FAST Act

House lawmakers approve $13.6B lifeline for Highway Trust Fund

The U.S. House passed legislation that injects $13.6 billion into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) while extending the FAST Act by one year at current funding levels.

The legislation was part of a continuing resolution to keep much of the federal government running through Dec. 11 and avoid a government shutdown on Sept. 30, the end of the fiscal year.

The resolution, which passed with bipartisan support Tuesday, is expected to be taken up and passed by the U.S. Senate before the end of the month.

“The...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/house-lawmakers-approve-136b-lifeline-for-highway-trust-fund

Commentary: A strategy for tactics?

The views expressed here are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent the views of FreightWaves or its affiliates.

Is strategic thinking necessary at the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT)? Its 118-page National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP), released on Sept. 3, suggests that it is.

NFSP, as a national multimodal plan, fulfills a mandate set out in Section 8001 of the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Of course, the federal government is...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/commentary-a-strategy-for-tactics

House Republicans issue post-election infrastructure plan

Republican lawmakers in the U.S. House have merged a five-year reauthorization of the FAST Act into a broad economic rebuilding plan that they intend to put in place if they take control of the chamber after the November elections.

The five-year reauthorization of surface transportation programs is based on the Starter Act, a bill introduced by House Republicans in June as an alternative to a Democrat-sponsored bill that the chamber passed along party lines in July that includes reauthorizing...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/headline-house-republicans-issue-post-election-infrastructure-plan

Coalition seeks one-year extension of FAST Act

A coalition of 88 business and government groups is pressing Congress to extend the current surface transportation law for one year before it expires in three weeks.

The $305 billion Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act – known as the FAST Act – was signed by President Obama in 2015 and is set to expire at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30. In addition to creating grant programs for states and establishing performance levels for the highway, rail and maritime sectors, the law...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/coalition-seeks-one-year-extension-of-fast-act

DOT rolls out National Freight Strategic Plan

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Thursday unveiled for the first time a national freight transportation strategy that aims to guide national freight policy and investment and provide a framework for better multimodal coordination.

The National Freight Strategic Plan, required under the 2015 Fast Act (which expires at the end of September), received 82 comments from state agencies, associations and private companies following a “request for information” issued late last year.

“This...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/dot-rolls-out-national-freight-strategic-plan

Rail stakeholders: Tough road ahead for infrastructure bill

A photograph of tank cars parked at a rail yard.

The multibillion-dollar infrastructure bill passed the U.S. House of Representatives last week, but whether it can make it through the Republican-controlled Senate to President Donald Trump’s desk is less clear.

The U.S. House of Representatives passed the Moving Forward Act on a largely party-line vote of 233-188 last Wednesday, and the bill now is in the U.S. Senate. 

The act includes an infrastructure component that authorizes the federal government to spend nearly $500 billion over five years...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/rail-stakeholders-tough-road-ahead-for-infrastructure-bill

Breaking News: House approves trucking insurance increase and hours-of-service delay

A major infrastructure package that includes provisions to hike truckers’ insurance coverage to $2 million and delay the September 29 start date for new federal hours of service (HOS) changes was approved today by the U.S. House of Representatives.

The $1.5 trillion Moving Forward Act, which passed the Democrat-controlled House largely along party lines by a vote of 233 to 188, was derided by Republicans in the chamber as a “wish list” partisan bill heavy on climate-change related proposals that...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/breaking-news-house-approves-trucking-insurance-increase-and-hours-of-service-delay

Breaking News: Safety groups, Teamsters seek delay in HOS final rule

Four safety groups and the International Brotherhood of Teamsters filed a joint petition Tuesday with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) to delay the hours-of-service (HOS) final rule scheduled to go into effect on Sept. 29.

The Teamsters, along with Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety (AHAS), the Truck Safety Coalition, Parents Against Tired Truckers, and Citizens for Reliable and Safe Highways (known as CRASH) assert in their formal petition for reconsideration that the...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/breaking-news-safety-groups-teamsters-seek-delay-in-hos-final-rule

Truck stops join owner-operators in rejecting Dems’ highway bill

Travel plaza and truck stop operators are no longer backing U.S. House Democrats’ federal infrastructure proposal after a provision was included to allow electric vehicle charging stations at interstate rest areas.

“It is incredibly shortsighted for lawmakers to focus on installing electric vehicle charging at rest areas with taxpayer dollars … rather than to partner with the thousands of exit businesses already investing in electric fuel,” Lisa Mullings, president and CEO of NATSO, the trade...

https://www.freightwaves.com/news/truck-stops-join-owner-operators-in-rejecting-dems-highway-bill

House vote imminent to raise mandatory insurance coverage to $2 million

Lawmakers marking up the U.S. House of Representatives’ version of the surface transportation reauthorization bill are considering an amendment that would more than double the required amount of insurance coverage for truck owners from $750,000 to $2 million.

Proponents of the amendment argue that the current insurance liability requirement does not adequately compensate victims of accidents involving large trucks. Opponents, including small-business truck owners, contend that raising the limits...

https://s29755.pcdn.co/news/house-vote-imminent-to-raise-mandatory-insurance-coverage-to-2-million

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