Surface Transportation Program Funding - NRMCA was successful in lobbying with the Transportation Construction Coalition for the highest possible level of surface transportation infrastructure investment to upgrade our nation's highways, bridges and transit systems.  The final authorized six-year figure of $286.4 billion is nearly 16 percent higher than President Bush's original $247 billion "line in the sand".  It is 31 percent higher than the levels authorized under the original TEA-21 bill.

Power Take-off Tax Correction - In a major victory, NRMCA successfully negotiated Section 1144 of the bill, directing the Department of Treasury and the Department of Transportation to study non-propulsive fuel usage and propose options to exempt such fuel usage from the highway excise taxes on fuel.  This is a strong step forward in our ultimate goal of achieving tax fairness with the respect to our industry power take-off fuel usage.  NRMCA will work with the Treasury Department to ensure it adheres to the formal public notice and comment process while conducting the study.  NRMCA will also continue to pursue the $250 per truck income tax credit pending the results of the study.

Drivers' Hours of Service - Despite widespread support throughout the entire trucking industry, Congress did not codify the current hours of service regulations.  Codification would have circumvented last year's United States Court of Appeals overturn of the rule and insulated it from further legal challenges.  Unless another push for codification or an extension of the current rules gains momentum soon, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) will have to finalize a new hours of service rule prior to the September 30 statutory deadline.  NRMCA will advocate another extension of the current regulations in order to provide FMCSA additional time to fully vet its new rule through the public notice and comment process.  NRMCA will also educate Congress on the potential need to overturn the new rule should it turn out to be damaging to the industry.

Logging Exemption - FMCSA's failure to obtain codification temporarily set back NRMCA's efforts to strengthen the 100 air-mile radius logging exemption in the transportation bill.  During reauthorization, the logging exemption was directly linked to the success of codification.  NRMCA has obtained the support of the International Brotherhood of the Teamsters on our proposal to increase the on-duty threshold in the exemption from 12 to 14 hours for drivers of ready mixed concrete delivery vehicles.  NRMCA will continue to pursue this fix in another legislative vehicle.

Truck Weight Restrictions - NRMCA prevented the inclusion of Senator Frank Lautenberg's (D-NJ) onerous Safe Highways and Infrastructure Preservation Act (SHIPA) in the transportation bill.  SHIPA would extend the truck size and weight limits currently in effect on the Interstate Highway System, including the bridge formula, to the entire National Highway System.  NRMCA will remain vigilant and mobilize to defeat any subsequent attempt to attach SHIPA to another legislative vehicle.

Fuel Surcharge Legislation - NRMCA was victorious in preventing mandatory fuel surcharge language championed by the Owner Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) from being included in the conference report.  The provision would have required shippers, intermediaries and freight forwarders to pay a mandatory fuel surcharge prescribed by government formula in every private shipping contract.  The provision would have had a direct effect on ground cement shipments.  

Source: NRMCA