Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard joined her colleagues in speaking on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives during a Special Order in support of a resolution recognizing the 100th Anniversary of the Port of Los Angeles. House Resolution 822 passed the House on Dec. 5 by a vote of 410 to 0.  A House Resolution is a nonlegislative measure that is effective only in the House and does not require approval by the Senate or the President. The full text of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard’s remarks, followed by a list of the participating Members of Congress who spoke during the Special Order, appear below:

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“Madam Speaker: I rise today in support of House Resolution 822 recognizing the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Port of Los Angeles, and I commend Congresswoman Laura Richardson for its introduction.

When the port opened in 1907, the population of the City of Los Angeles stood at only 300,000 residents. Today, the city is a thriving metropolis of more than four million residents, and is the second largest city in the nation. This transformation into a sprawling urban giant is due in part to the ever growing global trade that passes through the port of Los Angeles.

The port is a major gateway to the Pacific Rim.  It handles an estimated $225 billion worth of cargo a year. With the neighboring Port of Long Beach, it is the largest container port complex in the nation and the fifth largest in the world.

The port of Los Angeles is critical to the local economy. It contributes $1.4 billion in state and local tax revenues, provides 259,000 jobs, and pays $8.4 billion in wages annually. 

Equally as important, if not more so, is the fact that the Port of Los Angeles is also a strong economic engine for our national economy. Goods arriving through the port complex account for more than 40 percent of our nation’s total import traffic and 24 percent of its total exports.  In fact, more than 60 percent of arriving cargo has destinations outside Southern California. 

In 2005, the number of direct and indirect jobs associated with the trade activity generated by the LA ports was 3.3 million jobs nationwide.  This is a 200 percent increase over 1994 data.

On this historic 100th anniversary, I salute the Port Authority, the City of Los Angeles, the communities of Wilmington and San Pedro which host the port, and especially the thousands of hard working men and women who ensure the port’s daily operations and reliable movement of goods.

I urge my colleagues to support this resolution.”

In addition to Congresswomen Laura Richardson (CA-34), who authored the resolution, and Roybal-Allard (CA-34), the following members spoke on the House floor during the Special Order: Hon. Elijah Cummings (MD-7) (Chairman, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation, Representing the Port of Baltimore); Hon. Steven LaTourette (OH-14) (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation); Hon. Dana Rohrabacher (CA-46), co-author of the resolution; Hon. Jane Harman (CA-36); Hon. Bob Filner (CA-51); Hon. Grace Napolitano (CA-38); Hon. Lois Capps (CA-23); Hon. Barbara Lee (CA-9); Hon. Susan Davis (CA-53); Hon. Daniel Lungren (CA-3) (Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation Security and Infrastructure Protection).
 

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