Statement of Daniel B. Maffei on Passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022

I applaud yesterday’s passage of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2022 by the U.S. House of Representatives and look forward to this legislation being signed into law.

The strong bipartisan and bicameral support in Congress to act and address the multitude of challenges U.S. shippers—especially exporters—have faced over the past two years is impressive.  Lawmakers heard clearly the calls for help from American manufacturers, farmers, and companies that rely on access to international ocean cargo services.

This bill provides needed and overdue updates to the laws the Federal Maritime Commission enforces.  These changes will have a beneficial effect on how U.S. shippers are served and will bring more accountability to how ocean cargo services are provided.  We will move promptly to implement the steps necessary to bring shippers the benefits of this legislation, beginning with the rulemaking addressing export shipments.

The leadership demonstrated by Representative John Garamendi in identifying the necessity for this legislation, and his commitment to seeing it through to the President’s Desk is especially deserving of recognition and commendation.  His efforts to build a coalition within the House that ensured OSRA’s passage was deft and skilled.  He had a willing and equally capable partner in his colleague and original co-sponsor Representative Dusty Johnson.

Yesterday’s milestone would not have been possible without the efforts of Senators Klobuchar and Thune who co-sponsored the Senate version of OSRA, and Chair Cantwell and Ranking Member Wicker of Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation who worked cooperatively to successfully move this legislation forward.

OSRA will provide the FMC with enhanced authority to ensure industry players have the right incentives and that all stakeholders in the ocean freight transportation system can have a voice. We are grateful for all those who have contributed to making the Commission a more robust and capable entity.

Commissioner Daniel B. Maffei is a Commissioner with the U.S. Federal Maritime Commission. The thoughts and comments expressed here are his own and do not necessarily represent the position of the Commission.