Improvements to Trucking, Freight Corridors a Top Priority This Year, Shuster Says
Rep. Bill Shuster, the top transportation policy writer in the House, said modernizing freight corridors to help trucks and other modes of transportation improve the way they deliver goods will be a main focus of his committee this year.
Shuster (R-Pa.), along with several members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, are expected to press ahead with proposals to facilitate the flow of freight when the panel considers the reauthorization of a 2012 highway law that expires in May.
“Freight is very important. And we’re looking at putting dollars back into the corridors,” Shuster told Transport Topics on Jan. 27 shortly after his committee adopted procedural guidelines for the 114th Congress.
One recommendation floated by Republican leaders that is gaining attention is reducing the environmental review period for big-ticket infrastructure projects. Industry leaders often tell lawmakers that certain environmental rules and permitting delay construction projects. In the Senate, Commerce, Science and Transportation Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) has indicated he will examine proposals this year so industries can improve the distribution of freight.
The trucking sector plays a major role in commerce, delivering about 70 percent of all freight tonnage around the country, according to American Trucking Associations.
