OOIDA issues Call to Action asking members to call Freedom Caucus chair over ELDs

The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association continues to fight on behalf of its members for relief from the mandate requiring electronic logging devices on most commercial vehicles.

The Association sent out a nationwide Call to Action on Tuesday, asking its members to contact Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C. Meadows was not among the 73 co-sponsors of House Resolution 3282 – the ELD Extension Act of 2017. Sponsored by Rep. Brian Babin, R-Texas, the bill would delay the ELD mandate for two years.

“Last year we thanked Congressman Mark Meadows, leader of the influential House Freedom Caucus, for including the ELD mandate on a list of rules the Trump administration should immediately repeal,” wrote Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s acting president and CEO. “But when the Congressman had the chance to vote for an ELD delay, he sided with big business and government regulation.”

The Call to Action asks OOIDA members to contact Rep. Meadows’ office and discuss how the ELD mandate is affecting small business trucking companies. It also suggests members ask him to support the Association’s ELD exemption request.

“Virtually every member of the Freedom Caucus won election because of their desire to trim government and get rid of costly and ineffective regulation,” Spencer said in an interview with Land Line on Tuesday. “As chairman of the caucus Rep Meadows should have the ELD mandate at the top of their hit list.”

In addition to his role as chairman of the House Freedom Caucus, Meadows serves on the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee, and its subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

This is the second Call to Action OOIDA has issued to encourage members to contact members of the House T&I committee who have supported the ELD mandate. Last week, the Association asked its 160,000 members to contact Rep. Bill Shuster, R-Pa., who chairs the committee.