[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 56 (Wednesday, March 30, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1843-S1844]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                       Ocean Shipping Reform Act

  Mr. THUNE. Mr. President, American families are currently struggling 
with the worst inflation in 40 years--40 years. Food prices, gas 
prices, used car prices--everywhere Americans look, they are paying 
more. Wages increased on average last year, but inflation outstripped 
wage growth, which means that, instead of a wage increase, a lot of 
Americans got a de facto pay cut. And there is no clear end in sight.
  It is no wonder that nearly two-thirds of the American people 
disapprove of President Biden's handling of the economy, and they are 
right to do so because Democrats bear a substantial part of the 
responsibility for this inflation crisis. While it is true that supply 
chain issues and the reopening of economies after COVID shutdowns 
contributed somewhat to inflationary pressures, a big part of the 
reason for our current inflation crisis is the Democrats' decision to 
pass the American Rescue Plan last March.
  The very definition of ``inflation'' is too many dollars chasing too 
few goods and services, and that is exactly the situation that 
Democrats helped create with their so-called American Rescue Plan. 
Democrats took control mere weeks after Congress had passed a fifth--
fifth--bipartisan COVID relief bill totaling more than $900 billion and 
meeting essentially all current, pressing COVID needs.
  It was abundantly clear that we were not in immediate need of 
trillions more in government spending, but that didn't stop Democrats. 
Now that they were in charge, they were eager to take advantage of the 
COVID crisis to begin implementing their Big Government vision.
  So, in the name of COVID relief, they pushed through a massive, 
partisan, $1.9 trillion piece of legislation filled with unnecessary 
spending and handouts to Democrat interest groups, and the outcome was 
entirely predictable. Democrats flooded the economy with unnecessary 
government money, and the economy overheated as a result.
  Unfortunately, there is no going back and undoing the American Rescue 
Plan Act; although, given the inflation crisis it helped create, I 
wonder if some Democrats wish they could go back and undo it.
  There is no easy fix for Democrats' self-inflicted inflation crisis, 
but there are things that we can do to at least lessen its effects, 
starting with legislation to help ease supply chain woes.
  Last week, the Senate Commerce Committee reported my bipartisan 
shipping legislation out of committee by voice vote. The Ocean Shipping 
Reform Act, which I introduced with Senator Klobuchar, would help ease 
supply chain pressures by improving the fluidity of the supply chain.
  For some time now, I have been hearing reports of ocean carriers 
refusing to transport certain goods, often American agricultural 
products. This would be a difficult situation at any time, as export 
markets around the world are critically important to American 
producers, but it is particularly painful at a time when inflation is 
soaring and the supply chain is under significant strain.
  The Ocean Shipping Reform Act is designed to address these kinds of 
shipping problems and create a more level playing field for American 
producers. Our legislation would give the Federal Maritime Commission 
increased authority to respond to unfair ocean carrier practices 
whether that involves a refusal to carry certain cargo, like 
agricultural commodities, or discriminating against certain commodities 
for export.
  Our bill would also provide the FMC with tools to more quickly 
resolve detention and demurrage disputes, which would bring greater 
efficiency and transparency to a process that leaves many shippers 
frustrated, especially agricultural producers and other small 
businesses; and our legislation would take steps to improve the 
movement of goods at our Nation's ports, which would help ease supply 
chain bottlenecks and improve the speed at which goods reach consumers.
  The Ocean Shipping Reform Act would bring long-term positive changes 
to the maritime supply chain, which I hope would benefit exporters, 
importers, and consumers alike.
  I was very pleased that our legislation received strong bipartisan 
support in the Commerce Committee, and I hope it can swiftly pass here 
in the

[[Page S1844]]

Senate. This is the kind of bill that we should be working on if we 
want to help alleviate our inflation situation and improve the economy.
  I was dismayed to see that the President's budget, which was released 
this week, would double down on the kind of excessive government 
spending that helped get us into this inflation crisis in the first 
place. After a year of progressively worsening inflation, you would 
think Democrats would have learned their lesson, but, clearly, the 
President is still intent on more reckless spending, coupled, I might 
add, with job-killing tax hikes--and not just any tax hikes. According 
to Bloomberg, the President's budget would add up to being the largest 
tax hike in American history in dollar terms.
  I hope that my Democratic colleagues here in Congress will decide to 
skip the President's irresponsible tax-and-spending proposals and focus 
on measures that would actually help alleviate this inflation crisis, 
not make it worse.
  While there is no easy fix for our inflation situation, we can start 
to make things better for Americans with bipartisan legislation like 
the Ocean Shipping Reform Act. I hope my colleagues on both sides of 
the aisle will support the legislation Senator Klobuchar and I have 
produced.
  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mrs. MURRAY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The ACTING PRESIDENT pro tempore. Without objection, it is so 
ordered.