Trucking Advocacy

The American Trucking Associations is proud to be the trucking industry's leading voice on Capitol Hill and across the federal government, ensuring our nation's top lawmakers have the necessary information to make sound decisions that support our member companies.

Founded in 1933, ATA is a national federation with affiliates in all 50 states and a footprint in every congressional district. We represent more than 37,000 motor carriers, moving & storage companies, and trucking suppliers throughout the country, comprising every segment of the  industry -- from truckload to LTL; agriculture and livestock to fuel and auto haulers; and large fleets on down to the independent contractor and small, family-run operations.

ATA's subject-matter experts and national network of grassroots advocates work around the clock to educate Members of Congress and federal regulators on how specific issues impact our ability to meet the economy's freight demands. We come armed with facts, data, and the real-world experience of our member companies, which is why ATA is the first call lawmakers make to discuss trucking issues.

No matter who holds the power in Washington, our members always have a voice and seat at the table, whereas other advocacy organizations in our space constantly find themselves on the outside looking in. 

Our Impact

ATA knows how to win in every arena: legislative, regulatory, legal; and at the federal and state levels.

Federal Legislation

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which authorized $477 billion in new funding over five years for surface transportation programs, passed in 2021 with the vital support of ATA. In the five years leading up to the bill's passage, ATA testified 24 times on Capitol Hill on the need for Congress to act in a bipartisan manner to shore up America’s faltering roads and bridges.  

This landmark legislation included $347.5 billion in highway funding — a 38% boost above baseline levels — and $37 billion for bridges, marking the largest infusion of federal funding into our nation's bridge network since the formation of the Interstate Highway System. These investments enable the safe and efficient movement of freight across the country and help reduce the traffic congestion on our national highways, which costs the industry $94.6 billion annually in lost productivity and wasted fuel. ATA also secured several trucking workforce provisions in the legislation and successfully fought to keep anti-trucking poison pills out of the bill. 

ATA played a pivotal role in the introduction and passage of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the first comprehensive tax package in three decades that turbocharged the American economy and enabled carriers to invest more of their hard-earned revenues into their workforce and equipment. ATA hosted then-President Trump in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at an event in October 2017 to rally support behind tax reform, and the Administration invited three ATA member companies to a White House ceremony after the bill was signed into law.

ATA was a crucial supporter of the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, which has caused truck-transported trade to and from both Mexico and Canada to increase more than 43% since going into effect in 2020. ATA attended the ministerial conferences and worked with the Trump administration and trucking partners in Canada and Mexico to shape and finalize this agreement. ATA’s pivotal role in getting USMCA across the finish line was reflected in the invitation that ATA President and CEO Chris Spear and a dozen America’s Road Team Captains received to attend the White House signing ceremony. 

Legal, State and Administrative 

Few dare to take on the powerful trial bar, but ATA doesn't shy away from a fight when our members are under attack. Since launching our campaign four years ago to curb lawsuit abuse against motor carriers, the ATA Federation has spurred 11 states to enact tort reform measures that protect carriers from nuclear verdicts and predatory litigation practices that the plaintiffs' bar employs to turn the civil justice system into a profit center to line their pockets.

In 2022, ATA successfully defeated Rhode Island's discriminatory truck-only tolling scheme in federal court—a painstaking but crucial litigation battle that preempted a long line of copycat states from pursuing similar truck-only tolling schemes across the nation.

ATA successfully challenged the Biden Administration's unconstitutional employer vaccine mandate all the way to U.S. Supreme Court, which in 2022 ruled in our favor in a 6-3 decision, striking down the mandate and saving employers across all sectors of the economy untold billions of dollars in compliance and legal costs.

ATA also led the successful petition for federal preemption of California's duplicative meal-and-rest break rules, which were hurting safety and costing fleets hundreds of millions of dollars in abusive litigation from the plaintiffs' bar.

Current Congress

We are currently operating in what is statistically the most dysfunctional Congress in modern history. In 2023, only 27 bills passed both the House and Senate and were enacted into law. This race to the bottom was not particularly close: Just one year prior, Congress enacted nearly 250 bills—almost 10 times as many.

Despite this unprecedented level of partisan paralysis gripping Washington, ATA continues to get bills passed into law this year:

• Moving Americans Privacy Protection Act
• Fixes to the DRIVE SAFE Act
• Improved military base access for carriers
• END FENTANYL Act
• Expedited cross-border bridge