 percent on individual vessel calls. But
that is not the whole story.
Most of those new entrants to the trade, charter vessels,
and one way hires were of a smaller variety of ship, many of
which left Asia loaded with containers without reservations at
our port's marine terminals. They would call us on the way
traversing the Pacific to see if we had space to accommodate
their ships and work them with our long shore labor. Part of
that really gummed up the works. Better planning, better
information flow, better notification would help tremendously.
But, again, all in an effort to satisfy us as U.S.
consumers is why you saw a number of new players come into the
mix this past 12 to 15 months.
Mr. Clyde. All right. Thank you. That is very good
information.
Ms. Vick, could you comment on the Port of Virginia?
Ms. Vick. Yes. Thank you, Representative Clyde.
We also have seen a tremendous amount of growth. During the
beginning of the pandemic we saw a 7 percent dip for about 5
months. Now we have recovered and last year we saw a 17 percent
increase over that prior year and this year we are up 25
percent.
The biggest shift that we have seen is really in the
balance of imports and exports. Traditionally we have been like
48 percent-52 percent. Now the growth is 11 percent in experts
but 27 percent in loaded imports. We are seeing that mostly
because of a shift in consumer behavior, where you are seeing a
lot more e-commerce rather than going to the traditional retail
store. So instead of it coming in and going to a distribution
center, we are seeing more developers want to come in in close
proximity to the port and put in cross-dock facilities where
they can very quickly shift to domestic containers and get out
to the consumers.
So it will be interesting to see how long, you know, this
occurs. We have an economist on staff that doesn't really see
an end in sight yet. You know, there are a number of economic
factors and potentially community factors, such as how many
more of these variants and shutdowns overseas at facilities and
things like that, but also inflation and some of the pressure
that folks are feeling.
So thank you for the question.
Mr. Clyde. All right. Well, thank you for the answer. So I
am seeing a significant--fairly significant increase across the
board.
Now, for Mr. Anthony Reardon, I have got a question for
you, sir. In your testimony you say that according to our most
recent briefing----
Ms. Barragan. Mr. Clyde.
Mr. Clyde [continuing]. Nearly 90 percent of CBP employees
are fully vaccinated as required by the mandate. Are you
concerned about the CBP's ability----
Ms. Barragan. Mr. Clyde? Your time has expired.
Mr. Clyde [continuing]. To fully staff with 10 percent not
vaccinated? I mean what is going to happen with those 10
percent?
Ms. Barragan. Mr. Clyde, your time has expired. I am going
to let the witness answer the question if he heard it. But we
are going to move to a second round.
Mr. Clyde. OK. Thank you.
Ms. Barragan. Does the witness have a short answer?
Mr. Reardon. Well, the short answer is that as I understand
it, there are--I think it is 97 percent are in compliance,
which means they have either gotten the vaccine or they are
in--they have requested an exemption.
Mr. Clyde. OK.
Mr. Reardon. So I think it is about 97 percent. In terms of
what happens to folks that either don't get the--you know,
don't get the exemption or just refuse altogether, my
understanding is that they will be terminated.
Are you getting exemptions?
Mr. Reardon. We have not gotten in CBP, so far as I know
anyway. Decisions have not been made yet on the requested
exemptions.
Mr. Clyde. So the Executive branch has not granted any
exemptions yet?
Mr. Reardon. In CBP I am not aware that they have granted
any yet, but, you know, it is certainly possible that they
could have that I am just not aware of it.
Mr. Clyde. OK. Is there a percentage that you know of?
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Clyde. We are going to go to
the second round of questions. You are welcome to stay. We will
see if we can get a second round of questions in here and I am
going to go ahead and start. If our witnesses have to leave, I
understand, but we are hoping to get just a few more questions
in.
I will start by recognizing myself for 5 minutes and then
we will alternate sides with any Members that are remaining
that want a follow-up question.
My question is if FEMA's Port Security Grant Program has
provided funding to State, local, and private-sector partners
to improve port infrastructure and security plans that deter
terrorists and other emerging threats, can you describe how
this important program has helped to improve your port security
and how you believe this program could be improved?
We will start with Mr. Seroka at the Port of Los Angeles
and then we will go around for any other responses.
Mr. Seroka. Thank you, Chairwoman.
A number of areas where this has been very successful. The
Port of Los Angeles has more than 450 CCTV cameras throughout
the complex. It has also helped us stand up the Threat
Detection Center, which manages those cameras in conjunction
with our marine terminal operations and other private-sector
partners. The aforementioned cybersecurity initiatives around
the CSOC, Cybersecurity Operations Center, and the Cyber
Resilience Center are also part of that.
