{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://buchanan.house.gov/2021/12/buchanan-leads-fla-delegation-letter-biden-supply-chain-crisis", "Buchanan Leads Fla. Delegation Letter to Biden on Supply Chain Crisis", "2021-12-13", "2021", "2021-12", "Republican", "House", "FL", "Vern Buchanan", "B001260", "buchanan.house.gov", "buchanan", "https://buchanan.house.gov/press-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 Amid ongoing delays at West Coast seaports, Congressman Vern Buchanan today led a letter signed by 17 bipartisan members of the Florida congressional delegation advocating for increased use of Florida\u2019s 15 deepwater ports.\n\n\u201cAs the holidays approach, American businesses and families are feeling the effects firsthand of the continued supply chain bottlenecks,\u201d said Buchanan. \u201cGiven Florida\u2019s unique geographic location, our 15 deepwater seaports can handle increased freight traffic and meet holiday demands for consumers around the country, and they are ready to get to work.\u201d\n\nIn a letter to President Biden, the members offered to work with the Biden administration to utilize Florida\u2019s ports as an alternative to the West Coast that continues to see unprecedented delays in offloading cargo, leading to severe supply chain congestion. Recent reports state that almost 90 cargo ships were left idling off the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles while waiting to offload their containers. At one point, this logjam led to 17-day delays for ships, further delaying the arrival of shipments to consumers.\n\nIn just the last two years, the State of Florida has invested nearly $1 billion in projects to increase seaport capacity and plans to spend an additional $200 million over the next several years to improve the state\u2019s roadways to handle increased freight movements. Additionally, unlike other ports across the country, many of Florida\u2019s ports have been functioning at full capacity 24 hours-a-day, seven days a week, for quite some time.\n\n\u201cToday, our ports stand ready to help alleviate current systemic freight backlogs all over the country and are well-equipped to handle additional capacity,\u201d said the members in the letter. \u201cIn short, Florida is open for business.\u201d\n\nFlorida Ports Council President and CEO Mike Rubin praised the lawmakers and said, \u201cThe leadership and bipartisan efforts of Florida\u2019s Congressional Delegation, is further demonstration that Florida\u2019s seaports are open for business, and are a key solution in helping to alleviate the nation\u2019s supply chain challenges \u2026 Special thanks to Congressman Vern Buchanan and Florida\u2019s Congressional Delegation for his leadership on this important issue\u201d.\u201d\n\nEarlier this year, Governor Ron DeSantis also announced that Florida\u2019s seaports can decrease congestion along shipping routes and welcomed businesses to reroute their cargo to a port along our coasts.\n\nYou can read a full copy of the letter here or below.\n\nDear Mr. President:\n\nAs members of the Florida Congressional delegation representing our state\u2019s world-class network of 15 deepwater seaports, we stand ready to work with you and your administration to help provide important and much-needed alternatives to congested shipping routes around the country.\n\nIn successfully moving over 100 million tons of cargo and millions of cruise passengers annually, Florida\u2019s seaports currently support a vast array of global commercial industries. Working together with the federal government, Florida\u2019s seaports can save consumers money, support American jobs, grow our economy and offer near-term relief for our nation\u2019s current supply chain bottleneck affecting many aspects of our daily lives.\n\nAccording to recent news reports, a back-up of almost 90 cargo ships waiting to enter either the Port of Long Beach or the Port of Los Angeles extended south almost to San Diego. This logjam meant cargo ships were waiting, on average, almost 17 days just to off-load their containers. We believe that our seaports are underutilized assets that can help reduce, if not eliminate, the delays plaguing our domestic supply chain and are asking you to work with us to help make this a reality.\n\nIn Florida, there are currently no delays at our ports in large part because many of them have been operating 24 hours-a-day for quite some time, while other ports around the country are just now announcing around-the-clock operations. With the holiday season upon us and the United States struggling to solve crippling congestion in our supply chain, our 15 ports and unique geographical location offer a more efficient alternative to certain West Coast ports.\n\nSince 2019, the State of Florida has invested nearly $1 billion in capacity-building projects for our ports and plans to spend $200 million over the next few years to further enhance the state\u2019s inland freight-handling capacity. Furthermore, our ports have matched these investments and are committed to using additional resources to expand their services to meet demand. Consequently, our transportation infrastructure can handle increased freight traffic immediately and that capacity will only continue to grow.\n\nToday, our ports stand ready to help alleviate current systemic freight backlogs all over the country and are well-equipped to handle additional capacity. In short, Florida is open for business.\n\nAgain, we welcome the opportunity to work with your administration to help take further advantage of Florida\u2019s 15 deepwater seaports and to serve as an important part of the solution to the ongoing supply chain crisis.", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T20:37:48Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://buchanan.house.gov/2021/12/buchanan-leads-fla-delegation-letter-biden-supply-chain-crisis"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 2.090894151479006, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}