House, Senate Mull Trucking Agency

Proposals to create a federal Motor Carrier Administration on par with agencies representing railroads, aviation and maritime interests were introduced in both houses of Congress amid a flurry of legislation to improve truck and bus safety.

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On Aug. 3, the House Transportation Committee unveiled legislation creating a separate trucking agency within the Department of Transportation and unanimously approved the measure two days later, sending it to the House floor for a vote in September.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz.) introduced a similar bill on Aug. 5, promising to move it through his committee after Labor Day.

A DOT proposal, which was sent to Capitol Hill on Aug. 2, is silent on the placement of the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety that now oversees trucking safety, although Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater has said it should remain within the Federal Highway Administration (8-3, p. 3).

American Trucking Associations and the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance were thrilled by the prospect of a separate trucking agency.

“Although the trucking industry carries more than 80% of the nation’s freight, it is the only major form of transportation that doesn’t have its own modal administration within DOT,” said ATA President Walter B. McCormick Jr.

For the full story, see the August 9 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.