Congress

The owner-operator business model in trucking, an essential part of the industry that uses upwards of 1 million independent contractors at any given time, is under attack in California and the U.S. Congress in Washington.

Like seemingly everything else in Washington, Republicans and Democrats are light years apart in negotiations over a new five-year federal highway spending bill, and seem likely to kick the problem into 2021. That inaction—on what was once considered a so-called “must-pass” piece of legislation—is frustrating to leading trucking executives and others who rely on a modern American infrastructure network of interstate highways, bridges, ports and airports.

The biggest issue for transport in 2015 is funding for Interstate highways. That current funding will expire in May after a stop-gap nine-month continuing resolution expires. Whether the new Congress has the gumption to tackle the sticky problem of how to pay for much-needed highway and bridge reconstruction is an open question, however.

The House approved the bill, which adopts the name of the Senate’s version, MAP-21 (Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century), by a 373-52 margin, and the Senate signed on with a 74-19 vote. The bill was awaiting President Barack Obama’s signature for it to be signed into law at press time.

This news follows weeks of acrimonious negotiations between the House and Senate, which suggested that talks would not advance to this level and that a tenth continuing resolution—to keep funding at current levels—would be introduced prior to the current one expiring at the end of June.

The Highway Trust Fund (HTF) currently takes in and pays out about $35 billion per year— excluding transfers from the Treasury General Fund. What started off as a user-fee system to pay for highway construction and repair has morphed into a large federal “cookie jar” that politicians use to direct money to their favorite causes while our highways and bridges deteriorate at an alarming pace. Now is the time to take the cookie jar back.

Earlier today, the House of Representatives approved legislation that would continue to fund federal highway, transit, and highway safety and Federal Aviation Administration programs at current levels.

As anticipated, investment in transportation infrastructure was prominently mentioned in a speech President Obama made to Congress last night, which focused on job creation and the economy.