Capitol Agenda for the Week of April 19: Addition by Appropriations?

It must be trucking appreciation month on Capitol Hill. After last week’s rare roundtable in the House on trucking issues, Senate funding leaders this week are expected to consider motor carrier-related provisions in fiscal 2017 funding legislation. Trucking leaders, primarily at American Trucking Associations, have been pressing Congress to adopt a meal-and-rest-break proposal, as well as corrective language to an hours-of-service provision in a fiscal 2016 funding law, and greater clarity on the regulatory rulemaking process. “ATA continues to work aggressively to address the issue of uniform work and rest rules for interstate trucking. ATA, along with a broader coalition, is urging Congress to clarify the national uniformity it sought to establish when it included a provision prohibiting states from regulating the trucking industry in the Federal Aviation Administration Authorization Act of 1994,” is how ATA President Bill Graves put it last April 15. But in the Senate, California Democrat Barbara Boxer is not interested in ATA’s stance. Prior to Graves’ note, Boxer hit up her buddies on the funding committee, asking them not to include the meal-and-rest-break proposal in upcoming funding bills. “If anyone told us to dock our employees when they take a meal or bathroom break, we would think it was outrageous. Yet, that is exactly what this provision would do to truck drivers,” Boxer wrote. Not to be outdone, transportation groups, led by Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, reached out to the Senate’s funding leader April 18 to discourage them from tweaking the hours-of-service language in the fiscal 2016 law.

THE WEEK AHEAD (all times EDT):

April 19, 10:30 a.m.:  The Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Subcommittee marks up a fiscal 2017 funding transportation bill.

April 21, 10:30 a.m.: The Senate Appropriations Committee marks up a fiscal 2017 transportation funding bill.

IN THE BILLIONS: Officials are going to need to come up with $23 billion in the coming years to get Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor in a state of good repair. The line that runs from Boston to Washington, D.C., has been the site of major accidents recently. It seems only logical to hurry up and fix the corridor since it’s used by millions of people traveling for work and leisure, as well as for freight rail movement.

DOWN THE PIPELINE: Last week, California Democratic Reps. Janice Hahn and Jackie Speier unveiled legislation that would aim to reform pipeline operations by increasing accountability for operators found at fault for accidents. “For years, communities which fall victim to destructive and deadly pipeline accidents have been denied justice,” Hahn said. “Pipeline operators have been able to walk away with nothing more than administrative fines.”

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

JERSEY STRONG: New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie (R), responding to Democratic calls for him to replenish the multibillion-dollar fund for the state's highway and rail projects, said it was lawmakers’ responsibility to introduce a plan.

CRASHES: The number of large trucks involved in fatal crashes decreased in 2014 by 5%, to 3,744 from 3,921 in 2013, according to a report released April 15 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Rep. Bill Shuster by Jaclyn O'Laughlin

THE LANE GAME: During a rare hearing focused exclusively on the commercial motor carrier industry, the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee suggested his colleagues support establishing truck-only lanes to help boost freight capacity.

WHAT WE’RE READING: The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on April 15 delivered an enterprising update of states’ infrastructure funding efforts ahead of the busy summer driving season.

FAVORITE QUOTE

“I actually don’t know what to think about this container weight issue. I don’t think it’s a congressional issue. It has to be worked out between the shippers and shippees.” 

— Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Maritime Transportation Safety and Stewardship Programs Subcommittee, at an April 14 hearing that looked into issues surrounding shipping containers' weight.

FAVORITE VIDEO

C-SPAN

The Los Angeles Times hosted a panel on infrastructure funding April 10 as part of its 2016 Festival of Books. Participating in the discussion were authors Brian Fagan, Edward Humes, Jonathan Waldman and University of California, Irvine professor Jon Wiener.

FAVORITE TWEET

A well-deserved honor for an outstanding public servant whom I am proud to call friend. https://t.co/tWWbm4GRLV pic.twitter.com/4pkXFtJiRn — Anthony Foxx (@SecretaryFoxx) April 15, 2016

Judd Apatow was correct: Bromances are such fun. On April 12, current and former secretaries of Transportation Anthony Foxx and Ray LaHood, respectively, were all smiles at a ceremony in Peoria, Illinois, where LaHood was honored. The airport there named its international terminal after LaHood, a former congressman from Illinois. 

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