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Trucking groups mostly happy with FAST Act highway bill

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Updated Dec 3, 2015

highway-roadStakeholders in the trucking industry weighed in Tuesday after a Congress announced a five-year unified highway bill, the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

Below are some comments from industry organizations and associations. This post will be updated as more comments come in.

American Trucking Associations: ATA praised conferees for reaching a long-term highway funding solution.

“[Tuesday]’s announcement that House and Senate leaders had reached an agreement on a long-term highway bill is welcome news to those of us in the transportation world,” said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves. “While we all, of course, wish there was more money to be had, this bill takes important steps to re-focus the program on important national projects and takes critical steps to improve trucking safety and efficiency.”

ATA also said it is pleased with the steps the bill takes in reforming the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s CSA system, allowing hair testing for drug tests and making it easier for military veterans to enter the industry.

Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association: OOIDA thanked members of Congress for reaching the agreement and said they see the FAST Act as a positive compromise between the House and Senate.

“We greatly appreciate the efforts of lawmakers to recognize the value of owner-operators, small businesses and professional truckers and what they mean to the economy and to highway safety,” said Todd Spencer, OOIDA’s Executive Vice President. “We would like to especially thank Senators Barbara Boxer, Jim Inhofe, Bill Nelson and John Thune, as well as U.S. Representatives Bill Shuster, Peter DeFazio, Sam Graves and Eleanor Holmes Norton.”