AFIA Praises House Passage of Bill to Ease Shipping Crisis

December 8, 2021

Contact Victoria Broehm, Director of Communications

The American Feed Industry Association (AFIA) applauds the U.S. House for passing H.R. 4996, the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 2021, today, which will address some of the bottlenecks stifling the export of feed, feed ingredients and pet food products at American ports. Leah Wilkinson, AFIA’s vice president of public policy and education, made the following statement upon the bill’s passage: 

“Over the past year, the ongoing COVID-19-exacerbated supply chain issues have created logjams at U.S. ports and blocked the export of our members’ products, resulting in steep financial losses and irreversible friction with international customers. We applaud our U.S. House leaders, particularly Reps. John Garamendi (D-Calif.-3) and Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.), for their recognition that the stakes are too high to continue treading water. At a time when our animal food manufacturers are vital to keeping our food supply chain stable and supporting the recovery of our economy, we urge the U.S. Senate to move this bill full-steam ahead.”