It is no secret that this Congress has been by far the most unproductive in modern history. The legislative branch has managed to process a mere few dozen bills compared to the hundreds of bills it typically passes at this point in the biennium session.
Regrettably, the posturing and partisanship that have increasingly defined the lawmaking process do not appear to be going anywhere anytime soon. The casualty of this gridlock is the failure to enact good public policy that could strengthen our supply chain, thereby helping to ease inflation, create jobs, and grow our economy.
Despite this challenging environment, the ATA refuses to give up—we adapt. Several must-pass bills remain on Congress’ to-do list before the end of the year, and ATA has focused our efforts on packing trucking’s priorities into these few bills that are moving forward.
This month, the House Appropriations Committee voted to approve two spending bills that would fund multiple federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation. Not to be outdone, the Senate Appropriations Committee overwhelmingly passed its own transportation funding bill. These are pivotal steps in the legislative process. While extensions are common, Congress’ deadline to pass these bills and avert a shutdown is September 30th.
Following intense and targeted outreach to our champions on Capitol Hill, these bills included 11 key pro-trucking policies. Now that they have been incorporated into the text of the bills, we are in a much stronger position to keep them intact as they work their way through the legislative process.
From supporting truck drivers and motor carriers to increasing highway safety, here are the appropriations provisions ATA secured and will continue to advocate for until they reach the finish line:
1. Expanding truck parking.
If enacted into law, the House transportation funding bill would allocate $200 million for projects that expand truck parking. According to a USDOT study, 98% of truck drivers regularly experience difficulties locating safe parking, while ATRI found that this situation forced the average driver to sacrifice nearly an hour of drive time per day. The Senate transportation bill does not include new truck parking funding, but it calls on USDOT to prioritize investments provided through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law for this purpose. The infrastructure law, which ATA championed, has already resulted in the construction of roughly 2,000 new truck parking spaces.
2. Reversing the independent contractor rule.
More than 350,000 truckers choose to work as independent contractors because of the economic opportunity it creates and the flexibility it provides, but a new rule dictated by the Department of Labor earlier this year threatens their livelihoods. The House appropriations bill includes a provision that would prohibit DOL from moving forward with this radical rewrite of an employment model that trucking has relied upon since the industry’s inception.
3. Fighting predatory towing.
To crack down on predatory towing, both the House and Senate funding bills would direct FMCSA to facilitate discussions with local, state, and private sector stakeholders to develop guidelines for towing and recovery regulations at all levels of government. A recent ATRI study found that more than four out of five motor carriers experienced excessive rates and unwarranted extra service charges, while a majority also encountered issues such as truck access and cargo release delays. The provision in the appropriations bills would take an important step forward to develop commonsense reforms that inject more transparency and fairness into the system and hold unscrupulous companies accountable.
4. Preventing cargo theft.
In recognition of the sharp increase in cargo theft, which spiked by 57 percent in 2023 compared to the prior year, the House and Senate funding bills would direct a coordinated effort from the Department of Transportation, the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security's Supply Chain and Resilience Center and relevant stakeholders, including professional policing organizations, to confront this issue. The bills would require the agencies to provide a report on cargo theft trends in the transportation supply chain, along with a strategy to combat cargo theft, to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations. The House Appropriations bill goes a step further by allocating $2 million to establish a Supply Chain Fraud and Theft Task Force.
5. Promoting hair testing.
Hair testing is a proven, effective method to detect and deter drug usage; however, despite its codification in federal law, it cannot currently be used by carriers/employers under the DOT drug testing program as an alternative to urinalysis in meeting federal drug testing requirements. The House appropriations bill exerts pressure on the Department of Health and Human Services to finalize its long-overdue guidance and implement hair testing to allow implementation.
6. Protecting reforms to the younger driver apprenticeship program.
The transportation funding bill locks in the improvements ATA secured to the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program to restore congressional intent and get the program back on track. The apprenticeship pilot was designed to serve 3,000 participating drivers at any one time; however, due in part to extraneous requirements imposed by FMCSA, participation was disappointing. The ATA successfully removed these burdensome regulations this spring, and this year’s funding bills would ensure these reforms remain intact.
7. Blocking disruptive meal and rest break waivers.
In 2018, FMCSA granted a petition from ATA seeking a determination that California’s meal and rest break rules cannot be enforced on commercial drivers subject to federal hours-of-service rules. In 2020, FMCSA issued a similar determination on Washington State’s break rules. Those preemption determinations should have put to bed an inefficient patchwork of state and federal rules governing driver hours, yet last year, FMCSA announced it would consider resurrecting these ill-advised policies. The House appropriations bill would block FMCSA’s action and avert the negative impact that the reimposition of state break rules would have on trucking operations, safety, the supply chain, and drivers’ well-being.
8. Halting FHWA’s GHG emissions performance rule.
Late last year, FHWA published a rule without statutory basis to require state and local transportation agencies to measure and report their current greenhouse gas emissions, set targets for reductions, and report on the progress towards meeting those goals. ATA opposed this rule because it could lead to the delay or cancellation of some infrastructure projects. The House appropriations bill would forbid it from taking effect.
9. Prohibiting congestion tolling.
In June, ATA and the Trucking Association of New York scored a major victory when state leaders decided to indefinitely pause a congestion pricing plan in New York City. The toll would have charged trucks up to $36 each time they crossed into Manhattan below 60th Street to make deliveries. Although this policy collapsed under the weight of its own unfair design, the House appropriations bill would prevent New York or any other jurisdiction from implementing a similar tolling scheme.
10. Stopping the joint employer rule.
Last year, NLRB issued an expansive regulation that would ensnare many trucking companies that contract with other employers to accomplish their work. This restrictive standard guarantees widespread economic harm that will lead to lost jobs, less autonomy for small business owners, and fewer opportunities for aspiring entrepreneurs seeking to enter the trucking industry. The House appropriations bill would overturn this rule, helping to preserve flexibility for trucking businesses and enable our industry to keep the supply chain moving.
11. Freezing DOL’s walkaround rule.
Earlier this year, OSHA finalized the Worker Walkaround Representative Designation Process (the Walkaround Rule). The rule forces businesses to allow non-employees, including union representatives and trial attorneys, to access their facilities to accompany OSHA inspectors on safety inspections. The House appropriations bill would restore the previous standard that had been in place for over five decades that only authorized employees to take part in an OSHA inspection.