By Nick J. Rahall II
U.S. Representative

Among the things that I appreciate most about growing up in my home state of West Virginia is that it provided for me a tried-and-true appreciation of what is most important in life. West Virginia is a place where simple values, some might call them old-fashioned, are still taught and lived. As a child I was told that if you are guided by them, you will achieve happiness and success in life. As an adult, I found those lessons to be true.

One of the values that West Virginians hold most dear is fairness.

And it is with fairness in mind that I've been a strong supporter of addressing a critical issue that continues to hamper a very large segment of the trucking industry: the lack of a mandatory fuel surcharge.

Throughout the country, people are concerned about the effects high fuel costs are having on our economy. In particular, high diesel prices are hitting the independent small trucker the hardest. These hardworking individuals, who own and operate their own rigs, are faced with often insurmountable challenges when facing the fuel prices we've seen in recent months. Simply put, they cannot afford sharp increases in diesel prices, particularly when they are unable to pass any of these increased costs on to the shippers. The end result is that many owner-operators are going out of business and an important segment of the trucking industry is being lost.

Aside from the very real and pressing personal hardships faced by independent truckers and their families, the industry is also losing competition, which in turn means fewer transportation alternatives for shippers. This too is an unwelcome development.

Over the years, I have worked closely with OOIDA to address this situation. In 2000, I introduced the Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Equity Act, which would have instituted a fuel surcharge for owner-operators in the event fuel prices climbed above a certain benchmark. This balanced and bipartisan legislation passed the House unanimously. Even though it did not become law, it was an important step in framing the debate over the importance and necessity of instituting a fuel surcharge.

Most recently, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee - of which I've been a member for 28 years - included in the highway bill a provision that would allow for a fuel surcharge to be implemented, paid to the owner-operator by the motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders.

The fuel surcharge provision balances the interests of the owner-operator and the larger carriers and shippers, and is similar to what I introduced in 2000. I worked to address this issue in the highway bill in order to give some relief to the owner-operator from the exorbitant costs they are paying at the pump.

Fortunately, the highway bill passed the House of Representatives on March 10 by a near unanimous vote of 417-9, with the surcharge language included.

We now turn our sights to the Senate, where debate on the highway bill and a mandatory fuel surcharge is ongoing.

Members of OOIDA and all small truckers should be pleased with the job OOIDA's national organization has done on their behalf. While there is still a long road ahead, OOIDA leadership and its allies on Capitol Hill - myself included - have made a significant step toward providing much needed relief from the soaring cost of fuel. We believe it is only fair.

Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-WV, has been in the U.S. House of Representatives since 1977. Currently in his 15th term, he is well known for his expertise in national policies relating to transportation, infrastructure, energy and the environment. He serves on the Committee on Resources,where he is the ranking Democrat, and the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, where he is the second-senior Democrat.