Graves: ATA Will Continue to Press on HOS, Fund Infrastructure
SAN DIEGO — Bill Graves, the two-term governor of Kansas who has led American Trucking Associations for more than a decade, pledged to industry executives on Oct. 6 that his team will continue to fight tougher rules the Obama administration has implemented on drivers’ work hours and safety performance.
At his state of the industry address at the federation’s annual Management Conference & Exhibition meeting here, the ATA president said the administration has advanced “well-intended-but misguided” rules that are impacting the industry.
This summer, ATA backed efforts in the Senate to suspend for a year the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s restart changes that require truckers to have a 34-hour resting period between workweeks, including two 1 a.m.-to-5 a.m. periods. Those changes took effect July 2013.
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The Senate debated the proposal but did not advance the proposal. After the November midterm elections, Graves said he expects lawmakers to vote on the proposal. For the most part, industry executives have worked closely with federal agencies to develop emission standards on commercial trucks, but they've pushed back on limits on work hours.
“We are very well-positioned for the relief we seek whenever Congress gets back to doing business. It certainly didn’t hurt that we were right on the issue. And as we go forward with similar safety-related issues, we have to begin with taking the responsible — the right — position on the issue,” Graves said, adding, “As you’ve seen in a number of instances, government policies and regulations that attempt to paint the trucking industry with one broad brush have often times failed to fully appreciate the diversity and enormity of the industry.”
Graves also called on the industry to promote more safety initiatives aimed at facilitating the public’s understanding of the industry and noted the need to address the industrywide driver shortage.
To help relieve traffic congestion, Graves said a major infrastructure legislative agenda that provides a long-term revenue fix to the federal Highway Trust Fund would improve the flow of freight nationwide. The current transportation policy law, MAP-21, expires this spring.
Graves also announced that he would continue to serve as the federation's president and CEO through at least 2016.
“I am tremendously proud of what we have accomplished at ATA in my almost 12 years here,” Graves said. “And I am excited to see what we can accomplish in the coming years.”
“Under Gov. Graves’ leadership, ATA has undertaken a number of initiatives to position the association as the leader in advocacy on behalf of trucking and transportation,” added Chairman Philip Byrd Sr. “We are thrilled that he will remain as the face of our advocacy in Washington for the foreseeable future.”
