Trucking's Largesse Goes to House Appropriations Committee Members

What can trucking companies buy with $363,387? How about 3.7 brand-spanking-new Peterbilt Model 377’s, complete with 475-horsepower engines, twin sleepers and aluminum wheels? What about 356,961 gallons of diesel fuel?

Trucking executives and political action committees affiliated with trucking companies hope that $363,387 bought them some clout with members of the House Appropriations Committee. That’s the amount committee members received in trucking campaign contributions during the 1997 to 1998 election cycle.

Not only does the Appropriations Committee set spending levels for all federal agencies, including the Department of Transportation, it also frequently attaches policy changes, known as riders, to spending bills.

House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) tried to attach legislation transferring jurisdiction over truck safety from the Federal Highway Administration to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration through two separate spending bills last year. Both efforts failed to win support in the House.

While $363,387 is a healthy chunk of change, the figure doesn’t put trucking on the list of the top 20 industries and unions contributing to Appropriations Committee members over the past two years, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group advocating campaign finance reform.

For the full story, see the March 29 print edition of Transport Topics. Subscribe today.