Highway Bill

The political slugfest over the 34-hour restart dominated the news from Washington, D.C., in the second half of 2014, but that obscure provision of the hours of service rule is not nearly as important as other developments during the year.

The Republican sweep in the mid-term elections changes the players, but it is too soon to know how it will affect transportation policy.

Undaunted by the conventional political view that Congress will accomplish nothing in the upcoming lame duck session, Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., insists there is a chance to pass and fund a six-year highway program.

Truck and rail traffic are expected to grow, good news for the economy as well as the carriers -- but with growth comes congestion, and transportation planners need more information and better direction from Congress on how to manage the problem. That’s the message from the Government Accountability Office.

Several House Republicans are proposing a national standard to protect buyers of trucking services from claims that they were negligent when selecting the carrier. The bill by Rep. John Duncan, R-Tenn., says that shippers and brokers would not be liable for negligence claims at the state level if they made sure that the carrier is registered at the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, has the required insurance and does not have an unsatisfactory safety rating.

Work on the highway bill continues next week with a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on safety policy. The Subcommittee on Surface Transportation will convene Tuesday, June 3 to take testimony on “The Safety and Effectiveness of our Transportation Systems.” Witnesses have not yet been named.

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee’s highway bill picks up on the reforms initiated by its predecessor, MAP-21, and proposes modest funding for a six-year program. The committee calls for current funding levels plus inflation, compared to the $302 billion, four-year program proposed by the Obama administration.

The Obama administration put down its marker for the next highway program with the GROW America Act, a $302 billion, four-year bill funded by a one-time infusion from a change in the corporate tax code. The House and Senate are working on their versions with no word yet on how they will pay for them, although the Senate Finance Committee will hold a hearing May 6: New Routes for Funding and Financing Highways and Transit.

An advisory panel is encouraging federal regulators to push for several dozen safety reforms in the upcoming highway bill, ranging from changing how drivers are paid to establishing an entirely new approach to hours of service.