Republicans on the House Oversight Committee are requesting a staff-level briefing on the ongoing supply chain crisis, but the Biden administration never responds to such requests when they don't have a plan, Rep. James Comer said Monday.
"We've asked for plans for many things, from the supply chain all the way to the debacle in Afghanistan," the Kentucky Republican said on Newsmax's "National Report." "If they had a plan, and they feel like they're in the right then they usually respond to us. But when they don't have any idea what they're doing, then all we hear is crickets, and that's what we have in this situation."
Many of the problems with the supply chain can be traced to the current administration's policies as well as to Democrats like California Gov. Gavin Newsom, he added.
"For example, in California, they have restrictions on trucks that no other state has," said Comer. "About half the trucks that are running in my home state of Kentucky right now would be out of compliance in California."
There is also a massive labor shortage, thanks in part to the administration's policies that paid people not to work and because of President Joe Biden's vaccine mandates, said Comer.
"There are a lot of people who aren't going to work for any company that requires them to be vaccinated," he said. "The quickest thing that Biden could do to fix the problem would (be to) undo a lot of these burdensome regulations, these unnecessary policies, but so far he refuses to do anything."
Meanwhile, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, who should be on top of the supply chain situation, has been away from his job for several weeks on paternity leave, and Comer said that even when the secretary gives statements, he's not offering solutions.
Buttigieg commented over the weekend that the disruptions could stretch into next year, and attributed much of the problem to increased demand and not just the supply side.
"He stated the obvious and didn't have a solution to the problem," said Comer. "We should have leaders in office in Washington right now who identify the problem, identify solutions, and then work to achieve their goals."
The supply slowdown is already affecting factories, he continued, including in his state where vehicle manufacturers can't finish making cars because they can't get the computer chips they need.
"Our factories are going to be shut down now because they can't get raw materials, so this is a crisis that could lead to unemployment at a time when we have a labor shortage," said Comer. "We're going to have to bring back Jimmy Carter's misery index before it's all said and done to measure the problems that Biden administration is creating. It's disappointing that the Transportation secretary would go on national TV and state the obvious and not provide any solutions to the problem."
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Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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