Ocean Shipping Reform Act passes Senate

(ABC 6 News) – U.S. Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) and John Thune (R-S.D.) announced that the Ocean Shipping Reform Act passed the Senate.

Klobuchar said the act will level the playing field for American exporters by making it harder for carriers to refuse goods at ports.

"This is something that seems complex and otherworldly that we’re talking about shipping on the high seas but the reason why I lead this bill with a Republican from South Dakota is we realized if we want to bring costs down we got to take these guys on no matter how much they are hiding behind their alliances and what they are doing in other countries. We’ve got to take this on for American goods. We want to bring the prices down," Klobuchar said.

The act will ensure carriers ship American goods when they have empty containers.