The U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has kept trucking interests in mind during the past two years as they tackled issues that included the Mexican truck pilot program, road and bridge funding, and fuel prices.

The committee, chaired by Rep. James Oberstar, D-MN, had 180 hearings during the congressional session, eclipsing the previous number of 104 hearings before the committee in the previous session.

“We worked together in an inclusive, bipartisan fashion, and accomplished a great deal,” Oberstar stated as committee duties concluded for the session on Friday, Oct. 3.

Trucking officials commended committee members, both Democrats and Republicans, for addressing major issues and keeping trucking in mind.

“The T&I Committee had a very active schedule this year,” said Mike Joyce, director of legislative affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

“They’ve addressed a number of critically important issues to the trucking industry. They’ve considered our viewpoints.”

The committee had jurisdiction over 93 bills in Congress that became law or were awaiting the president’s signature at the completion of the session. Numerous other bills were approved by the House, but were stalled in the Senate.

“When I became chairman of this committee in January of last year, I pledged that the committee’s agenda would center on three principles: enhancing safety and security; investing in our infrastructure, and addressing the twin challenges of rising energy costs and global climate change,” Oberstar stated.

House T&I Committee highlights from the 110th Congress include:

• House and Senate passage of HR6532 to restore $8 billion to the Highway Trust Fund that had previously been diverted;
• House passage of HR6630, legislation to prohibit the secretary of transportation from granting authority to motor carriers domiciled in Mexico to operate beyond the commercial zone. The bill stalled in the Senate;
• House passage of HR3999 to standardize and expedite the repair of structurally deficient bridges on the National Highway System. The bill stalled in the Senate; and
• 180 hearings that lasted 581 total hours and included testimony from 1,223 witnesses. The previous committee in the 109th Congress had 104 hearings.

Joyce said getting legislation passed on Capitol Hill does not happen overnight.

“Sometimes it takes successive Congresses to get the wanted outcome,” he said. “It takes time for something to get traction.”

All seats in the U.S. House of Representatives are up for re-election on Nov. 4, so it’s important for truckers to stay informed about who gets elected, who gets re-elected and who ends up on committees, including transportation.

The next version of the T&I Committee will be instrumental in drafting legislation to reauthorize transportation funding for the next several years.

“We’ve got an administration that’s leaving, and you’re going to have a new administration,” Joyce said.

“Regardless of whether that new administration is Republican or Democrat, we are looking forward to working with all of the T&I Committee as they prepare to draft the new reauthorization bill in 2009.”

– By David Tanner, staff writer
david_tanner@landlinemag.com