The Port Security Grants have also funded the mobile assets
on ground and water that we have across the Port of Los Angeles
that are led by, again, head of public safety and Port Police
Chief Tom Gazsi and the 200 sworn and civilian peace officers
here at the port.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you.
Mr. Self.
Mr. Self. Yes. Just to echo what Mr. Seroka said, we have
utilized some of the Port Security Grants for both camera
systems that we operate along with systems that are utilized by
our harbor police department.
Ms. Barragan. Great.
Ms. Vick. I think you are on mute, Ms. Vick.
Ms. Vick. Thank you. Sorry about that.
We too have used Port Security Grants to establish a
cybersecurity operations center here in our port. We also have
camera systems that have been funded. Then we work with a
maritime incident response team of our other Government
agencies, local governments, for assets for their use as well
for radar detection, search and rescue equipment, vessels,
things like that.
Ms. Barragan. Great. Thank you.
Is AAPA on? Do they want to comment? I don't think I see
him here.
Mr. Connor. Yes, I am on, but I think the guys on the
ground covered it well.
Ms. Barragan. OK. Sounds good.
I have another question I want to get to while I have a
couple of minutes left here. I want to start with Mr. Connor on
this next question. Public-private partnerships, such as CBP's
Reimbursable Services Program have left ports to fill staffing
and infrastructure gaps, to offer additional customs,
immigration, and agricultural services. For example, CBP
informed the committee that overtime pay under the Reimbursable
Services Program has accounted for the processing of 2.5
million travelers and 1 million inspections.
What challenges, if any, have your organizations
experienced in utilizing the Reimbursable Services Program and
can you share any recommendations you have to improve the
program?
I think you are on mute, sir.
Mr. Connor. Yes, thank you.
I think our overarching recommendation would be, you know,
that we staff, even as Mr. Reardon himself as said, staff CBP
at a level where we don't have to rely on overtime. It creates
obviously financial concerns for the ports themselves, but it
also opens up a fatigue and burnout situation for the officers
and employees of CBP.
So as I listened to Mr. Reardon's comments throughout, I
think one thing is very consistent between the port community
and CBP, that we are asking really for the same thing, is to
have a robust staffing and funding of CBP so that we can
protect and serve the mission of CBP and the role of ports in
this country.
Ms. Barragan. Right. Thank you.
Anybody want to comment next? Mr. Seroka, Ms. Vick, Mr.
Self. Anybody else?
Mr. Seroka. Well-covered.
Ms. Barragan. OK. OK. Hearing nothing further on this, I
will go ahead and end my questions. I do want to thank you, Mr.
Seroka, for mentioning the Climate Smarts Ports bill, something
that I have been working on in getting to zero emissions in
ports. This bill is part of Build Back Better and basically
what it would do is provide a funding for ports across the
country to be able to invest in zero emissions technology with
the hope of eventually getting to zero emissions and helping
communities that live in the surrounding areas and the health
impacts they are having from ports. So everybody here should be
able to benefit from that should we get it across the finish
line.
I know that Mr. Higgins, that you have also another round
of questions, so I yield to the gentleman, the Ranking Member,
Mr. Higgins.
You are recognized for your 5 minutes.
Mr. Higgins. I thank the good lady, my friend, the
Chairwoman.
Ma'am, I would just like to present to my colleagues on
both of the aisle a bill that is currently within the committee
for consideration. We have spoken a lot about CBP staffing and
the needs there. I have a bill within committee that is being
considered for mark-up. Minority staff is working with the
Majority staff. I ask for your kind consideration, Madam Chair.
It is a CBP Workload Staffing Model Act, H.R. 4138. It would
solve some problems we believe. It's the sort of bipartisan
bill that the Homeland Security Committee is known for passing.
I just respectfully ask it to be heightened on your own radar
so that perhaps we can work together and offer some solutions
through a mark-up in the near future for staffing issues with
CBP.
I thank our witnesses for being here today and I yield.
Ms. Barragan. Thank you, Mr. Ranking Member Higgins. Happy
to work with you. I thought I saw another Member with their
hand raised, but it looks like the Member is gone.
So I will take this opportunity as well to thank the
witnesses for their valuable testimony and the Members for
their questions. The Members of the subcommittee may have
additional questions for the witnesses and we ask that you
respond as soon as you can in writing.
Without objection, the committee record shall be kept open
for 10 days.
Again, thank you, everybody, for your work, for being on
the front lines of the movement of our goods, the impact that
you have on our economy and jobs and everybody is so greatly
important.
With that, we will wrap. Hearing no further business, the
subcommittee stands adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 3:47 p.m., the subcommittee was adjourned.]
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