For the third time in 2025, OOIDA Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh is going to testify on behalf of America’s truck drivers.
This time, Pugh is going to testify in front of the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation. The Tuesday, July 22 hearing will focus on issues facing the trucking and commercial bus industries.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association represents about 150,000 small-business truckers and will use the hearing to promote such “Pro-Trucker” initiatives as increasing truck parking capacity, enforcing broker transparency regulations, stopping a speed limiter mandate, providing restroom access and improving the entry-level driver training program.
Pugh, who has more than 25 years of experience as a truck driver, said that it is OOIDA’s job to tell lawmakers what truckers are really experiencing on the highway.
“They know what they’re going to get from us,” Pugh told Trucking with OOIDA’s Scott Thompson. “They’re going to get the truth. They’re not going to get what they want to hear always. They’re not going to get pats on the back. We’re polite and professional, but we’re going to tell them the truth and we’re never going to waver from that. And I think that’s why we have grown by leaps and bounds on the Hill, and we have the reputation that we have. This is the third time OOIDA has testified in Washington, D.C., this year – twice in the Senate and once in the House – and I think it’s because OOIDA is the (no-BS) outfit. We tell them like it is.”
The hearing will focus on “enhancing safety, reducing regulatory burdens and ensuring the long-term viability of these essential transportation operators.”
Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs, said that these goals have been missions of the Association for decades.
“If you prioritize the needs of truckers in developing trucking policy, you can achieve all the goals that they’re trying to achieve – safety, sustainability and efficiency,” Long said. “That’s what our priorities are, so if they want to craft a highway bill that addresses all of these, then we’ve given them a blueprint to do so.”
Pugh already relayed truck drivers’ priorities for the next highway bill to House transportation leaders in March. He also testified in front of the Senate Surface Transportation Committee about cargo theft in February.
As he did in the two previous hearings, Pugh plans to tell lawmakers that they need to start listening to the needs of truck drivers.
“At the end of the day, it’s time for lawmakers to start realizing that the men and women behind the wheel are the real experts on safety, and they need to start listening,” Pugh said. “If we would address these policies, the difference in safety on our highways would turn around overnight.”
The Senate hearing is scheduled to start at 10 a.m. Eastern on Tuesday, July 22. Other witnesses include ATA President Chris Spear, American Bus Association President Fred Ferguson and Teamsters General President Sean O’Brien. LL
Credit: Source link
