Dear Friend --

This morning I had the opportunity to sit down with Senator Alex Padilla, Congresswoman Nanette Barragán and leaders from across California for a conversation about addressing the challenges in our supply chain that are evident at the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. These challenges have placed our community and the country's largest port complex in the national spotlight, and our city is committed to being a part of the solution with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Package that President Biden will sign into law next week.

The urgency of this backlog has made it clear that we need this kind of strong investment in our transportation infrastructure to move cargo faster, cleaner and more sustainably to protect jobs, our environment and our economy. This federal funding will be a huge benefit to Long Beach and will help address these challenges by improving rail service to our terminals, allowing for additional solutions to warehouse cargo and modernizing our port's technology and operations.

Alleviating this cargo backlog requires us to plan for the long term. In Long Beach, that means we need to make investments that protect our environment and the quality of life in our neighborhoods — especially near the Port and along the 710 Freeway. I’m proud of the incredible progress on reducing emissions at our Long Beach Container Terminal and I’m grateful for the current plans to expand rail infrastructure that will improve air quality and help reduce backlogs.

Throughout all of this, I'm grateful for the partnership of the Biden Administration and congressional leaders who are moving to enact this critical investment in our infrastructure — here in Long Beach and across the nation. Thank you again to Senator Padilla, Congresswoman Barragán, State Transportation Secretary Kim and our Port and labor leaders for their participation today and for all their work to help address these challenges.

Thank you and Go Long Beach,

Mayor Robert Garcia