November 5, 2015
Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- During a press conference today, Representatives Dan Newhouse (R-WA) and Kurt Schrader (D-OR) announced the introduction of legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 3932 the Ensuring Continued Operations and No Other Major Incidents, Closures, or Slowdowns (ECONOMICS) Act. This legislation would create new economic safeguards to prevent future port slowdowns such as the West Coast ports slowdown that devastated families, businesses, and agriculture producers west of the Mississippi. H.R. 3932 is also cosponsored by Reps. Tom Cole (R-OK), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Dave Reichert (R-WA), Steve Stivers (R-OH), Fred Upton (R-MI), and Greg Walden (R-OR).
"We must take the lesson of the most recent ports slowdown to heart: that two parties cannot hold hostage the nation's economy," said Rep. Newhouse. "Under the status quo, the national economy--which depends on a stable supply chain--is subject to the threat of ongoing disruptive activity at our ports. This legislation will create an impetus to act to resolve disputes before they drag on for months with catastrophic effects. By establishing objective economic standards that require the federal government to form a Board of Inquiry, we can reduce the threat of an economic bottleneck at our ports that causes costly delays and lost opportunities. Family farms and businesses in Washington simply cannot afford another slowdown. I am grateful for my colleagues' support for this legislation."
"The West Coast Port crisis cost Oregon jobs, millions of dollars in economic growth and productivity and, eventually, the loss of its largest container shipper Hanjin from the Port of Portland--a hit that we will not know the full magnitude of for a few years," said Rep. Schrader. "Another dispute of this magnitude cannot and should not happen. It only makes sense, given the irreparable economic harm and market loss from West Coast Port strife, that we establish a Board of Inquiry to push for a resolution before conditions worsen."