Senate Commerce Committee Votes to Open Access on Key Metrics About US Ports
The Senate Commerce Committee on June 25 gave voice vote approval to legislation intended to provide access to new key metrics on U.S. ports as a way to help officials detect signs of disruptions to economic sectors.
The bill would require the director of the Bureau of Transportation Statistics to establish a port performance statistics program. It also would require U.S. port authorities subject to federal regulation or which receive federal aid to report annually to BTS. The secretary of Transportation also would be required to update Congress on the performance of ports.
The recent nine-month labor dispute at West Coast container ports prompted the legislation, said Sen. John Thune (R-S.D.), the committee’s chairman and bill sponsor.
“Businesses in South Dakota and across our country rely on dependable port operations for vital import and export necessities,” Thune said shortly after the vote. “The damage inflicted on our economy because of port labor strife needed a response to help prevent a reoccurrence.”
The measure, titled the Ports Performance Act, likely will be considered as part of a larger surface transportation reauthorizing bill, the committee indicated.
