KTTC

Congress has passed a bi-partisan bill aimed to help fix supply chains and ease shipping backlogs.

The Ocean Shipping Reform Act would give more power to the Federal Maritime Commission, the U.S. agency that oversees ocean shipping.

The Commission would have the authority to investigate late fees charged by carriers and prohibit ocean carriers and marine terminals from refusing to fill available cargo space.

The bill passed in the Senate in late March, and Monday, it passed in House.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar introduced this legislation and spearheaded it through Congress.

“These international shipping conglomerates have been raking in millions of dollars on the backs of our businesses both big and small as well as our farmers. So what happens is they have increased the shipping rates by four times. They used the pandemic as an excuse, then the businesses have to pay more and then that gets translated into higher prices for consumers,” she said.

The bill is now being sent to President Joe Biden’s desk where he is expected to sign it into law.

###