Pointing to his previous support for small-business truckers, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association believes that Sean Duffy is “well-suited” to lead the U.S. Department of Transportation.
OOIDA wrote to Senate leaders on Monday, Jan. 6 in support of Duffy’s confirmation.
This past November, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Duffy – a former Republican congressman from Wisconsin – to be the DOT secretary. The Senate Commerce Committee is expected to hold a confirmation hearing for Duffy’s nomination on Jan. 15, according to reports.
“We are writing to express our strong support for Sean Duffy to be confirmed to serve as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation,” OOIDA wrote in a letter signed by President Todd Spencer. “Mr. Duffy’s previous support for small-business truckers indicates to us that he will bring the right perspective to the role and work to ensure that DOT’s actions reflect the priorities of America’s professional drivers.”
When Duffy served in the House of Representatives from 2011 to 2019, he was one of 25 members who supported OOIDA’s request for qualified small-business truckers to be exempt from the electronic logging device mandate. Duffy signed a letter to FMCSA expressing his support for the OOIDA petition.
“This was a commonsense petition that would have addressed the most burdensome regulation ever issued for the trucking industry,” OOIDA wrote. “With this request, Mr. Duffy recognized that regulations should not be one-size-fits-all, and more importantly, that Congress and federal regulators should provide relief to small businesses when regulations have significant costs with little to no benefits.”
Following his nomination, Duffy’s team reached out to OOIDA to better understand the needs of small-business truckers and professional drivers. OOIDA said that Duffy’s interest in learning what will benefit small-business truckers is a good sign.
“On too many issues, our members’ viewpoint is disregarded in favor of larger carriers seeking to maximize their bottom line or ‘safety advocates’ with little experience in driving truck,” OOIDA wrote. “We appreciate that Mr. Duffy and his team have solicited our input because, in order for any trucking or transportation policy to be successful, it must have the buy-in from those who will have to comply with the rules.” LL
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