Congress Set to Return to Unresolved Transportation Issues

Here’s a glimpse of a few:

• Hours of Service: Senate Democratic leaders are expected to again call up a proposal offered by Sen. Susan Collins

(R-Maine) in June to deny funding for last year’s changes to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule. Collins led the adoption of the proposal to a funding bill that would require the agency to suspend the rule change for a year so it can review the rules’ safety effects and justify them before Congress. That bill was briefly debated on the chamber’s floor before Senate leaders pulled it from consideration. The Collins proposal is strongly backed by American Trucking Associations, while a small group of Democrats have come out against it.

Last year’s HOS rule change mandates truckers account for a 34-hour restart between their workweeks. And they have to include two periods of 1 a.m. to 5 a.m. during that time off.

• Transportation Funding: Congressional leaders have indicated they are looking to avoid a government shutdown before the midterm elections. That’s why House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) has said he’s readying a short-term bill that would fund federal agencies for several months after the current fiscal year ends Sept. 30. Senior legislative aides told Transport Topics a fiscal 2015 stopgap funding bill could keep transportation programs funded at current levels. While the chambers should be able to pass a comprehensive funding bill, there is no guarantee Congress will tackle a long-term transportation funding bill before the current short-term boost expires in May 2015.

• Nominations: The Senate is expected to confirm Christopher Hart to become chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board. Hart is the board’s acting chairman, and he would succeed Deborah Hersman, who stepped down in April. If confirmed, Hart said he would ensure the safety and maintenance of the country’s elaborate pipeline system.

The Obama administration’s choice for a new director for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will need to be confirmed by the Senate. FMCSA chief Anne Ferro’s stepped down on Aug. 15.

• Export-Import Bank: On Sept. 30, the authority of the 80-year-old federal agency, which helps finance exports, will expire. Many American companies, including those in trucking, praise the agency’s lending assistance, and those companies are lobbying to overcome opposition by the GOP’s tea party faction to reauthorizing the bank. Several industry observers note that pressure from businesses is expected to prevail and prompt lawmakers to reauthorize the bank. But such a reauthorization could come with certain changes to how the bank manages its operations.

• Infrastructure: If a major bridge collapses, just as the  Interstate 5 span over the Skagit River in Washington state did in May of last year, expect Democrats to again call on colleagues to increase funding for infrastructure projects. Last year, Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), ranking member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, introduced a bill that would provide funds to fix bridges around the country. But the measure has not advanced because it lacks support from Republican leaders who control the chamber’s floor schedule.