Trucking Coalition Urges Lawmakers To Fight Costly Unfunded Mandates

A coalition of 31 trucking and trade groups is urging Congress to halt four bills it claims would cost the industry billions of dollars in "burdensome" unfunded mandates.

The coalition sent a letter on Sept. 16 to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Mississippi), chairman, and Sen. Maria Cantwell, ranking member, of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation; and Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon), chairman, and Rep. Sam Graves, R-Missouri, ranking member, of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

"As Congress begins to craft the next surface transportation reauthorization, we write to express our opposition to a series of bills that would impose tens of billions of dollars in unfunded mandates on American businesses engaged in trucking," the letter states.

The four bills are:

• H.R. 1511/S. 665, the Stop Underrides Act, which would require the installation of front, side and rear underride guards on all trailers with a gross vehicle weight rating (GVWR) that exceeds 10,000 pounds and all single-unit trucks with a GVWR greater than 10,000 pounds and a carriage that is more than 22 inches above the ground. 

• S. 2033, the Cullum Owings Large Truck Safe Operating Speed Act of 2019, which would mandate commercial motor vehicles (CMVs) over 26,000 pounds to be equipped with speed limiters set to 65 mph.

• H.R. 3773, the Safe Roads Act, which would require new CMVs to be equipped with and utilize an automatic emergency braking (AEB) system.

• H.R. 3781, the INSURANCE Act, which would increase the minimum liability coverage for motor carriers from $750,000 to over $4.9 million. This increase would apply to all businesses transporting property, not just long-haul trucking operations.  

The members of the coalition are: the Agricultural Retailers Association; Agriculture Transportation Coalition; American Dairy Coalition; American Farm Bureau Federation; American Pipeline Contractors Association; American Pyrotechnics Association; Associated Equipment Distributors; Associated Oregon Loggers; Association of Professional Towers of Ohio; Corn Refiners Association; Distribution Contractors Association; Mid-West Truckers Association; National Asphalt Pavement Association; National Association of Small Trucking Companies; National Cotton Council; National Cotton Ginners' Association; National Council of Farmer Cooperatives; National Grain and Feed Association; National Hay Association; National Ready Mixed Concrete Association; National Stone, Sand and Gravel Association; National Utility Contractors Association; National Wildfire Suppression Association; NFIB; North American Millers' Association; Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association; Police Towers of America; Power and Communications Contractors Association; Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute; Towing and Recovery Association of America; and United States Cattlemen's Association.

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