Year in Review: Senate OKs Foxx as Transportation Secretary

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The biggest change in transportation at the federal level this year came when Anthony Foxx took over as secretary of transportation in July.

President Obama appointed the former mayor of Charlotte, N. C., to succeed Ray LaHood, a former Republican congressman who returned to private life.

In August, Foxx proposed that truck drivers no longer be required to file pre-trip safety reports if they do not find problems with their vehicles, although they still must conduct pre-trip inspections. The proposal is in the rulemaking process.

Meanwhile, in the U.S. House, Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) took over as chairman of the powerful Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, replacing Rep. John Mica (R-Fla.).

One of Shuster’s first actions was to form a freight panel as a prelude to the 2014 work of creating a transportation reauthorization bill to replace MAP-21, which expires Sept. 30.

Headed by Rep. John Duncan(R-Tenn.), the panel explored freight issues facing the nation with six public hearings across the country.In November, the panel issued its findings and recommendations in a 100-page report.

The panel suggested that Congress create a national freight transportation policy and designate a freight network that includes all modes — highway, rail, air and water.

Congress also should approve dedicated, sustainable funding to support a competitive grant program to pay for freight projects of national and regional significance, the panel said.

Its report also reviewed various methods for raising revenue but did not specifically recommend a way.

Meanwhile, freight issues also took center stage at the Department of Transportation.

In May, an advisory committee was formed to work with DOT to develop the nation’s first National Freight Strategic Plan.

The committee has 47 members, including carrier and shipper representatives as well as safety and transportation experts who reflect various modes and geographic locations.The committee, formed by LaHood, held its first meeting in June in Washing-ton, D.C.

On another front pertaining to the transportation of goods, DOT in November unveiled a draft of the primary freight highway network that it was directed to draw up under MAP 21.

The 27,000-mile primary network is expected to serve as the highway portion of the larger, multimodal National Freight Strategic Plan on which DOT is working.

At the congressional level, policy divisions between the parties and between lawmakers and Obama led to a government shutdown that took 16 days to resolve, via a temporary budget agreement.

For the most part, DOT and its agencies, such as the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration and the Federal Highway Administration, continued to operate because most of DOT’s funding comes from the Highway Trust Fund.

However, trucking firms that haul munitions and other military parts and equipment for the Department of Defense suffered acute losses.

The civilian employees who handle the receiving duties at military bases were furloughed, so there was no one to receive shipments.

In the midst of the shutdown that began Oct. 1, however, the Senate overwhelmingly approved a sleep-apnea bill strongly supported by the trucking industry. The House had approved the same measure Sept. 26.

The bill, quickly signed by Obama, says FMCSA cannot address sleep apnea testing and treatment for truck drivers by just issuing a guidance or directive. Under the terms of the legislation, in order to address testing and treatment, FMCSA would have to go through the full rulemaking process.

In another display of bipartisanship, after the shutdown ended, the House overwhelmingly passed a new water reauthorization bill in late October.

The measure authorizes dredging at several of the nation’s ports so they can accept the large cargo ships expected to pass through the newly widened Panama Canal. The Senate passed the water bill in May.

However, the water reauthorization bill did not contain funding, which means that before any of the dredging projects can begin, the House and Senate have to come up with money to pay for them.