LONG BEACH, CA – As a part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s historic actions to strengthen America’s provide chains, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg joined Southern California elected officers and native leaders on the Port of Lengthy Seashore to interrupt floor on “America’s Green Gateway,” the Pier B On-Dock Rail Assist Facility. The $1.5 billion undertaking is without doubt one of the greatest infrastructure initiatives within the nation and can hyperlink the Port of Lengthy Seashore’s present on-dock rail to the regional and nationwide rail system that can make the motion of cargo faster and extra environment friendly, whereas creating much less air pollution for native communities.
The historic undertaking, which is able to create good-paying jobs and decrease prices for shoppers, wouldn’t be attainable with out help from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation. Up to now, the Port of Lengthy Seashore has already obtained a $283 million Mega grant and a $52.6 million Port Infrastructure Improvement Program grant funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation from the U.S. Division of Transportation.
The Port of Lengthy Seashore handles $200 billion of commerce yearly, together with American-made manufacturing exports which can be being boosted by President Biden’s Investing in America agenda. The port alsoand helps 2.6 million jobs throughout U.S. together with 575,000 in Southern California making it one of the vital important nodes in America’s provide chains, having simply recorded its busiest June on file.
Right now’s groundbreaking builds on President Biden and Secretary Buttigieg’s progress strengthening provide chains for the long-term. Below the Biden-Harris Administration, DOT has created a first-of-its-kind data-sharing partnership with ports, railroads, ocean carriers, and different trade companions to forestall bottlenecks on the busiest container ports, together with the Ports of Los Angeles and Lengthy Seashore. As well as, DOT continues to make historic investments by way of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Regulation, together with over $5 billion introduced earlier this week to restore and rebuild among the nation’s most economically important bridges which can be essential to truck drivers shifting items throughout America.
The total transcript of Secretary Buttigieg’s remarks on the groundbreaking beneath:
Thanks. Thanks a lot.
I’m Pete Buttigieg. I’ve one of the best job within the federal authorities, and one of the best a part of that job is celebrating days like right now, so thanks for the possibility to hitch you.
Thanks, Patricia, to you and to all the employees you signify—the ILWU and different port employees who didn’t have the choice of coming in by Zoom through the darkish days of the pandemic, who did a lot to maintain America’s economic system shifting. And to all the employees you signify, together with these constructing trades employees, we’re so enthusiastic about having the chance to work on this and each different employee concerned within the development and operation of America’s transportation techniques.
That may be a large a part of why that is known as the Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act—we consider in these good-paying jobs, and so do you.
Likewise, with all the completely different hats that you just put on, Bobby Olvera, thanks a lot for what you do right here, thanks for all the issues that the Harbor Fee rightly takes nice satisfaction in, and also you have been proper in saying that this funding represents a serious vote of confidence within the wonderful work and potential of this facility, and all people related to it.
Likewise, I need to acknowledge Mario Cordero for his extraordinary work on good days and hard days for America’s provide chains, and your total staff have been terrific to work with. Congratulations on this grant.
Mayor [Rex] Richardson, thanks for welcoming us to town. Every little thing that you’re rightly happy with in Lengthy Seashore, I usually mirror that the job of mayor has solely turn out to be tougher and demanding since I proudly wore that title. But additionally, and I’m certain Robert would agree, certain would’ve been good again after we have been mayor if there have been a trillion-dollar infrastructure invoice offering a wind at our again in doing our job led by the President of the US, so hopefully you discover we’re making your job just a bit bit simpler.
Each nice day like this can be a partnership, together with a partnership with the state. So, thanks, Mark, and thanks to all people in Governor Newson’s administration who groups up with us on this and so many nice initiatives like these I’ll be with.
And I need to acknowledge the extraordinary federal delegation that serves this group and this state: Senator Butler and Senator Padilla, Congressman Robert Garcia—who, likewise, I rejoiced once I discovered he was coming to Congress, as a result of we want former mayors to convey that perspective.
To Grace Napolitano, who I love a lot—and I don’t simply say that as a result of she’s on the committee that oversees me and our work.
And I believe there are different members of the Home who will likely be becoming a member of us in a while right now. You’ve only a formidable delegation right here, and thanks for every little thing that you just do, particularly in these occasions.
