Support Grows for U.S. Truck Office

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Support for creation of a federal agency devoted solely to truck safety grew last week during a long-awaited congressional hearing on who in the Department of Transportation should oversee the industry.

American Trucking Associations and other industry groups endorsed establishing a federal trucking administration during a congressional hearing to discuss the former Office of Motor Carriers.

While House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) said he still would prefer to transfer truck safety from the Federal Highway Administration to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, the lawmaker said he has an open mind on the issue.

“Agencies do best when they have a core purpose,” said ATA President Walter B. McCormick Jr. in his first appearance before Congress. “NHTSA does its core mission of auto safety well. FHWA does its core mission of building highways well. Eighty-two percent of freight transportation revenue comes from trucking. There should be a separate motor carrier administration.”

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