OOIDA disappointed in Congress’ failure to address truck parking

In the aftermath of the House infrastructure committee voting against truck parking funding, the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association is sounding the alarm about what this means for not only truckers, but to the general public.

On Wednesday, Sept. 15, OOIDA issued a response to the House Transportation and Infrastructure’s markup hearing for the $3.5 trillion spending bill. Democratic committee members blocked an amendment introduced by Mike Bost, R-Ill., that would allocate $1 billion for projects that would increase truck parking capacity. Rep. Peter Stauber, R-Minn., cosponsored the amendment.

OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer warned that it could be another five years before Congress will consider funding truck parking projects.

“It’s tough to swallow the fact that in a year when Congress is authorizing hundreds of billions of dollars for infrastructure projects and highway safety programs not a single penny was set aside for truck parking,” Spencer said in a statement.

Bost’s amendment would be funded by diverting $1 billion from the $3 billion allocated for the Federal Highway Administration’s grants for carbon reduction projects that is also in the overall $3.5 trillion bill. However, Democratic committee leadership left no room for negotiations. During the hearing, Rep. Garret Graves, R-La., pointed out that if Democrats are worried about carbon reduction, preventing truckers from driving around for nearly an hour looking for a truck parking spot is a good start. OOIDA echoed that point.

“Addressing the parking shortage would also have supported efforts to reduce carbon emission from the transportation sector,” Spencer said. “Truck drivers waste approximately 56 minutes per day looking for parking, all the while needlessly burning fuel, emitting carbon and contributing to congestion.”

The truck parking amendment was denied with a partisan 29-36 vote.

Those who voted against the amendment include:

• Colin Allred, D-Texas
• Jake Auchincloss, D-Mass.
• Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Ga.
• Anthony Brown, D-Md.
• Julia Brownley, D-Calif.
• Salud Carbajal, D-Calif.
• Andre Carson, D-Ind.
• Troy Carter, D-La.
• Steve Cohen, D-Tenn.
• Sharice Davids, D-Kan.
• Peter DeFazio, D-Ore.
• Antonio Delgado, D-N.Y.
• Mark Desaulnier, D-Calif.
• John Garamendi, D-Calif.
• Jesus Garcia, D-Ill.
• Jared Huffman, D-Calif.
• Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Texas
• Hank Johnson, D-Ga.
• Kai Kahele, D-Hawaii
• Conor Lamb, D-Pa.
• Rick Larsen, D-Wash.
• Alan Lowenthal, D-Calif.
• Stephen Lynch, D-Mass.
• Tom Malinowski, D-N.J.
• Patrick Maloney, D-N.Y.
• Seth Moulton, D-Mass.
• Grace Napolitano, D-Calif.
• Marie Newman, D-Ill.
• Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C.
• Chris Pappas, D-N.H.
• Donald Payne Jr., D-N.J.
• Greg Stanton, D-Ariz.
• Marilyn Strickland, D-Wash.
• Dina Titus, D-Nev.
• Nikema Williams, D-Ga.
• Frederica Wilson, D-Fla.

Graves, Stauber and Doug LaMalfa, R-Calif., all spoke in support of the amendment during the hearing.

“And although we are disappointed with the outcome, we want to thank Rep. Mike Bost for having introduced an amendment, which would have provided $1 billion for truck parking projects,” Spencer said. “We will continue working with him and other allies on Capitol Hill to find opportunities to enact meaningful truck parking legislation. We also thank all the Republicans for their vote and Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) for his support.” LL