[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 26 (Wednesday, February 9, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S584-S585]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                              Supply Chain

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, one of the big drivers of our inflation 
crisis was Democrats' decision to flood the economy with unnecessary 
government money last March with their $1.9 trillion spending bill.
  Another contributor to the problem has been supply chain bottlenecks. 
Americans are getting pretty used to long delays in receiving the goods 
they have ordered, to big holes on grocery store shelves, and to being 
unable to rely on a store to keep a product in stock consistently.
  Since the start of the pandemic, keeping goods in stock has been a 
challenge, but, as with the larger inflation crisis, the White House 
has seemed largely uninterested in addressing the problem. ``The 
tragedy of the treadmill that's delayed''--that was a quote of the 
White House Press Secretary, joking in October, a typically tone-deaf 
comment from an administration often oblivious to the difficulties 
facing ordinary Americans.
  In fact, supply chain issues are not a minor inconvenience; they are 
a real problem. It is not easy for an already overstretched mom or dad 
to have to run around town trying to find essential items--items they 
could previously rely on one store, at least, to have in stock. 
Businesses are struggling to maintain their profit margins and meet the 
demands of their customers, particularly small businesses, which have 
fewer resources to work around supply chain problems. Of course, supply 
chain problems are helping to fuel the price hikes Americans have been 
facing on everything from food and clothing to furniture, to used cars 
and trucks.
  These are facts that seem lost on the administration, which has 
largely ignored supply chain issues and the inflation crisis in favor 
of focusing on pet projects: a massive tax-and-spending spree and 
election legislation that it thinks will boost Democrat chances in the 
fall.
  On top of this, the administration has taken more than one action 
that is making or seems likely to make our supply chain problems even 
worse.
  Earlier this week, for example, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety 
Administration implemented its entry-level driver training rule, which 
substantially expands training requirements for drivers seeking to 
obtain a commercial driver's license. The new rule is likely to make it 
significantly more challenging for trucking companies to train new 
drivers, particularly for smaller trucking companies, which may 
struggle to afford the enhanced training costs.
  The trucking industry has been hit hard by the supply chain crisis, 
with drivers working longer hours with fewer resources to keep goods 
moving across the country. They have been heroes. This makes it a very 
bad time to impose new burdens on truckers and tie up trucking 
companies with additional redtape.
  The administration should have delayed the implementation of this 
rule until the worst of the supply chain crisis eases. Unfortunately, 
the administration decided to push ahead anyway, and now truckdrivers 
and trucking companies will face additional challenges, which will 
likely exacerbate supply chain problems.
  The Canada-U.S. cross-border truckdriver vaccine mandate is another 
administration action that has created new pressures on a trucking 
industry already stretched thin thanks to the supply chain crisis. I am 
a strong supporter of vaccines, but mandating vaccines for cross-border 
truckdrivers has only served to worsen supply chain bottlenecks. You 
just need to look at the current situation in Canada to see the 
evidence of that. Truckdrivers do not pose a high risk of COVID 
transmission since they spend most of their workday alone. This 
mandate's main legacy looks likely to be increasing the supply chain 
problems we are facing.
  Then, of course, there is the administration's hostile attitude 
toward conventional energy production. The administration might not 
like it, but the fact of the matter is that our economy will continue 
to rely on conventional energy like gasoline for a while yet. 
Discouraging conventional energy production, as the administration has 
done, is doing nothing but worsening our inflation and supply chain 
crisis and driving up energy bills for American families.
  Energy prices have a substantial effect on prices in the store and on 
the availability of goods. The higher energy prices are, the more 
expensive it will be to produce and transport goods. The more it costs 
to produce and transport goods, the higher the final price of the goods 
is likely to be.
  The administration's hostility to traditional energy production has 
helped drive energy prices up, which is aggravating, making worse, our 
supply chain and inflation crises.
  Instead of imposing unhelpful new regulations, it would be nice to 
see the administration turn its focus to meaningful measures to address 
the supply chain crisis, like those in the bipartisan legislation I 
introduced last week with Senator Amy Klobuchar.
  For some time now, I have heard reports of ocean carriers refusing to

[[Page S585]]

transport certain goods--often American agricultural products, which 
impacts my State of South Dakota--in favor of more lucrative cargoes. 
Our legislation is designed to address this problem and create a more 
level playing field for American producers.
  Our bill gives the Federal Maritime Commission greater authority to 
respond to discriminatory ocean carrier practices, and it provides the 
FMC with tools to more quickly resolve detention and demurrage 
disputes.
  This legislation will bring greater efficiency and transparency to a 
process that leaves many shippers frustrated--especially small 
businesses--and bring long-term, positive changes to the maritime 
supply chain, which I hope will benefit exporters, importers, and 
consumers alike.
  These are the kinds of measures the White House should be focusing 
on, measures that open up the supply chain instead of weighing it down 
with government mandates and regulations.
  Given the administration's general lack of concern with the supply 
chain and inflation crises facing the American people, I don't have a 
lot of hope that the White House is going to do much to address either 
of these problems, but I will continue to work with my colleagues in 
Congress from both parties wherever possible to advance measures that 
will ease our supply chain problems and help to get back to a situation 
where goods move smoothly around our country and around the world.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. TOOMEY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.