Congress will have until Sept. 30 to approve an extension the nation’s transportation spending plan, which includes a federal gasoline tax and a diesel tax. Outspoken anti-tax advocate Grover Norquist, president of Americans for Tax Reform, says he will not block the extension, on which thousands of highway projects depend. Norquist’s next big push will be to reduce fuel taxs and transfer more transportation decisions to the Continue Reading

Among the criticisms leveled at the proposed hours-of-service rule revisions are its negative impact on productivity and potential to hasten a driver shortage, as many businesses would have to hire new drivers to keep pace with current shipping levels. But small businesses could suffer the most, according to one company president who testified before a congressional committee this week. Calling the proposed changes “unnecessary and unjustified,” James Burg, of James Burg Trucking Co., estimated that his company would have to add more trucks and drivers to Continue Reading

Drivers who haul hazardous materials are backing out of the industry, according to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), because of the financial burden of multiple background checks they must complete. To stem this exodus of qualified, veteran drivers, the ATA is appealing to Congress to eliminate duplicate background checks on drivers. These checks can cost about $150 for HazMat endorsements, and an estimated 1.2 million drivers have Continue Reading

A new bill proposed by Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) seeks to develop a national freight policy to ensure the U.S. infrastructure can efficiently move goods in part to protect the economy, while also keeping the costs of moving those goods reasonable. If passed, the bill – called the “Focusing Resources, Economic Investment, and Guidance to Help Transportation Act of 2010 (FREIGHT Act) – would create Continue Reading

Despite its praise for the efforts of Comprehensive Safety Analysis (CSA) 2010, the American Trucking Association voiced some of its concerns before the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways and Transit last week. These concerns specifically relate to safety and equality. For example, the ATA suggested determining causation of a crash before entered into drivers’ records so Continue Reading