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Elections change Congress, but they don’t change trucking’s priorities
ATA pledges to work with both parties on infrastructure, safety and freight security
A blue tsunami swept Capitol Hill, but it didn’t wash away the challenges confronting America’s trucking industry, Hanscom said. (Ward DeWitt/Getty Images)
Key Takeaways:
- ATA's Henry Hanscom argued that Democratic control of Congress should not change its bipartisan advocacy for trucking priorities including infrastructure, safety and supply-chain security.
- Cargo theft, deteriorating infrastructure, truck parking shortages and lawsuit abuse remain industry challenges regardless of which party controls Congress.
- ATA urged Congress to advance transportation reauthorization and anti-theft measures while federal agencies continue safety enforcement and rulemakings affecting trucking.
Election Day changed the political landscape in Washington. Democrats will take control of both chambers of Congress next year, although dozens of individual House races remain uncalled.
A blue tsunami swept Capitol Hill, but it didn’t wash away the challenges confronting America’s trucking industry.
Cargo theft does not have a party affiliation. Neither do deteriorating roads and bridges, safety compliance, the shortage of truck parking or lawsuit abuse.
That reality has always shaped ATA’s approach to advocacy. Regardless of who holds the gavels, we are going to attack the problems confronting our industry. In doing so, we can work with anyone willing to work with us.
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Hanscom
In fact, transportation represents one of D.C.’s best opportunities to demonstrate that divided government does not have to mean dysfunctional government. The next surface transportation reauthorization is now on the kitchen table.
America’s economy depends on safe, efficient infrastructure and predictable, long-term investment. ATA has already been making the case that Congress should build on the bipartisan progress underway and deliver a highway bill that gives our industry and job creators across our economy the certainty they need.
But before the new Congress convenes, the current Congress still has important work to finish. That includes passage of our nation’s annual defense bill and final action on bipartisan measures to combat organized cargo theft and freight fraud. The House overwhelmingly passed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act earlier this year, while the Senate moved to include it in the defense authorization process.
ATA has made combating these sophisticated criminal networks a top priority as strategic theft increasingly relies on cyber fraud and identity manipulation to divert freight, with proceeds often flowing to transnational criminal organizations. Congress should finish that job.
But just as important is the work happening beyond Capitol Hill.
The Department of Transportation deserves tremendous credit for making enforcement a priority and taking aggressive action against bad actors who undermine highway safety and undercut legitimate motor carriers.
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Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and FMCSA Administrator Derek Barrs during a press conference in February. (Tom Brenner/Associated Press)
Through initiatives that strengthen commercial vehicle safety enforcement, modernize state CDL systems and help ensure drivers are properly trained and qualified, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration is making America’s highways safe and creating a level playing field for the carriers who do things right.
That work cannot slow down simply because an election took place. Now is the time to accelerate it, and our federation of trucking associations has produced the roadmap for a trucking resurgence. Meanwhile, the Department of Labor and Environmental Protection Agency are completing significant rulemakings that directly impact our operations.
Trucking works every day in every congressional district in America. Our trucks travel through red states and blue states. Our members employ Republicans, Democrats and independents. The freight we move supplies families and businesses regardless of how they vote.
Our advocacy should reflect that reality.
Politics will change. Committee chairs will change. Majorities will change. But ATA’s mission does not.
We will continue fighting for safer highways, stronger infrastructure, a secure supply chain and a fair operating environment for the men and women who keep America moving. And we will continue working with anyone, in either party and at every level of government, who is ready to help us get it done.
