Conn. Lawmakers, Truckers Call for Action on Fuel Prices

Two federal lawmakers joined the head of the Motor Transport Association of Connecticut in calling for action to help relieve soaring fuel prices that are driving trucking companies out of business, the Connecticut Post reported Thursday.

Sen. Chris Dodd (D-Conn.) and Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-Conn.) joined MTAC President Michael Riley at a press conference in New Haven, Conn., on Wednesday, the Post said on its Web site.

Anson Mooney, a third-generation trucker, said the U.S. trucking industry has lost 3,000 businesses in a year since oil began climbing from $65 a barrel in June 2007 to more than $140 today, the Post reported.

Mooney and Riley advocated a national 65-mph speed limit and industry-wide efficiency practices, such as reducing idling and only moving trucks that are full, but they said more needs to be done soon, the Post said.

The soaring price of diesel is also going to hit homeowners in the Northeast this winter from the high price heating oil which, like diesel, also is a distillate fuel.