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Washington, D.C. — The finger-pointing at the Biden administration from Republicans in Congress for “exacerbating” the global supply chain crisis is a textbook case of hypocrisy, a new analysis found. Government watchdog Accountable.US identified four major bills since 2015, including the recently-enacted Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act, that Congressional Republicans voted against or blocked that would improve the country’s various supply chains and would have helped get ahead of these challenges.  

“Somehow with a straight face, Republicans in Congress complain about supply chain and price issues they actively kept others from addressing for years. Rather than take any responsibility, they’re now refusing to lift a finger to deliver the targeted Build Back Better investments to lower costs for millions of families,” said Kyle Herrig, president of Accountable.US. “It’s not the first time Congressional Republicans have tried stopping others from cleaning up the economic mess they made in hopes of scoring political points, and average workers always end up paying the price.”

This report follows Accountable.US’s previous analysis identifying more than $500 billion worth of investments in the Build Back Better Act that would help alleviate disruptions and improve labor conditions, which House Republicans unanimously opposed.  

 

KEY POINTS FROM THE REPORT: 

  • The 2021 U.S. Innovation And Competition Act (USICA)—which would “bolster American manufacturing” and “fix our supply chains” by establishing a supply chain resiliency program at the Department of Commerce with the purpose of “identifying and recommending opportunities” to address supply chain vulnerabilities–was opposed by a group of 32 Republican Senators and will now be conferenced as a separate bill after Senate Republicans threatened to block its inclusion from this year’s National Defense Authorization Act.
     
  • 65 House Republicans and 14 Senate Republicans opposed the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act–which established a national freight strategic plan to identify bottlenecks, find best practices for improving the network, and create a state freight advisory committee to advise on freight-related issues. Conservative opponents claimed the bill threw “smart-policy making out the window.”
     
  • The 2020 Moving Forward Act—which would fund “the essential dredging and upkeep” of harbors, ports, and channels as ports are experiencing record level congestions–was killed by Senate Republicans, with then-Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell saying the bill would “‘join the list of absurd house proposals that were only drawn up to show fealty to the radical left.'”
     
  • Despite the recently-enacted Infrastructure Investment And Jobs Act‘s promise to “ease inflationary pressures and strengthen supply chains” by allocating over $2 billion for port improvements, bolstering the trucking industry with new programs to recruit and train drivers, and investing $150 million in mineral recycling, congressional Republicans voted against passing the bill, with some even going as far threatening retaliation against the Republicans who voted for it. 

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