Capitol Agenda for the Week of Jan. 17: Capital Infrastructure Forecast
The week ahead for trucking on Capitol Hill
Is 2017 the year of the twin 33-foot trailers? FedEx Corp. and Amazon Inc. sure as heck hope so. The two giants are leading a group that calls itself Americans for Modern Transportation. It is urging members of Congress to approve the longer combination trailers prohibited under federal law. In a press statement issued Jan. 11, the group stated its central goal is “combining infrastructure enhancements with efficient trucking and policies as well as incentives for better safety and fuel technology.” Joining FedEx and Amazon are nearly two dozen companies and groups, such as UPS Inc., the National Association of Manufacturers and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
Two years ago, twin-33 proponents believed they had found enough backing for their cause on Capitol Hill. House members had included a proposal that would have approved twin 33s nationwide in a must-pass funding bill. But their proposal didn’t reach the president’s desk after several senior senators crushed it. Sens. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) and Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) convinced Republican leaders to strip the provision, arguing the longer trailers endangered drivers.
Fred Smith, chairman and CEO of FedEx Corp., points out twin 33s are permitted in parts of 18 states, under specific circumstances. FedEx ranks No. 2 on the Transport Topics Top 100 list of the largest U.S. and Canadian for-hire carriers. UPS ranks No. 1 on that list.
VIDEO: INFRASTRUCTURE FORECAST FOR WASHINGTON, D.C.:
Mike Sakata, executive director of the Metropolitan Washington Road & Transportation Builders Association, talks about infrastructure expectations under a new president and a new Congress with TT's Eugene Mulero.
THE WEEK AHEAD (all times ET):
Jan. 17-19: U.S. Conference of Mayors annual meeting in Washington, D.C. Vice President-elect Mike Pence addresses the group on Jan. 17 at 2:30 p.m.
Jan. 17, 12:15 p.m.: Georgetown University Law Center hosts a panel on "Congress, the Executive Branch and the Trump Administration."
Jan. 18, 10 a.m.: The Senate Commerce Committee holds a confirmation hearing for Wilbur Ross, President-elect Donald Trump’s nominee to lead the Commerce Department.
Jan. 18, 2 p.m.: Bloomberg Government hosts a webinar, "Bills, Regs and Executive Orders: Are You Ready?"
Jan. 20, 11:30 a.m.: Trump is sworn in as the 45th president of the United States.
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:
BEYOND TRAFFIC: In one of his final acts as secretary of transportation, Anthony Foxx announced the U.S. Department of Transportation had completed its ambitious “Beyond Traffic” report. The 30-year outlook proposes investments in infrastructure to accommodate the massive increases in freight demand over the next decades. “The final report again shows that if we do not invest in our infrastructure, we will let conditions move us backwards,” Foxx said.
SecretaryFoxx released the final #BeyondTraffic report on Jan. 9. Read it here:
https://t.co/Fd5VOiI2rI pic.twitter.com/y3DEt7ZAJ6 — TransportationGov (@USDOT) January 16, 2017
DRONES, 3-D PRINTING: While freight transportation has undergone enormous change over the past quarter-century, even more is coming and very quickly, driven by demanding customers and an amazing array of technology that might actually allow carriers to satisfy shippers, TT Associate News Editor Jonathan S. Reiskin reports from the annual Transportation Research Board meeting Jan. 8-12 in Washington.
CHAO AND CONGRESS: At her confirmation hearing on Jan. 11, Elaine Chao, Trump’s designee to lead DOT, pledged to force a collaboration with congressional leaders with the aim to boost funding to modernize the country’s freight networks. At the friendly hearing, senators stopped short of pressing Chao on proposals that would reduce congestion along freight corridors or about her role as a director on the board of Wells Fargo.
WHAT WE’RE READING:
Trucking and freight railroad leaders intend to press Trump administration officials for relief on certain commercial transportation regulations, The Wall Street Journal reports.
Trucking, rail industries team up to press Trump to limit new rules https://t.co/rEecPRmcvQ — Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) January 10, 2017
BUZZ:
March 9 is the date that the latest edition of the infrastructure report card by the American Society of Civil Engineers is set to drop, sources say. The group publishes the report card every four years.
FAVORITE QUOTE:
“Our goal is to figure out what lines of symmetry exist between different modes of transportation in this area that we can work from as a department but also to think about second-, third- and fourth-order impacts of automation and how should we think about that; how should we plan for it; how should we, all of us — whether we’re in industry, government, or wherever — think about those things?”
— Foxx, introducing the Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation on Jan. 16 at DOT headquarters.
SecFoxx kicks off Advisory Committee on Automation: There's transformative power in this technology pic.twitter.com/89z3REvV3Y — Eugene Mulero (@eugenemulero) January 16, 2017
FAVORITE VIDEO:
House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) is willing to meet with Trump’s people to chip away at an infrastructure bill, but it better be a real infrastructure bill, she told reporters Jan. 13:
FAVORITE TWEET:
Showing some love, Deborah Hersman, CEO of the National Safety Council, offers a shout out to the chairmen of the Advisory Committee on Automation in Transportation.
Appreciate @mtbarra & @MayorOfLA chairing Advisory Comm on Automation — let's get to work to making our world safer https://t.co/u89iki2lHA pic.twitter.com/8RgRr3hBVf — Debbie Hersman (@DebbieHersman) January 16, 2017
Thanks for reading Capitol Agenda! We publish Tuesdays when Congress is in session. E-mail emulero@ttnews.com with tips. Follow us @eugenemulero and @transporttopics
