by Murrel Bland
Congress is working on legislation that addresses the national supply chain issue.
That was the message from U.S. Rep. Sharice Davids, D-3rd Dist., who was the keynote speaker Friday, April 15, at the Congressional Forum.
The forum is a function of the Kansas City, Kansas, Area Chamber of Commerce. About 60 persons attended the luncheon meeting at Children’s Mercy Park.
Rep. Davids said Republicans and Democrats have come together to help solve the supply issue. She said that shortage is particularly acute when it comes to microchips.
The legislation has passed the House; a conference committee is working on the differences in the U.S. Senate bill. She said that the shortage has caused manufacturers such as General Motors with an assembly plant in Fairfax to shut down production for certain periods. She and U.S. Senator Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican, are among those sponsoring this legislation.
Rep. Davids also addressed the workforce issue. She commended Johnson County Community College for its commercial truck driving school and Kansas City, Kansas, Community College for its technical education courses providing hands-on training for such jobs as machinist.
Rep. Davids said that the economy is getting back to “near normal.” Last year, 6 million new jobs, a record, were created, she said. During the height of the Covid pandemic, many small businesses were helped with the federal Paycheck Protection Program, she said.
Rep. Davids is serving her second term in Congress. She is expected to seek a third term.
Murrel Bland is the former editor of The Wyandotte West and The Piper Press. He is an advisory director of Business West.