Buttigieg to testify about infrastructure bill implementation

The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works will hold a hearing titled “Implementation of the Infrastructure and Jobs Act by the U.S. Department of Transportation” at 10 a.m. Eastern time on Wednesday, March 2. U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg is scheduled to address the committee.

In late January, committee chair Sen. Tom Carper, D-Del., asked Buttigieg to make safety the top priority in the implementation of the infrastructure bill, which was passed into law in 2021.

“To address this persistent and growing safety challenge, the Infrastructure and Jobs Act significantly increased funding for safety programs,” Carper wrote. “The funding for the Highway Safety Improvement Program was increased by 34%, and the law creates a new Safe Streets for All program.

“The new law also places a greater emphasis on the protection of vulnerable road users, for whom traffic fatalities have increased the most steeply in recent years. I urge you to act quickly to implement those programs and to look for opportunities in new and existing law to address today’s safety challenges.”

Truck parking among safety issues

The infrastructure bill secured a major investment in the nation’s highways and bridges, but did not address one of trucking’s top safety issues – the lack of parking for truck drivers. During a House hearing in February, the owner of a Pennsylvania trucking company noted that the $1.2 trillion bill left out some of the top needs for truckers.

“The United States has some critical needs that should be a priority, especially considering our current supply chain challenges,” said Mark McClymonds, owner and president of McClymonds Supply and Transit Co. in Portersville, Pa. “The infrastructure bill last year included some long-overdue investments in our highways and bridges, yet there is a lot more investment needed. It also ignored some key shortfalls, like truck parking. Instead of spending money on special interest ideas, like (electric vehicle) charging stations or unnecessary studies, Congress should put federal dollars into projects that will meet our most pressing needs.”

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association submitted a letter for the hearing record, telling members of the committee that the truck parking crisis leads to many safety concerns for truck drivers and the motoring public.

“There is a national shortage of truck parking, which makes it difficult for drivers to find a place to take a break when they need rest or are required to do so by federal law,” OOIDA wrote.

“This parking shortage is a national safety crisis, which leads to delays and perpetuates inefficiencies in the supply chain.”

OOIDA lobbied lawmakers throughout the bill process to include an investment in truck parking. The original House bill included $1 billion for truck parking, but that bill died in the Senate. The bipartisan Senate bill, which ultimately became law, excluded truck parking.

After that omission, OOIDA sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Buttigieg in November, asking him to use $1 billion in discretionary funding for truck parking.

In February, OOIDA and ATA wrote a joint letter to Buttigieg asking the U.S. Department of Transportation to make truck parking a priority.

Supply chain report

Although no direct funding was included, the U.S. Department of Transportation released a supply chain report on Feb. 24 that includes truck parking expansion as one of the recommendations.

The U.S. DOT report made the recommendation to “support state DOTs and the private sector to develop and implement strategies that expand truck parking availability consistent with local land use considerations and address safety of rest areas.” LL