The six-year, $286.4 billion highway spending bill, touching on many trucking interests, received mixed reactions from industry groups.
President Bush is expected to sign the legislation this week.
“This bill funds vital new transportation projects, holds the line on gas taxes and avoids adding to the deficit,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta. “More importantly for America’s drivers, this bill contains significant new safety provisions, including the creation of a $5 billion core highway safety program.”
America’s truck drivers, however, did not receive the mandatory fuel surcharge that had been considered for inclusion in the massive bill.
The American Trucking Associations takes some credit for blocking the surcharge, saying it would have increased consumer costs for everything shipped by truck.
The Owner-Operators Independent Drivers Association supported establishment of a surcharge that would cover fuel costs over a $1.10-per-gallon benchmark. The surcharge would have been paid by the shippers and passed along to fuel buyers. The Truckload Carriers Association also had supported a surcharge.
ATA is unhappy that the bill does not write into statutory law the current hours-of-service rule, a strategy that had been sought by the U.S. Department of Transportation and many in the trucking industry. Barring another legislative extension, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration will be forced to issue a revised regulation as required by a federal appeals court. FMCSA’s temporary reprieve from the court order runs out Sept. 30.
