ATA President Chris Spear Presses Home Panel on IIJA Oversight, Freight Workforce

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WASHINGTON — Advancing provide chain connectivity packages and selling the freight workforce are priorities American Trucking Associations President Chris Spear referred to as on Congress to pursue over the following two years.

Addressing the Home of Representatives’ Transportation and Infrastructure panel on Feb. 1 because it kicked off the 118th session of Congress, Spear emphasised a have to proceed to recruit and retain truck drivers, whereas on the identical time making certain business corridors are secure and environment friendly for the freight sector.

In wide-ranging testimony, Spear reminded Home lawmakers in regards to the trucking trade’s position within the provide chain. Through the COVID-19 pandemic, business car drivers’ contributions had been praised by personal sector stakeholders, myriad elected officers and far of the general public. The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Funding and Jobs Act enacted in 2021 boosted funding designed to enhance provide chain connectivity operations. The Biden administration is managing implementation of these packages.

“For 90 years, the ATA has helped Congress form its understanding of our nation’s infrastructure wants and provide chain challenges, and right now’s oversight of each is welcome and well timed,” Spear advised the committee. “Previous to IIJA’s passage, ATA testified 25 occasions earlier than the Home and Senate, sharing how the decaying state of our nation’s infrastructure is hamstringing America’s skill to compete with rising international powers like China. Briefly, a first-world financial system can’t survive a developing-world infrastructure.”

Increasing entry to parking for truck drivers, in addition to selling workforce coaching packages, would end in advantages for the financial system, Spear defined. ATA not too long ago decided the trucking workforce is brief about 78,000 drivers, a slight lower from a earlier estimate.

Lawmakers not too long ago launched a invoice that would dedicate practically $800 million to develop truckers’ entry to parking across the nation. Sponsored by Reps. Dusty Johnson (R-S.D.) and Jim Costa (D-Calif.), the Safer Highways and Elevated Efficiency for Interstate Trucking, or SHIP IT, Act, would supply funding by way of fiscal 2026.

“Congress ought to seize alternatives to boost the effectivity and resiliency of the availability chain, and that should contain sensible oversight of IIJA implementation, in addition to efforts to empower the following era of secure and certified transportation employees,” Spear indicated. “By resolving key provide chain bottlenecks, making port operations fairer and extra environment friendly, and taking significant steps in the direction of environmental sustainability, we will develop our financial system and guarantee American competitiveness for generations to come back.”

Particular to oversight of the IIJA, Spear famous that ATA joined freight stakeholders in calling on the Biden administration to withdraw a doc that outlined a roadmap for freeway funding. Memorandum from the Federal Freeway Administration from Dec. 16, 2021, sophisticated undertaking planning all through the mobility grid, ATA and the opposite teams argued. As Spear put it, the FHWA memo “does nothing to deal with congestion, enhance security and scale back emissions.”

High congressional Republicans on Capitol Hill mentioned they interpreted the FHWA memo as suggesting state transportation companies prioritize infrastructure upkeep as an alternative of continuing with new development. U.S. Division of Transportation leaders insist the memo’s viewpoints are steerage for trade stakeholders and companies.

Moreover, the ATA chief requested lawmakers to focus rigorously on ocean transport reforms that outcome within the environment friendly stream of freight, in addition to to think about an achievable vitality and environmental agenda.

The panel’s management expressed optimism in regards to the infrastructure legislation’s potential for modernizing transportation networks. Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) affirmed his caucus’ dedication to conduct oversight of the Biden administration.

“Inflation, gasoline and diesel gasoline, and development materials costs all reached document highs underneath this administration,” mentioned Graves. “It’s incumbent on Congress and specifically, this committee, to make sure the cash from IIJA is spent responsibly and is directed towards making our nation’s transportation provide chain extra environment friendly and resilient. We owe it to the American folks to do exactly that.”

Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.), the committee’s rating member, praised the passage of big-ticket measures masking infrastructure and local weather change insurance policies. “With out the investments made by the main legal guidelines enacted final Congress, our financial system could be in far worse form right now,” Larsen mentioned. “This committee held a listening to on trade and labor views on the availability chain disaster in November 2021 — the place witnesses, lots of whom are right here once more right now, hailed the passage of the [bipartisan infrastructure law] and its optimistic impacts to enhance our freight community provide chain.”

Different witnesses who joined Spear in testifying had been Ian Jefferies, president and CEO of Affiliation of American Railroads; Jeff Firth, vice chairman of Hamilton Development on behalf of Related Common Contractors of America; Roger Guenther, government director of the Port Houston; and Greg Regan, president, of the Transportation Trades Division with the AFL-CIO.