Trump and Trucking

[kscarbel2]

Trump order prompts FMCSA to further delay effective date of rule setting national driver training standards

James Jaillet, Commercial Carrier Journal (CCJ)  /  March 20, 2017

The effective date of a rule establishing nationwide minimum training standards for entry-level truck drivers has been further delayed due to ongoing regulatory review by President Trump and his staff.

The rule will now take effective May 22 according to a notice scheduled to be published March 21 by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. The rule was originally slated to take effect Feb. 6, with a compliance date of Feb. 7, 2020. The rule’s February 2020 compliance date does not appear to be affected by the delay in its effective date.

FMCSA published a notice Feb. 1 delaying the rule’s effective date to March 21. The notice slated for March 21 publication extends the delay two more months, however, “to provide the opportunity for further review and consideration of this new regulation,” according to FMCSA’s notice.

The delay stems from an order issued by Trump on Jan. 20. The order froze all pending regulations, encompassing FMCSA’s driver-training rule, which had been published but was not yet effective.

The entry-level driver training rule sets a core classroom curriculum for those seeking a CDL. It also requires behind-the-wheel training, but to the chagrin of some trucking industry groups, it does not require a minimum amount of behind-the-wheel training time. The agency’s initial draft of the rule required 30 hours of behind-the-wheel training, but that provision was removed in the rule’s final draft.

The rule also will establish a national registry of certified trainers. CDL trainees must be trained by a trainer in the registry to qualify to receive a CDL.

[kscarbel2]

Chao says Trump to unveil $1 trillion infrastructure plan in 2017

Reuters  /  March 29, 2017

U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said the Trump administration would unveil a $1 trillion infrastructure plan later this year.

She did not provide any details on the funding.

Chao said the infrastructure initiative would include "a strategic, targeted program of investment valued at $1 trillion over 10 years. The proposal will cover more than transportation infrastructure, it will include energy, water and potentially broadband and veterans hospitals as well."

Chao's comments were the most detailed timetable from the administration about its plans to unveil a plan to modernize U.S. roads, bridges, airports, electrical grid and water systems.

Chao said the administration plans to offer incentives for public-private partnerships rather than simply fund improvements.

It’s unknown how much new federal funding the Trump administration would propose.

Chao said the plan would aim to speed the processes for government projects.

Earlier this month, Trump proposed $16.2 billion for the Department of Transportation's discretionary budget for fiscal year 2018, a reduction of 13 percent.

The budget would eliminate $175 million in annual funding for the Essential Air Service, a program to support commercial air service to rural airports and end subsidies for Amtrak to operate long-distance train service.

The Trump budget would also eliminate the Obama administration's "TIGER" grant program, saving $499 million. That program has been used to fund a variety of transportation projects, including high-speed and intracity rail, highway construction and transit bus systems.

[kscarbel2]

Trump’s Change of Heart Puts $1 Trillion Building Plan in Limbo

Transport Topics  /  October 2, 2017

Donald Trump’s infrastructure guru spent part of Sept. 26 at a conference in Washington promoting the president’s $1 trillion plan to rebuild the nation’s crumbling roads, bridges and airports relying in part on public-private partnerships. The same day, across town, Trump was telling lawmakers that those kinds of deals don’t work.

The president’s apparent change of heart on what’s been an important pillar of his economic plan left key constituents of the infrastructure initiative reeling.

Trump’s remarks, relayed by three lawmakers after a closed meeting with Republicans and Democrats on the

House Ways

and Means Committee, raised new questions about how the plan would be financed, and whether the president was instead considering increasing federal funding for building projects — a prospect made harder by the large tax cut the administration proposed Wednesday.

Democratic lawmakers welcomed the potential opening for more federal spending, while deficit hawks bristled. Both sides, though, are still struggling to interpret Trump’s apparent turnaround.

“It’s hard to say whether he’s doing this to try to open some doors for more bipartisan discussion, or whether it’s really a fundamental policy change,’’ said Robert Poole, director of transportation policy at the Reason Foundation, a free-market research group.

“If it’s fundamental policy change, I imagine there’ll be some people looking for new jobs in the White House because you hired them to do P3 infrastructure,” he said, referring to public-private partnerships.

Legitimate Questions

Following Trump’s comments to the lawmakers, the White House said there are legitimate questions about how public-private partnerships can be incorporated into the infrastructure plan, but that all viable options are still being considered.

Before this week private investment had been at the core of Trump’s ambitious infrastructure plan. It was a feature of his campaign material and promoted in the early months of the administration.

Trump built his infrastructure team around DJ Gribbin, an expert on public-private partnerships who’s worked on such deals for Macquarie Capital USA Inc. and Koch Industries. Trump also enlisted other private sector leaders to advise on the subject.

