Congress Passes 1-Year Hours-of-Service Rules Extension

ongress voted to extend the current hours-of-service rules for truck drivers for one year, as part of an extension to the six-year highway bill reauthorization, congressional aides told Transport Topics Thursday.

The House bill said the hours-of-service rules currently before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit would remain in effect until the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration developed a new set of regulations governing hours of service or Sept. 30, 2005, whichever comes first.

The eight-month extension would leave highway construction and transit spending at current levels, congressional aides said.

Trucking interests had been seeking a legislative solution after the court rejected the driver hours' rules in a July 16 ruling.

Since the six-year funding bill expired last September, Congress has passed six temporary extensions, keeping funding at $218 billion. The Wall Street Journal reported Thursday that Republican Senate leaders rejected an effort by House Republicans to pass an extension that included $1.8 billion guaranteed funding for its members’ local projects.

Previously, the Senate approved a $318 billion package, while the House's original bill came in at $284 billion.

The White House for months has threatened to veto any bill that exceeded $256 billion, stressing the need to control the rising federal budget deficit.