Miami Herald
Op-Ed: Rep. Carlos Gimenez and Sen. Rick Scott
December 10, 2021

It is a grave failure of the Biden administration that our store shelves are empty, and that Americans cannot find basic goods and products. These supply-chain issues have been festering for months, and rather than the Biden administration taking meaningful action to fix them, it, instead, has doubled-down on the premise that everything is OK.

That is why we came together to introduce the Supply Chain Emergency Response Act, a commonsense solution to get Washington working for Florida’s families.

Our legislation redirects $125 million of unspent, unobligated CARES Act funds to facilitate cargo vessels currently on hold along the West Coast to cross the Panama Canal and dock in the East. The legislation also allows governors to use unspent, unobligated CARES Act funds to help offset port fees and other related state-level expenses.

We want to ensure that these funds help Americans directly rather than going into the hands of bad actors. Our bill prohibits any individual who is a member of the Chinese Communist Party or any company owned, in whole or in part, by it from being eligible for the provisions under this act.

In the midst of the holiday season, we see that, in fact, things are far from OK. From the beginning of this supply-chain dilemma, Florida’s ports have clamored for more cargo vessels to reroute from their original port of call to California and come to the East. Like Florida, several states along the Gulf and the Eastern Seaboard have both the port capacity and the logistical capabilities to ensure goods reach our shelves in a timely, efficient manner.

Getting these cargo vessels to Florida and other Eastern states also alleviates the shipping-container shortage, which has made it difficult for American producers — from farmers and ranchers to domestic manufacturers — to ship their goods and products abroad.

Despite what the Biden administration says, empty shelves grow more common, prices are surging higher and small businesses can’t access the goods they need to serve customers. Biden’s supply-chain and inflation crises are devastating for so many Americans, but it’s our poorest families, those on low and fixed incomes that are hurt the most.

Unlike the inaction we have seen from the Biden administration, we cannot just sit idly by. This is not a problem we can allow to fester.

Fortunately, Florida’s ports are ready and able to help with this crisis, and it is our hope that all of our colleagues work with us to quickly pass this good and urgently needed bill to provide a commonsense solution to this supply chain crisis. We cannot wait any longer. It is time to make Washington work for Floridians.

U.S. Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez represents Miami’s 26th Congressional District in the U.S. House. Sen. Rick Scott represents Florida in the U.S. Senate.