Hi Mike! My name is Russell, I'm from San Juan Capistrano, and I'm an undergrad at Stanford, your alma mater!

I am concerned about the supply chain bottleneck at the Port of Los Angeles/Port of Long Beach complex. There are about 100 container ships waiting along the coast of southern California that are unable to unload their containers.

I know it's located outside of our district, but it seems to present a national issue because the complex is responsible for 40% of America's imported goods. I always look up to the way in which you work on bipartisan, practical issues, like veteran's affairs. I feel like this issue might be in your wheelhouse. I am worried that the bottleneck is hurting our country's economic recovery and that it might not be capable of resolving itself. The delays seem to be driving up prices and giving uncertainty to small businesses like my parents'.

I would love to know if you would be willing to take a meeting with me and Ryan Petersen, the CEO of Flexport, to talk further about the issue and brainstorm solutions. Flexport is an American freight company, and Ryan has been actively on the ground, in touch with truckers, port workers, and has identified various solutions that might help ease the bottleneck. The meeting can be open, too, to other folks from the industry or any other constituents from District 49 who care about this issue. Supply chain problems are very complicated, and have a lot of stakeholders, but I think there are creative solutions out there that can balance this reality.

My friend Jessica and I started putting together a little website at unblocktheport.org. Thanks Mike, and have a nice weekend!

Russell Tran