Congressman Robert Garcia, President of the Freshman Class, to Co-Chair Bipartisan PORTS Caucus

Washington D.C.- Congressman Robert Garcia (CA-42) announced today he joins Congressman Randy Weber (TX-14) as a co-chair of the bipartisan House Ports Opportunity, Renewal, Trade, and Security (PORTS) Caucus.

Congressman Robert Garcia will work to promote the importance of our nation’s ports to the economy and our need to secure them.

“Our ports are the economic engines of America, and a major part of our local economy here in California.” Congressman Garcia said. “I am honored to serve as co-chair and look forward to working with Congressman Weber and all the Members of the caucus to find ways together to promote and protect our ports, and to promote efficient and environmentally sustainable supply chains.”

“Ports are the arteries of an increasingly global economy, pumping over $6 billion dollars in goods efficiently to their destination every weekday and supporting nearly 31 million American jobs,” stated Chris Connor, President, and CEO of the American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA). “AAPA congratulates Representatives Garcia and Weber for chairing the Congressional PORTS Caucus in the 118^th Congress and is excited to collaborate with maritime champions on Capitol Hill to empower port authorities and unleash even more prosperity for our country.”

The 42nd District includes the Port of Long Beach, which handles trade valued at $200 billion each year, and supports over 2.5 million jobs around the United States. As Mayor, Congressman Garcia worked with the port to navigate the historic surge in volume in freight in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The United States is served by more than 350 commercial sea and river ports that support 3,200 cargo and passenger handling facilities. Each day, United States ports move both imports and exports totaling some $3.8 billion worth of goods through all 50 states. Additionally, ports move 99.4 percent of overseas cargo volume by weight and generate $3.95 trillion in international trade.  

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