Senate committee considers Robin Hutcheson as FMCSA nominee
Robin Hutcheson has been directing the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration as acting administrator since January.
In June, Hutcheson took a step toward becoming the agency’s next permanent administrator.
The Senate Commerce Committee considered Hutcheson’s nomination, discussing such topics as broker oversight, the creation of a Women of Trucking Advisory Board, and highway safety.
“Currently, there is a spotlight on the trucking and motor coach industry, and, if confirmed, I intend to keep the light shining, as we work to carry out the primary safety mission of FMCSA,” Hutcheson said. “Fatalities are increasing dramatically on our nation’s roadways, with recent data showing that over 40,000 people lost their lives in 2021. Of those lost, 800 were commercial motor vehicle drivers. We must do better, and I am committed to working with FMCSA, our stakeholders, and member offices to reverse this unacceptable trend.”
However, the topic that took center stage at the June 8 hearing was the debate within the industry about whether or not there is a shortage of truck drivers.
The American Trucking Associations has long claimed there is a massive and growing shortage of truck drivers. Recent estimates claim that the industry lacks 80,000 truck drivers to meet freight shipping demands.
On the other hand, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association argues that the problem isn’t a shortage at all. Instead, OOIDA calls it a driver retention issue caused by low pay and poor working conditions. OOIDA points to large carriers’ driver turnover rates of 90% or more, as well as to a 2019 report from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics that said there was not a driver shortage. In addition, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recently noted that 300,000 drivers leave the industry every year.
During the hearing, Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind., put FMCSA nominee Robin Hutcheson right in the middle of that debate.
Young, who introduced a bill that would lower the interstate truck driving age to 18 as a way to curb a shortage, asked Hutcheson to weigh in.
“Do you believe there is a truck driver shortage in the United States of America?” Young asked. “Not a trick question.”
Hutcheson responded, “Senator, I believe there is a truck driver shortage in the United States of America.”
The answer from Hutcheson appeared to be a deviation from the administration’s recent approach to the debate. The U.S. Department of Transportation and Department of Labor hosted a driver retention roundtable in July 2021 to look at ways to keep truck drivers in the industry. In addition, the administration’s Trucking Action Plan is conducting studies on driver compensation and detention time and is creating a task force to stop predatory lease-purchase agreements as part of an overall effort to improve the profession and increase retention. The Department of Transportation also recommended that Congress address the nation’s truck parking crisis and remove the motor carrier overtime exemption in the Fair Labor Standards Act as ways to improve the supply chain.
In response to a question from Land Line after the hearing, FMCSA provided some clarification and a little more nuance on the subject.
“During the pandemic, there have been truck driver capacity challenges intensified both by shortages in some areas and largely by high turnover in the field,” an FMCSA spokesperson said.
The agency added that 2021 was the best year for trucking employment since 1994.
“We’re working to recruit a diverse workforce, but also to address retention issues like trucker pay, parking and leasing arrangements,” FMCSA said. “The bipartisan infrastructure law and the Biden-Harris Trucking Action Plan provides FMCSA with tools to support drivers and improve driver retention while expanding access to quality driving jobs now and in the years ahead.”
OOIDA remains firm in its stance that there is not a driver shortage and that the administration should be focused on improving the quality of the truck driving profession rather than recruiting a new crop of drivers, who will soon leave because the same problems in the industry remain.
“For an agency hell-bent on not making any move without the data to support it, they are now contending there are shortages in some areas,” said Collin Long, OOIDA’s director of government affairs. “What areas? Where’s the data to support this? All of the data we’ve seen, including from the U.S. Department of Labor, proves the shortage is a myth. Is FMCSA getting different data from Labor, or do they just disagree with their counterparts’ assessment?”
OOIDA President Todd Spencer said the agency needs to focus on things that will improve the profession, such as making sure drivers receive fair wages and have a safe place to park. Overregulation, such as speed limiters, won’t make the job more attractive, he said.
“The response regarding a mythical driver shortage, a recent proposal to advance mandatory speed limiters on commercial trucks and putting critical interests on the back burner raises concerns about what policies will be prioritized by the agency under Ms. Hutcheson,” Spencer said. “We look forward to reviewing any clarifications or further responses on additional questions submitted for the record.”
Nomination
The hearing also considered the nominations of Michael Morgan and Sean Burton to roles in the Department of Commerce and the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority, respectively.
President Joe Biden nominated Hutcheson in April to be the agency’s next permanent administrator.
She served as the U.S. Department of Transportation’s deputy assistant secretary for safety policy starting in January 2021.
The committee was expected to vote on Hutcheson’s nomination by the end of June. Then, the nomination would move to the full Senate. LL