I’ve acquired twins. Two-and-a-half years previous. Chasten and I’ve the privilege of elevating them. The one factor higher than my day job is the job of being a dad. And, as anyone who’s had toddlers is aware of, bedtime routine will get to be an actual factor proper about this age.
And one thing new made its approach into our bedtime routine a number of weeks in the past. After we get them out of the bathtub and dry them off, after which we do the pajamas, after which we do the e-book, after which we do the second e-book, after which we do the third e-book, after which we do the story. After which we promise to inform the neighbors to be quiet, and inform the firefighter to be quiet, and inform the helicopter to be quiet. After which we verify below the mattress for monsters, and we verify within the closet for dinosaurs. After which we rely to 10. After which we do the three kisses. After which—simply at what I believed can be the second after we have been turning the lights out and shutting the door—each of them, particularly our daughter, has begun saying, “Tell me about your work.”
“Well, tell me your work,” they are saying.
And the primary time this occurred, I stated, “Does hearing about my work help you go to sleep?”
And really sweetly, our little daughter stated, “Yeah.”
And at first, I actually struggled to do it. It’s laborious to say to a soon-to-be-three-year-old, “Well, tomorrow we’re going to release a new MPRM and then I’m testifying in the House Committee.”
However then I began considering, truly, the larger and extra essential and extra useful your work, the extra it’s the sort of factor you possibly can even inform a three-year-old about.
And it was great, only a few days in the past to have the ability to say, when this second got here round within the bedtime routine, “Well, I’m gonna get on an airplane, I’m gonna go to Pennsylvania and help fix a bridge.” And right here she requested if I used to be bringing tape. I defined that it’s most likely going to take greater than tape. After which I used to be going to get on one other aircraft and get to go to a spot known as California, the place we’re working collectively to assist make trains higher capable of go as much as the ships to get the issues that come on the ships and produce them to all the homes, together with ours.
And it truly is that easy. And it’s that sophisticated, in fact. A unprecedented effort that is also a rare second within the earlier than and after image of what has occurred to America’s provide chains in only a few, brief, disorienting years.
As a result of so a lot of America’s psychological photographs, and definitely so lots of the photographs in my very own thoughts’s eye, of what occurred to America, particularly within the rapid wake of COVID, comes from this port and this port complicated.
The pictures of the extraordinary individuals who rose to the event as our transportation techniques and provide chains confronted their most profound and widespread set of disruptions since 9/11. All of us bear in mind these photographs from that point when grocery retailer cabinets have been wanting every little thing from floor beef to rest room paper.
After which, when the administration started after which our economic system got here roaring again, that picture of these 100 huge container ships bearing down on the coast in San Pedro Bay right here.
Then I take into consideration a really completely different reminiscence or picture, a setting about as completely different because it will get, which is the Roosevelt Room within the West Wing of the White Home, when President Biden gathered collectively Mario, and Gene Seroka from the Port of LA, and Willie Adams from ILWU, and we sat at that historic convention desk, nonetheless sporting our masks again then, speaking piece by piece about easy methods to work by way of this large bottlenecks within the provide chain, easy methods to act collectively to do one thing about them. After which I take into consideration all of the conferences—dozens, perhaps a whole lot of conferences—that adopted through the years in a lot much less storied convention rooms and Zoom rooms that sustained the extraordinary coordination that saved America’s economic system afloat.
And I image the aerial view wanting down at Terminal Island, first on a PowerPoint slide after which a little bit bit additional up shut, the place an 80-acre yard close to right here was being repurposed to retailer chassis and empty containers to creatively deal with a chokepoint within the system.
And I bear in mind the pictures of the TV commentators on cable behind their information desks, proper round this time three years in the past, starting breathlessly to foretell that Christmas 2021 was going to be just about canceled.
Then I take into consideration how that Christmas occurred to be our children’ first Christmas. It was very a lot not canceled, as a result of the women and men at locations just like the Ports of LA and Lengthy Seashore moved file ranges of products that yr and noticed to it that folks acquired greater than 99 % of their packages on time or with minimal delay.
And naturally, the products that got here by way of this port at the moment didn’t simply imply presents below the tree, it meant important medical items and numerous merchandise and components that American jobs relied on.
And I do bear in mind the sacrifice and the satisfaction of the ILWU employees who took on weekend work and late shifts to maintain these items shifting into and out of the port to get to the place they wanted to go.
