Key House Democrat Faces Tough Re-Election Battle
This story appears in the Oct. 27 print edition of Transport Topics.
Rep. Nick Rahall (D-W.Va.), the highest-ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, remains in a tight re-election campaign, and that outcome could affect legislation critical to trucking.
Most transportation observers acknowledge that congressional leaders will need Rahall’s support to advance a multiyear highway bill after the midterm elections.
But with less than two weeks before voters go to the polls Nov. 4, the Rothenberg Political Report, a leading national newsletter, rated the race as a “pure toss-up.”
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In a statement e-mailed to Transport Topics on Oct. 22, the 19-term congressman again stated his support for suspending last year’s changes to the 34-hour restart provision in the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s hours-of-service rule.
“Hours-of-service rules were enacted as basic wage-and-hour laws for the men and women whose office is the highway,” he said. “We owe it to them to get the rules right, to fight fatigue and to give them a fair shot at making a good living. If the current hours-of-service rules are not achieving that goal, then Congress needs to look at other solutions to afford these workers some basic protections.”
The HOS rules require two nights off work between “restarts” of a driver’s workweek.
Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine) is leading a proposal that would require FMCSA to suspend the rules for a year to allow the agency to review the rules’ safety claim. If Collins’ proposal passes the Senate, it would then advance to the House.
In his statement, Rahall also said he opposes conservatives on Capitol Hill who would shift transportation dollars from federal agencies to state governments. That concept is known as “devolution”.
“ ‘Devolution’ signals giving up — that these problems are too big of a headache for Washington to deal with, so let’s pass the burden onto states. Doing so will cripple our economy, lead to more gridlock and jeopardize the future economic vitality of our nation,” he said.
House Republicans have yet to say when they intend to consider the reauthorization of the 2012 highway law MAP-21. But Rahall has indicated he plans to work with GOP counterparts to advance a long-term measure.
However, in order for Rahall to be part of that debate, he must first be re-elected. Currently, he is among the most vulnerable incumbents, with recent polls listing him either tied or just slightly ahead of his Republican challenger, state Sen. Evan Jenkins, who formerly was a Democrat.
The coal business looms large in the Mountain State, providing jobs to thousands of constituents, who also are calling for better roadways.
To explain what’s happening in West Virginia’s 3rd District, politicos point to the acute anti-President Obama sentiment in that rural part of the country. Most residents there blame Democrats for federal regulations that have an effect on the coal industry.
“Rahall is making the case that all of his seniority is helpful to the district, which is one of the poorest,” said Neil Berch, a political science professor at West Virginia University, adding that the incumbent “needs to convince voters that he’s separate from Obama on energy issues.”
First elected in 1976, Rahall developed a brand as a bipartisan lawmaker capable of collaborating with Republicans on key policy issues. On transportation, he has worked with Republicans to help guide major highway bills into law, including MAP-21.
Jenkins did not return calls to TT seeking comment by press time. His campaign also did not provide his position on transportation. Jenkins’ campaign website does not list transportation as a major issue.
Republican ads airing in West Virginia continue to attack Rahall by tying him to the Obama administration’s policies.
But some transportation observers said the partisan politics surrounding infrastructure are puzzling, since it should be a bipartisan issue. As one transportation observer who deals with House leaders said, Rahall “is under attack for seeking consensus on transportation, but we’re not seeing his opponent take charge in transportation discussions.”
The National Republican Campaign Committee has about $2 million reserved to support Jenkins, while the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has set aside more than $1 million. Both committees are set up to assist candidates around the country.
NRCC Chairman Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) recently criticized Rahall over his support of a cap-and-trade measure and regulations from the Environmental Protection Agency .
“If he comes back, he’s a vote, extensively, for the people who put the people in charge who will do great damage to coal country,” Walden said.
