infrastructure to deteriorate to third world status,” he said, quickly noting that there are “nearly <strong>15</strong>0,000 structurally deficient and functionally obsolete bridges on our roads today; trucks are being rerouted because of weight restrictions and people are wasting time and gasoline in traffic.” “The U.S. must do better,” he proclaimed. “As ranking member, I will be a tireless advocate for the kind of infrastructure investment that results in job creation, increased efficiency and strategic growth. Two key vehicles for this investment include the Federal Aviation Administration and surface transportation authorization bills, both of which I plan to tackle immediately in a bipartisan fashion with Chairman Shuster. Together, we can lay the groundwork for infrastructure investment that delivers for generations to come.” Over in the Senate, South Dakota’s John Thune will take over the chairmanship of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Not much is known about the direction in which Thune will lead the committee and he did not respond to repeated requests to answer questions for this article, but Reagle offered an opinion. “I would think No. 1 he would want a reauthorization bill,” Reagle said. While a new highway bill is top of mind for the new Congress, trucking industry executives also are concerned about how the new Congress will view the matter of regulatory affairs. Shuster said he’s aware of the importance of the trucking industry to the American economy. “The trucking industry is a vital cog in our nation’s economy,” he told <strong>Truckload</strong> <strong>Authority</strong>. “About 50 percent of U.S. freight tonnage travels less than 100 miles from origin to destination, with trucks carrying almost 85 percent of that freight. The industry — from large trucking companies to independent operators — must be safe, but it must also be efficient and effective. We cannot burden our truck drivers with unnecessary, duplicative or crippling regulations. We must ensure a balanced regulatory structure that maintains a high level of safety and allows our truckers to thrive.” The most controversial of those regulations continues to be the 34-hour restart provision of the 2013 Hours of Service rule. Earlier this year, the Senate Appropriations Committee passed an amendment to a transportation and housing funding bill that would have suspended the 34- hour restart provision for a year while a field study is undertaken. The amendment made it to the Senate floor, but a procedural issue derailed the funding bill. Reagle said the issue is likely to be on the Senate radar during the next session. Indeed, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who introduced the amendment in the first place, said early in December she would re-introduce the amendment. “Since the new Senate is not in place, it would be hard to tell what its priorities would be,” Reagle said. “But I would think for a good many people in the industry that is still a big issue and they would continue to push it. I’m not sure how the Senate would view it, but I think from the industry perspective it seems to be an issue that is brewing out there.” It’s also a good bet that the new Congress will keep a close tab on other regulatory issues that were mandated in MAP-21, but whether the Republicans will seek to temper the direction of those mandates is yet to be seen. Among those mandates: • The Commercial Driver’s License Drug and Alcohol Clearinghouse, which is in the final stages of rulemaking, but could be delayed by requests for further changes before implementation. • Electronic Logging Devices and Hours of Service Supporting Documents. Included in the omnibus transportation appropriations legislation is language that few in trucking have even talked about, and that is a requirement that the Department of Transportation “I really worry whether it’s Republicans or Democrats [in control] that we’ll ever see another six-year highway bill. And that obviously affects the hell out of the trucking industry because if we don’t have good highways, we’re in deep trouble.” -George Reagle release its ELD final rule no later than January 30, 20<strong>15</strong>, and conduct a study with these newly-compliant ELDs on the Hours of Service rule. The FMCSA staff recently indicated it wouldn’t release this rule until September 20<strong>15</strong>, which critics believes puts the proposed rule at risk. • Prohibition of Coercion, which is part of the ELD rulemaking and would ensure that an operator of a commercial motor vehicle is not coerced by a motor carrier, shipper, receiver or transportation intermediary to operate a commercial vehicle in violation of a federal regulation. The lack of anti-coercion language derailed earlier efforts at an ELD rule. Finally, there are issues outside trucking that will impact the industry, and those have created a waitand-see mentality among most within the industry. They include President Barack Obama’s executive order on immigration and Obamacare. Even before Obama revealed details of his executive action to protect 4-5 million immigrants illegally living in the U.S., Republicans were vowing to thwart it and Democrats were defending it. “If President Obama acts in defiance of the people and imposes his will on the country, Congress will act,” vowed Senate Minority Leader Mitch Mc- Connell, R-Ky., who will become majority leader in January. Thune chimed in by saying that Obama’s decision demonstrated a willful disregard of the American people. “The president’s policies and go-it-alone approach were soundly rejected on election night, but he doesn’t appear to be interested in listening to the American people,” he said. Meanwhile, Democrats said the president is within his legal authority to take action to overhaul the nation’s dysfunctional immigration system and must do so since House Republicans have failed to pass a bill. “If we don’t act, the dire situation of undocumented immigrants will only get worse, families will continue to be torn apart, people will continue to live in the shadows,” said Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif. “I say to the president ... you will have my strong support and you will have the support of so many people across the country. You will keep families together, you will strengthen our economy, you will make our country stronger.” Some in the trucking industry are concerned that immigrants, anxious to earn a legal living in America, will accept lower pay from trucking companies, driving down wages overall and diluting the earning power of existing drivers. Congressional action might be a moot point, however. On December 3, 17 states, all with Republican governors, filed suit in federal court in Texas asking that Obama’s action be declared illegal and be overturned. As for Obamacare, the president has vowed to protect core elements of the plan from an almost assured GOP assault. “Repeal of the law I won’t sign. Efforts that would take away health care from the 10 million people who now have it and the millions more who are now eligible to get it, we’re not going to support,” he said shortly after the election. “But,” he said, “if, in fact, one of the items on Mitch McConnell’s and [Speaker of the House] John Boehner’s agenda is to make responsible changes to the Affordable Care Act to make it work better, I’m going to be very open and receptive to hearing those ideas. But what I will remind them is that, despite all the contention, we now know that the law works.” This article began by saying that gaining consensus on most any issue, including the weather, would be difficult to achieve. On second thought, we’d like to amend that statement. Everyone can agree that Washington politics is going to make for interesting reading for the next 24 months. <strong>Truckload</strong> <strong>Authority</strong> | www.<strong>Truckload</strong>.org TCA <strong>2014</strong>-<strong>15</strong>
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