Meal, Rest Break Measure Absent From Federal Budget
This story appears in the May 8 print edition of Transport Topics.
A meal and rest break provision for truck drivers was not included in federal legislation approved last week that kept the federal government open, but the trucking industry is not giving up on congressional action on the matter.
In a rare show of bipartisanship, Congress on May 4 passed a $1 trillion bill that will fund federal agencies through September. However, congressional negotiators removed a meal and rest break pre-emption proposal that had been included in a fiscal 2017 funding bill in the House.
The bill, known as an omnibus, passed by a vote of 309-118. The Senate easily cleared it soon after. President Donald Trump indicated he would sign it into law, which would avert a government shutdown. The pre-emption provision was among the so-called “policy riders” Democratic leaders had opposed.
American Trucking Associations had expressed optimism that the pre-emption provision would be included and garner the president’s signature. Bill Sullivan, ATA’s executive vice president of advocacy, responded to the legislative setback by stressing a sense of determination for identifying a path forward for the matter on Capitol Hill. Must-pass funding or policy legislation would be ideal vehicles.
“We are aggressively working on the industry’s behalf to ensure national uniformity for the trucking industry and allow your businesses to focus on safely delivering the freight instead of administrative and inefficient regulations,” Sullivan wrote to ATA members last week. “ATA is intensifying our congressional efforts to ensure we maximize our opportunities in both authorizing and funding legislation this year.”
As ATA has emphasized, the pre-emption would be critical for the industry because it would clarify a requirement in a 1994 aviation law and block a California law signed in 2011 that 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 people who work more than 10 hours a day.
Overall, the omnibus bill rejected the administration’s vision as outlined in a fiscal 2018 budget proposal to minimize funding for transit systems and an Obama-era infrastructure grants program. The bill would provide $500 million for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants for infrastructure projects. State and local governments have sought TIGER grants administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation to finance big-ticket projects, such as highways, bridges, transit systems and ports.
The bill also would raise federal highway and transit formula grants to levels consistent with the FAST Act highway law of 2015, to $43.2 billion for federal-aid to highways as well as $9.3 billion for transit. It would fund positive train control implementation grants and oversight of automated vehicle technology, and it would keep alive the California high-speed rail project.
Despite the administration’s call for reducing money for environmental programs, the bill would provide $32.2 billion for the Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, an increase of $121 million from 2016. The majority of the additional funding would help pay for natural disaster prevention programs, water infrastructure targeting lead in drinking water, Superfund sites, education programs for Native Americans and the Bureau of Land Management.
The measure does not fund a project that would erect a wall along the Mexican border, a key pledge by Trump during the presidential campaign.
“This legislation will fund critical federal government activities, including our national defense, and enact responsible funding decisions to target U.S. investments where they are needed the most,” House Appropriations Chairman Rodney Frelinghuysen (R-N.J.) said May 1. “It also maintains and enhances policies that bolster economic growth and support the core values that our nation is built upon.”
On the Senate floor May 1, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) praised funding for TIGER grants: “It includes significant increased funding for infrastructure … the vital TIGER grant program that has done so much for infrastructure, road building and highways throughout my state and throughout America.”
Trump has repeatedly promised to rebuild infrastructure at airports, highways and bridges. His $1 trillion, 10-year proposal is expected to be unveiled in a few weeks, while a fiscal 2018 budget proposal also could be unveiled at that time. The White House has been pushing public- and private-sector concepts for funding the transportation system. Republicans’ call for funding reductions for TIGER, Amtrak and transit programs are likely to continue in upcoming budget negotiations.
Across the transportation sector, many stakeholders celebrated the funding measure.
“We see this provision as a barometer of strong bipartisan congressional support for the program. Additionally, we appreciate that this bill would fund the TIGER program, transit security grants and passenger rail programs, including support for Amtrak,” said Richard White, acting CEO of the American Public Transportation Association. “This legislative action shows that Congress understands the value of public transportation and how it plays a critical role in the economy and in the lives of millions of Americans in communities of all sizes.”
