Petri to Leave US House When Term Ends

By Jonathan S. Reiskin, Associate News Editor

This story appears in the April 21 print edition of Transport Topics.

Rep. Tom Petri (R-Wis.), chairman of the highway and transit panel of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, said he will join a growing number of colleagues in retiring at the end of the current term.

The Harvard-trained lawyer who decided to learn trucking and freight transportation said April 14 he will cap his House service at 18 terms, or more than 35 years.

“I will not seek to represent the 6th District in Congress for another term. This is a decision I reached after serious thought and consideration with my family and others,” said Petri, who will turn 74 in May.

He has been chairman or ranking member of the subcommittee for 16 years and deeply involved in transportation policy since the 1980s.

“It has been a great honor,” Petri said of his service, noting that “several factors” contributed to his decision, and no one factor led to his decision not to run.

“Tom Petri has always been engaged and inquisitive on the issues important to the trucking industry,” said American Trucking Associations President Bill Graves.

“From his leadership and important work on numerous highway bills to his recent call to have [the Government Accountability Office] review hours-of-service related concerns, Chairman Petri has been a great friend of trucking, and his leadership will be missed as we continue to address issues critical to our industry,” Graves said.

“He’s become an expert on transportation, and I have a lot of respect for the guy,” said Thomas Howells, president of the Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association. “He’s willing to listen and willing to learn. He’s an intelligent man who wants to do the right thing,”

Howells also said Petri’s efforts helped bring more highway spending to Wisconsin.

Wisconsin used to get 75 cents of highway funding for each dollar contributed to the federal Highway Trust Fund, but over time, that has grown to $1.02 in spending for each dollar paid.

“I consider him a conservative, pro-business Republican, but not an ideologue or radical,” said Bob Keller, chairman of J.J. Keller & Associates, an information vendor to trucking. The Keller company is based in Neenah, Wis., where Petri made his retirement announcement.

Bob Keller said Petri’s district includes labor union members, so Petri has had to appeal to a broad constituency.

Petri came to the House in April 1979 — the second half of the Carter administration — after a special election. Starting in 1980, he was re-elected 17 times.

During that time he ground through three of the last four major surface transportation laws. He also worked on the National Highway System Designation Act of 1995, which eliminated the 55 mph national speed limit.

One of Petri’s main partners on highway bills for the past 28 years has been Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.).

“Tom’s a standup guy,” DeFazio told TT.

He said they’ve negotiated in committees and maintained a relationship no matter who’s on the majority or minority side.

“Tom’s not one for dramatics. He’s a workhorse not a show horse, and he’s well-respected on both sides of the aisle — and that’s not always the case,” DeFazio said.

Roll Call, a publication that covers Congress, lists Petri at No. 9 in terms of House seniority among the current 435 members, including three vacancies. Reps. John Dingell (D-Mich.), George Miller (D-Calif.) and Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) — three of the eight members more senior than Petri — also have announced they will not run for re-election this fall.

Petri said he would like to push through one last multiyear highway funding bill before closing down his office in the House Rayburn building.

“A multiyear bill is certainly the goal, and I will be working hard with Chairman [Bill] Shuster [R-Pa.] and others to get us there. I think you’ll see our committee version that passes the House — perhaps in the summer — and the Senate will pass its bill, and then we’ll have to come together in conference committee to agree on final language.”