Grace Napolitano: “I certainly want to thank Representative Richardson for introducing House Resolution 822, and I join my colleagues in…”

“I certainly want to thank Representative Richardson for introducing House Resolution 822, and I join my colleagues in their accolades on the Port of Long Beach's reaching their 100th anniversary and on their accomplishments, as they are a tremendous asset to California. Their leadership has been, as you've heard, exemplary. It has provided hundreds of thousands of jobs over the 100 years. Many of the longshoremen and stevedores are immigrants and live in our districts in Los Angeles. The fact is these ports and their workers are vital to all of our U.S. economy. As you have heard, they provide movement of 8.5 million containers, and 1 million jobs throughout the United States, not just in Los Angeles and in California. And my district is home to many factories and companies and distribution centers that import and export their products through these ports. The $8 billion in trade from imports impact my district tremendously, and it is expected to triple by the year 2030, undertaking, you've heard, the $2 billion Clean Air Action Plan to reduce emissions by 50 percent in 5 years, replacing dirty diesel trucks from the ports, and requiring low sulfur gas to be used by the incoming ships.”