With reports now widespread that a deal has been struck to delay any change in truck drivers’ allowable hours for at least a year, as earlier reported by Transport Topics, questions remain about when the deal will be formalized.
(See "Though Truck Hours Reform Delayed, Wolf Says It's Coming," in Thursday’s A.M. Executive Briefing.)
The agreement is technically not yet final, but is part of ongoing negotiations over the transportation funding bill for fiscal 2001. The House and Senate still have two versions of that bill, until their conferees can meet and vote on a final bill to send to their chambers and then to President Clinton.
Once a House-Senate conference panel votes on the bill, that vote locks into legislation any background deals such as delaying the administration’s proposal to curb drivers’ hours of service. For all practical purposes, however, the fact that the parties are confirming and publicly discussing the tentative decision means the conference will approve it.
The conference meeting time has been sliding in recent days. Early Thursday, a committee spokesman said to expect the group to convene by midday. Since then, the timing has slid toward late on Thursday and could even be held until next week.
President Clinton has warned this week that Congress is tacking onto spending bills a lot of last-minute items that add up to more spending than the administration wants, and that warning raises the prospect that he could veto some appropriations in coming weeks. However, legislative sources say they do not think the transportation bill would be at risk of a veto, so a bill with the hours’ reform delay should become law.