Gribbin, special assistant to the president for infrastructure policy, spoke at the P3 Hub Americas conference at the Mayflower Hotel on Sept. 26 — the same day that Trump, back at the White House, seemed to reverse course. Gribbin urged supporters of P3s to overcome the opposition to such deals, according to the P3 Bulletin, an infrastructure news publication, which hosted the event.

‘Knee-Jerk Reaction’

“There has been a knee jerk reaction to P3s from a liberal perspective in a negative way, and a knee jerk reaction from conservatives that think P3s are free money,” Gribbin said, according to a P3 Bulletin report. “Both of those are wrong, and it would be really helpful for this community to get out there and educate about the reality of P3s.”

In an initial framework released in May, the administration said it would commit at least $200 billion of federal funds over 10 years to generate $800 billion in spending by states, localities and the private sector. Trump’s latest remarks raised questions about whether that plan will change or be delayed. The administration had said it would deliver a proposal to Congress by the end of September, before saying the plan would come after the tax overhaul.

Gary Cohn, Trump’s top economic adviser, told reporters in August that an infrastructure bill could start in the House as soon as a tax measure moves from the House to the Senate.

Business groups and companies hoping for a boost in spending are getting impatient.

‘Partisan Divides’

“Unfortunately, competing agendas and partisan divides continue to distance us from a national infrastructure package, which should be at the top of the nation’s agenda,’’ Michael Burke, chairman and chief executive of AECOM, the world’s biggest engineering firm, said in a statement.

White House spokeswoman Natalie Strom said the administration is making progress. It’s already taken steps to streamline infrastructure permitting and “continues to work every day on solutions, whether they are as small as shifts in practice within agency offices, or as large as the upcoming legislative package,” she said in an email.

“All of these solutions will contribute to the trillion dollar infrastructure investment the president has promised the American people,” Strom said.

Infrastructure Stocks

After Trump’s election, the promise of a major initiative initially buoyed stocks of construction and materials firms such as AECOM, Chicago Bridge & Iron Co., Fluor Corp., Jacobs Engineering Group Inc., Martin Marietta Materials Inc., Vulcan Materials Co. and U.S. Steel Corp. The potential opportunity for more investment opportunities also helped unlisted infrastructure funds secure $20 billion this year in North America alone as of August, according to data provider Preqin.

But the infrastructure stocks fell off after Trump took office, relative to the overall Standard & Poor’s Index of 500 companies, and the economy could suffer if Trump sides with Democrats to shift the burden of infrastructure spending to the federal coffers using deficit spending, particularly in light of the tax cuts proposed Wednesday, said Patrick Newton, a spokesman for the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget.

“Both lower tax rates and expanded infrastructure can help grow the economy, but if we borrow to finance either we’ll probably end up dragging the economy down instead,” Newton said.

Republican lawmakers and some business groups downplayed Trump’s comments, saying the private sector would still play a major role in any initiative. Senator Jim Inhofe of Oklahoma, chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, said Trump’s remarks showed that there are certain places -- like rural areas -- where public-private partnerships don’t work and the government needs to step up.

No Golden Egg

“I think he’s doing it to make sure that people know that that isn’t the golden egg, that isn’t going to solve the problem,’’ Inhofe said in a telephone interview.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, which made infrastructure a 2017 policy priority, remains confident that the private sector will be part of the solution, said Ed Mortimer, executive director of transportation infrastructure.

“We can argue about how much part of the solution, but you don’t address a $2.5 trillion deficit in infrastructure with just traditional funding sources,” Mortimer said.

Representative John Delaney of Maryland and other Democratic lawmakers have advocated linking a tax bill with infrastructure, including using a proposed tax on overseas profits to pay for public works.

The White House has said the two efforts are separate for now, and not all Democrats are on board anyway. Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, rejected combining the two issues if it would be in exchange for tax cuts for the wealthy.

‘Hell No’

“The answer would be, ‘Hell no,”’ DeFazio said.

Ed Rendell, a former Democratic governor of Pennsylvania and Democratic National Committee chairman and a co-founder of Building America’s Future, a bipartisan coalition that promotes infrastructure, said his party needs to work with Trump.

“You weren’t elected to serve the interest of the Democratic Party,’’ Rendell said in a telephone interview. “You were elected to serve the interests of the United States of America and folks, infrastructure revitalization cannot be put on hold until 2021.’’

Meanwhile, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is moving forward on its own. Senator John Barrasso of Wyoming, the panel’s chairman, said the committee is preparing its own bill and is working to make it a priority this year. The 10 Democrats on the committee signed a letter in July that called for more than $500 billion in funding, including $100 billion to reconstruct and repair deteriorating roads and bridges on the federal highway system.

