Trucking Legislators Returned to Hill
Related Stories
|
ATA's
Still uncertain is the fate of Sen. Harry Reid, (D-Nev.), whose narrow 459 vote victory over second-term Rep. John Ensign was still in doubt. The race, closely watched by trucking because of Mr. Reid’s attempt to ban triple-trailer trucks, was the subject of legal review because of the narrow margin of victory claimed by Mr. Reid. Late in the week, lawyers from the national Democratic and Republican parties were reviewing the 435,552 votes cast by Nevada voters to determine if any miscounting or wrong-doing took place.
Mr. Ensign’s staff said the lawmaker would not decide whether to concede defeat or ask for a recount until the review is complete and state election officials certify the election, which was expected early this week.
Trucking paid close attention to Mr. Reid’s re-election effort because of the senator’s attempts to ban triples as part of the highway bill earlier this year. He dropped his proposal after acknowledging he lacked the votes to obtain Senate approval because of trucking industry lobbying.
Anti-truck groups also paid attention to the race, with the Coalition Against Bigger Trucks taking out an advertisement in the Reno, Nev., Gazette-Journal in August, praising Mr. Reid for his efforts to ban triples. The ad, headlined “Safer Roads Ahead Thanks to Senator Reid,” said the “Reid Amendment” was a joint effort with CABT and other safety groups to prevent an increase in the number of longer combination vehicles on the road.
In published reports, CABT Executive Director Russell McGurk said the ad was not designed to influence Mr. Reid’s campaign. The ad was similar to newspaper ads run by CABT and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways before the 1996 elections, thanking lawmakers for signing a letter opposing changes in truck size and weight laws.
CABT’s Nevada efforts appear to be part of a national mobilization effort. According to published reports, CABT has hired a director of development to broaden its fund-raising base beyond the railroad industry, which created the group in 1995 and has served as its primary source of revenue.
The group has advertised in Capitol Hill newspapers for outreach organizers to work on building coalitions and mobilizing grassroots opinion on federal highway safety legislation. CABT also is querying state regulators in New Jersey about the safety records of large trucks.
he outcome of the Nevada election will not have a significant impact on either the makeup of the next Congress or on trucking issues.
Mr. Reid’s return to Washington would leave the Senate’s Republican majority unchanged from its current 55 seats, compared with 45 Democrats. In the House, Democrats picked up five seats, shrinking the Republican majority. Republicans had hoped to win 60 Senate seats, giving them sufficient votes to prevent Democrats from filibustering, and to widen the GOP’s 11-seat majority in the House.
Trucking executives, shippers and unions were scratching their collective heads last week trying to determine what impact the results would have on their legislative and political agendas next year.
“It was basically a status quo election, both in terms of the makeup of the Congress and the composition of congressional committees,” said Jim Whittinghill, senior vice president for legislative affairs at American Trucking Associations.
“I think the Democrats won a greater perceived victory,” said Lane Kidd, president of the Arkansas Motor Carriers Assn. “The Republicans had touted their abilities to increase the margins in both houses, but the American people said they are going to put some checks and balances in the system.”
Mr. Kidd and other trucking leaders suggested that the status quo in the Senate and the
arrowed margins in the House may mean increased cooperation between Democrats and Republicans.
“What we may see in the 106th Congress is perhaps the mentality that is generally at work on the House Transportation Committee,” said Tim Lynch, president of the Motor Freight Carriers Assn. “Perhaps a more bipartisan spirit of cooperation may emerge on other committees. If they don’t, there will be a stalemate because they won’t get anything done.”
Members of the Transportation Committee generally send legislation to the House floor with strong bipartisan majorities, a tendency called the “ISTEA model” by Edward Wytkind, executive director of the AFL-CIO’s Transportation Trades Department.
Mr. Wytkind’s and Mr. Lynch’s comments may be somewhat optimistic, depending on whether Republican congressional leaders continue with their “K Street Strategy.” The GOP has pressured the Washington lobbying community, many of whom are based on Washington’s K Street to contribute to key Republican races and hire Republican lobbyists. ATA hewed to the GOP line, hiring several GOP lobbyists with ties to the party’s leadership, including President Walter B. McCormick Jr., and contributing heavily to Republican candidates.
Eighty one percent of the $420,555 contributed by ATA’s TruckPac to House and Senate candidates this election cycle went to Republicans, according to PAC Director Royal Roth (See article, page 1). The figure is slightly higher than trucking contributions to House and Senate candidates overall, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. GOP candidates received 76% of the industry’s financial support, according to the non-partisan group.
Unions, which in 1996 were criticized for working to restore Democrats to control of Congress, provided electoral support to 27 Republicans this year, primarily moderates who bucked their party on some issues of concern to labor.
“If we are going to maintain credibility with our rank and file as well as with elected officials, we have to show that we’re supporting candidates, regardless of party, who have supported us,” AFL-CIO President John Sweeney told the New York Times before the election.
234