After which there’s a picture I’ve held in my thoughts for a very long time however didn’t come round simply but, which is the day we might begin to transfer some dust—or as my boss would say, “turn a spade”—on the enhancements that we’ve been speaking about engaged on funding to maneuver extra rail capability onto the docks right here and make it attainable for this essential American container port to maneuver much more for the American folks.
Simply as we admire and depend upon the port employees who transfer items right here very day, I’m excited to be with the development employees from a number of unions about to begin bodily delivering on the development to result in that imaginative and prescient that folks right here have had for greater than 20 years, a imaginative and prescient President Biden was decided to make a actuality, which we are actually so very proud to help with greater than $330 million accessible by way of the Biden infrastructure package deal.
So, that’s why, whereas I don’t get to bodily see most and even lots of the 54,000 [60,000] initiatives and counting that we have now happening across the nation getting help by way of this package deal, I’m delighted, on behalf of the Biden-Harris Administration, to hitch you all to interrupt floor on America’s Inexperienced Gateway!
What day for Lengthy Seashore and for the American economic system. This work builds a rail community on the port that greater than triples the amount of cargo that may transfer by rail to just about 5 million containers a yr.
That’s the kind of throughput that can hold America’s economic system buzzing and hold prices down with advantages in each a part of this nation—as distant from right here as our home in Michigan and the home I grew up in in South Bend, Indiana—as a result of as we noticed through the pandemic, what occurs on the greatest port complicated within the nation impacts the entire nation.
It issues to U.S. producers shifting their American merchandise out, particularly as this administration doubles down on its funding within the American manufacturing renaissance being powered by American employees right now.
And it’s not simply the elevated quantity, it’s how items transfer. As Mario talked about, one journey by prepare is the equal of 750 journeys by truck. It signifies that these scarce truck chassis and drivers can think about getting items to these areas that might not be effectively served by rail.
And the shift to rail on this context can scale back greenhouse fuel air pollution by as a lot as 75 %, which means much less exhaust breathed in by folks—together with children—who stay close to the port, to not point out the employees on the port.
By way of this undertaking, and the a whole lot of different provide chain enhancements we’re funding throughout the nation, we’re not simply fixing provide chains that have been upended by the pandemic, we’re making our provide chains extra resilient towards different disruptions, as a result of though we are able to’t predict what every one will likely be, we are able to predict that we’ll face many extra. It may very well be a geopolitical conflicts like Russia’s brutal warfare towards Ukraine. It may very well be the Houthi assaults towards transport within the Purple Sea. It may very well be more and more excessive climate occasions from local weather change, that are inflicting world transport disruptions as we converse.
America’s provide chains should get higher ready than they have been three-and-a-half years in the past, and because of this group right here, and the management of President Biden, they’re higher ready for these threats and challenges sooner or later.
We’re higher positioned due to the investments, and due to the brand new freight workplace that we stood up, the partnerships that we developed, the unprecedented data-sharing that we have now initiated—all together with your help—and due to that new infrastructure.
It is a summer season of development. I’ve been seeing it everywhere in the nation: 1000’s of miles of street being repaired; over 10,000 bridge repairs underway; over 800 airports being modernized. It’s a rare second.
I do know we have now some Spanish-language attendees and media, so I’m going to hope that my Spanish trainer from highschool is wanting over my shoulder from someplace as I do my greatest.
Ahora quiero decir unas palabras en español.
Me complace estar una vez más en el Puerto de Lengthy Seashore, en esta ocasión para celebrar con ustedes el inicio de la construcción de America’s Inexperienced Gateway. Gracias a la Administración Biden-Harris el puerto finalmente podrá dar vida a este importante proyecto, con una inversión federal de $300 millones se construirá una purple ferroviaria que triplicará el volumen de carga que se mueve en el puerto, bajando el costo de los productos para las familias y mejorando la calidad del aire que respira la comunidad que vive cerca del puerto.
[Page flies away in the wind.] That web page we’ll should do with out, so I’ll sum it up a little bit extra succinctly.
Extra velocity. Extra capability. Much less congestion. Much less air pollution. Much less delay. That may be a win, win, win, win-win, and I’m delighted to have fun it with you.
So, congratulations, and let’s go transfer some dust!
Thanks very a lot.
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