Conference on Spending Faces OMC Funding Issue
Rep. Frank Wolf (R-Va.) last week continued his efforts to move federal oversight of truck safety out of the Federal Highway Administration.
The $49.5 billion transportation bill passed by the Senate on Sept. 16 includes $57.4 million for that agency. The House bill, approved in July, appropriates $70.5 million for motor carrier safety programs. The money would not be spent unless the programs are moved out of the Federal Highway Administration (5-31, p.1).
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When the House voted Sept. 21 to appoint members of the conference committee that will iron out differences between transportation spending bills passed by the House and Senate, it included a measure from Wolf eliminating any mention of the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety.
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Speaking on the House floor, Wolf complained that Congress has not passed comprehensive reform of OMCHS. “Time is running out,” he said. “More than 18 months have passed since the House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee sounded the alarm that the Office of Motor Carriers needed to be reformed. The American public has waited too long.”
