Congressional support for releasing oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve grew this week as lawmakers flocked to support a resolution urging the Clinton administration to take the action.

Contrary to published reports, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said last week that some workers in the railroad industry will not be exempt from a proposed set of new ergonomics rules.

A trickle of details has begun to appear on how the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration plans to cut the number of truck-related fatalities in half within the decade.

The Department of Transportation’s proposed $55 billion spending bill for 2001 is running into opposition on Capitol Hill because of proposals to increase user fees and to use fuel tax money for non-highway purposes.

Contrary to published reports, some workers in the railroad industry will not be exempt from a proposed rule that would require trucking and nearly every other industry to revamp workplaces to reduce repetitive stress injuries, a spokeswoman for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration said last week.

The leader of the nation’s largest shippers group got a blunt answer from a representative of the railroad industry Feb. 23 in response to his call for allowing trucks to carry heavier loads in exchange for moving the freight partly over the railroads.

The federal government’s efforts to improve intermodal freight transportation were scrutinized by rail, highway and ocean carriers and officials from a host of government agencies last week at a National Academy of Sciences conference on national and global intermodal freight movement.

The National Sleep Foundation last week called for increasing the amount of time truck drivers can spend behind the wheel to 12 hours, as long as they have 12 hours off.

The Department of Transportation’s proposed $55 billion budget for 2001 is running into opposition on Capitol Hill because of proposals to increase user fees and redirect fuel tax money for non-highway uses.

A trickle of details has begun to appear on how the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration plans to cut the number of truck-related fatalities in half within the decade.