Legislation to Keep Government Funded 'Hasn’t Been Completed,' Says Speaker Ryan

Legislation that would keep the government funded beyond an April 28 deadline has yet to be finalized, the Speaker of the House told reporters March 30.

“The bill hasn’t been completed yet,” Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.), said during a press conference on Capitol Hill. “The appropriators are still negotiating so it’s premature to get into the contents of the bill.”

With funding for the federal government expiring at the end of April, the group representing trucking executives has expressed optimism that Congress will take up a fiscal 2017 funding bill that includes a meal and rest break provision.

This week, John Drake, American Trucking Associations senior vice president for legislative affairs, told executives in a conference in Virginia that he remains hopeful a meal and rest break pre-emption provision will be included in the bill. Commonly referred to an omnibus, the measure would likely keep the federal government operating through the remainder of the fiscal year.

“Enacting this clarification is going to put in place a clarification that we think is necessary nationwide,” Drake said. “We are, at this point, cautiously optimistic that we are in a very good spot.”

A pre-emption provision would clarify a requirement in a 1994 aviation law called F4A to block a California law signed in 2011. That law requires employers to provide a “duty-free” 30-minute meal break for employees who work more than five hours a day, as well as a second “duty-free” 30-minute meal break for those who work more than 10 hours a day.