A sweeping funding package for 2027 approved by the House Appropriations Committee last night includes a variety of provisions benefiting truckers and the trucking industry.
Chief among the items included in the $92.2 billion Fiscal Year 2027 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act was $200 million for truck parking. The measure was approved with a vote of 34 to 27.
The legislation now goes to the full House for debate and possible amendments. In addition, the Senate has to pass its own version of the legislation. Any differences between the two bills will have to be reconciled before it goes the president to be signed into law.
Included in the legislation are provisions:
- Directing the Department of Transportation to provide a report and develop a strategy to respond to cargo theft
- Requiring a study on the effects of congestion pricing, like the program now covering lower New York City
- Urging the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration to fill vacancies to conduct timely inspections, investigations, enforcement actions, and oversight activities
- Incorporating provisions of the Stop Scamming Truckers Act that would protect the trucking industry from fraudsters masquerading as government agencies
- Studying the issue of predatory towing and providing recommendations to protect the public
- Requiring the National Highway Traffic Safety Administraion to assess the feasibility of available technology to detect cannabis impairment
- Urging NHTSA to consider the merits of creating an interagency Impaired Driving Task Force or other partnerships to increase cross-agency collaboration among federal, state, and local levels
- Authorizing $3 million to study alternatives to GPS, which is important to national security resiliency and can ensure that existing systems that are important to trucking are not disrupted
- Permitting stopped commercial motor vehicles to use light-based warning devices in lieu of traditional triangle devices that must be manually placed
- Directing DOT to review existing inspection requirements and determine what additional standards may be needed to ensure the safety of autonomous vehicle trucks
- Encouraging FMCSA to engage with state transportation departments to implement anti-human trafficking awareness and prevention programs for CMV operators
- Preempting disruptive state laws pertaining to meal and rest breaks
“The legislation approved by the House Appropriations Committee represents a meaningful step toward addressing some of the most pressing challenges facing our industry,” said ATA President & CEO Chris Spear.
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