In The News
House Democrats Block Funding for Truck Parking
As the nation applauds truckers during National Truck Driver Appreciation Week, Congress has once again proven how out of touch they are with the rest of the country. Specifically, Democrats on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee have doubled down on their efforts to block measures that would help drivers and improve highway safety.
During a Committee markup of a massive Budget Reconciliation bill, every single Democrat rejected a $1 billion amendment to expand truck parking capacity. Democrats explained that they could not support truck parking funding because of spending limitations in a $3.5 TRILLION package. Yesterday’s move comes after every Democrat on the Committee approved a 167% increase of minimum insurance levels for truckers back in June. Following that vote, OOIDA worked with the Senate to ensure that no insurance increase will be part of any final legislation this year.
It’s tough to swallow the fact that in a period when Democrats are authorizing hundreds-of-billions of dollars for infrastructure projects and highway safety programs, not a single penny was set aside for truck parking. Frankly, the parking problem is only getting worse but they would rather ignore the needs of truckers in favor of big money interests.Â
We would like to thank all Republicans on the Committee who voted in favor of the parking amendment introduced by Reps. Mike Bost (R-IL) and Pete Stauber (R-MN). In addition to Bost and Stauber, Representatives Garret Graves (R-LA), Doug LaMalfa (R-CA), and Bruce Westerman (R-AR) spoke up on behalf of drivers and the overdue need for parking. Under the leadership of Ranking Member Sam Graves (R-MO), Republicans on the Committee have consistently fought for truckers like you this year – not only pushing for funding for truck parking, but also fighting against several harmful policies that would hurt small-business truckers. We will continue working with these officials and other allies on Capitol Hill to find opportunities to enact meaningful truck parking legislation.