Trucking, shipper sectors find plenty to like in the draft highway bill

Trucking and shipper groups have praised the long-term highway bill passed in late October by the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and they encouraged the full House and Senate to move quickly on passage of the final legislation. The Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015 (STRRA) would provide multi-year funding for federal highway, transit, and highway safety programs.

“While there remains plenty of legislative process ahead in coming weeks and an arduous amendment process that is underway right now, the language in this bill does reflect that Congress is listening when we discuss the concerns of our industry,” says Daniel Furth, president of National Tank Truck Carriers. “Many issues that are relevant to our industry were covered in the draft legislation, including language on hair testing, reforms to CSA (the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s Compliance, Safety, Accountability program), and hazardous material safety permits. The section on wetlines is of particular importance to our industry, and this is almost certain to be a discussion point during NTTC’s Tank Truck Week conference November 11-13 in Houston TX.”

Furth described the wetlines section of the draft legislation as “a victory waiting to happen.” In short, Section 7005 of the draft legislation states:

(a) WITHDRAWAL—Not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall withdraw the proposed rule described in the notice of proposed rulemaking issued on January 27, 2011, entitled “Safety Requirements for External Product Piping on Cargo Tanks Transporting Flammable Liquids” (76 Fed Reg 8 4847).

(b) SAVINGS CLAUSE—Nothing in this section shall prohibit the Secretary from issuing standards or regulations regarding the safety of external product piping on cargo tanks transporting flammable liquids after the withdrawal is carried out pursuant to subsection (a).

Bill Graves, American Trucking Associations president and chief executive officer, also heaped praise on the long-term highway bill. “This is a positive step for trucking and for the country,” he says. “While we’re anxious to see the funding portion of the bill, the roadmap laid out by this legislation is a good one for highway safety and efficiency. We’re pleased the Committee’s bill clamps down on the expansion of tolling and establishes a dedicated freight fund--two positive steps not just for trucking, but for consumers, shippers, and the economy.

“In addition, the safety reforms--from making necessary changes to the CSA safety monitoring system to allowing hair testing as part of the DOT testing program, and limited interstate access to younger commercial drivers--included in this bill are also important steps forward for our industry.”

The Commercial Vehicle Training Assocation applauded the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for its commitment to ensuring that new drivers are able to access quality driver training and testing. Specifically, the STRR Act would:

1) Require the FMCSA to issue a report on CDL skills testing delays, by location and month, on these delay times for tests and retests, including requiring the Administrator to describe specific steps he is taking to address test and retest delays of longer than seven days. Furthermore, the bill authorizes the Department of Transportation (DOT) to allocate additional funds to improve a state's implementation of its CDL programs, including expenses incurred for testing, personnel, and CL program coordinators;

2) Put additional pressure on DOT to publish long-awaited minimum entry-level driver training standards;

3) Ensure that any additional federally-approved drug testing options will truly be options for our schools and carriers and will not obligate our schools and carriers to employ these more costly options for fear of lawsuit; and

4) Create a pilot program allowing qualified and adequately trained 19½ -year-old drivers to obtain a CDL so that they could operate commercial vehicles interstate, rather than just intrastate.

In addition to the safety elements, the draft bill prioritizes critical goods movement infrastructure and includes dependable, unprecedented levels of investment in our national freight network. According to the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC), highlights of the bill include:

• Guaranteed investment of $4.46 billion in highway freight infrastructure, including railway-highway crossings and grade separation projects, over a six year period, to be distributed through a competitive grant process, with as much as $500 million available for projects on other modes. A wide variety of state and local governmental entities would be eligible to apply for funding; and
• Creation of a multimodal freight policy and network that encompass the many modes necessary to moving freight. Improving upon MAP-21’s highway-centric Primary Freight Network, the bill calls for an increase in total mileage from 27,000 to 41,000.     

Update: On November 3, the full House of Representatives rejected an amendment to the STRRA that would have raised vehicle gross combination weights to 91,000 pounds for five-axle combinations.