President Joe Biden on Wednesday made a stop at the Port of Baltimore where he addressed ongoing supply chain issues set in motion by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Baltimore's port is one of the nation's busiest, and it is set to benefit from billions of dollars that the $1 trillion infrastructure bill has set aside for ports alone. Baltimore imports and exports more autos, farm machinery and construction equipment than any other U.S. port. It employs more than 15,300 people.
The infrastructure package includes $17 billion in investments to help ports, including dredging to allow for larger ships and capacity expansion.
Biden said the bill will help ease shortages, combat inflation and unclog the nation's ports as goods ordered months ago from abroad wait at sea to be unloaded and transported inland.
Issues like port congestion and inflation have turned Biden's White House into an economic emergency response team. Biden on Tuesday talked to companies including Walmart Inc, United Parcel Service Inc, FedEx Corp and Target Corp to ensure they are ready for demand to skyrocket during the Christmas holiday rush. His aides worked with the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles to move goods around the clock.