West OC Times

Rep. Michelle Steel today filed legislation to block key American adversaries from accessing United States ports via their state-owned enterprises, which can harm America’s supply chains by allowing adversaries critical access to shipping infrastructure.

The Secure Our Ports Act prohibits companies owned fully or in part by state-owned enterprises in China, Russia, North Korea, and Iran from operating or managing a U.S. port.

“My Secure Our Ports Act would shore up America’s economic and national security in the face of threats from Communist China and their like-minded allies. Congress must protect America’s supply chains by restricting adversarial governments from having high-level access to our ports," said Rep. Steel, a member of the House Select Committee on Communist China. "Nations which threaten the United States should not have easy access to our port infrastructure, a key lifeline of America’s supply chains.”

Steel’s home region in Southern California is home to two of the largest ports in the country. Multiple China-owned conglomerates have an active presence in American ports, including on the West Coast.

The legislation was filed with 10 cosponsors, including Reps. Stephanie Bice, Ken Calvert, Rick Crawford, Richard Hudson, Doug LaMalfa, Nicole Malliotakis, James Moylan, Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, John Rutherford, and Randy Weber.