“They’ve had plenty of time and God bless them, they don’t seem to have rallied around a package that they’re ready to show us yet,’’ said Senator Tom Carper of Delaware, the committee’s top Democrat. “We ought to go ahead and start talking amongst ourselves and see what we can agree to.’’

Kevin DeGood, director of infrastructure policy at the left-leaning Center for American Progress, said he thinks Congress will need to draft the actual bill and that Trump’s comments raise questions about the entire process: “I literally think we’re back to square one.

[kscarbel2]

Trump Rallies Truckers to Support Overhaul of Tax Code

Transport Topics  /  October 11, 2017

MIDDDLETOWN, Pa. — President Donald Trump discussed the various benefits trucking companies will reap from his tax plan before an audience of industry executives at an Air National Guard airplane hangar outside of Harrisburg on Oct. 11.

Tax reform was one of the pillars on which Trump built his campaign. He announced his long-awaited tax plan Sept. 27. One of the chief tenets involves the abolishment of the estate tax, also known as the death tax. That tax is levied on the transfer of the estate of a deceased person.

“To make the tax system simple and fair, we are going to protect thousands of family businesses by ending the crushing estate tax,” Trump said. “We’re going to protect small business owners. The strength of our nation is dependent on the strength of our families.”

Representatives from trucking companies, many of which are family-owned, expressed enthusiasm at the prospect of ending the estate tax.

John Summers, who along with his sister and cousin make up the third-generation owners of Summers Trucking, said he plans to pass his company to a fourth generation of family members. Summers Trucking is based in Ephrata, Pa., which is about 65 miles west of Philadelphia. The company’s fleet is consists of 75 trucks and 500 trailers.

Summers said fewer taxes will provide opportunities to reinvest in training that will help rectify the industrywide shortage of truck drivers. According to the American Transportation Research Institute, the industry was short 48,000 drivers in 2015.

“We have an opportunity now like we’ve never had,” Summers said. “I need to be able to reinvest that money back into my trucks. We need to keep building.”

During his speech, Trump called out Calvin Ewell, president of H.R. Ewell, a family-owned liquid bulk carrier based in East Earl, Pa., that was founded 1946.

The company was founded by Ewell’s father, and Ewell said he plans to pass the company along to his son, Steven. The elder Ewell said abolishing the estate tax is “way overdue.”

“Abolishing the death tax is a great thing to help the family business to keep going,” Steven Ewell said.

Trump’s tax plan also proposes cutting the top individual rate to 35% and leaves Congress to decide whether to create a higher bracket for those at the top of the income scale. It also proposes a top corporate tax rate of 20%, down from 35%. Trump previously rallied for a 15% corporate tax rate.

According to Trump, the plan caps the top tax rate at 25% for American manufacturers that file taxes as sole proprietors, S corporations or partnerships. Also, for the next five years, the framework allows companies to fully write off the cost of new equipment in the year they buy it. Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express and chairman of American Trucking Associations, said he plans to invest in new equipment and training for drivers and technicians.

ATA President Chris Spear, who attended the speech in support of the plan, said ATA representatives will prowl the halls of Congress to rally support for the framework. Spear said many ATA members will benefit from the “fundamental” cuts laid out in the plan. Of ATA members, 97.3% have 20 or fewer trucks, he said.

“We’re the backbone. He understands what tax reform will do not only for our industry but for our country. Our job is to go and get this bill done,” Spear said. “We will carry the water on this. We’re going to be working it hard on Capitol Hill to get this done.”

Besides members of the trucking industry, representatives from the Pennsylvania Manufacturing Association, the Pennsylvania chapter of the National Federation of Independent Business, the Harrisburg Regional Chamber of Commerce and local government agencies attended the event.

Harrisburg marks the latest stop on which Trump discussed tax reform. He also spoke about the plan Sept. 29 at the National Association of Manufacturers’ annual board meeting in Washington.

Trump praised the trucking industry, stressing its importance to the American economy. The specifics of his $1 trillion infrastructure plan have yet to be revealed.

“We truly admire you. You are our heroes,” Trump said. “American trucks will glide along our highways. We will build this future together.”

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[kscarbel2]

Trump uses truckers to elevate tax reform push

Neil Abt, Fleet Owner  /  October 11, 2017

President Trump promised a group of truckers during a speech in Pennsylvania that his plan to lower taxes will provide financial relief to their businesses and families.

“America first means putting America’s truckers first,” said Trump, speaking in front of a tractor-trailer decorated with the slogans “I Love Trucks” and “Truckers for Tax Reform.”

Trump made frequent references to the heroic and underappreciated role that truckers play in America’s economy. He promised to keep fuel prices low and advance a $1 billion infrastructure package “with a special focus on roadways and highways.”

The central theme of the speech, however, was on his previously announced framework to modernize the “outdated, complex, and extremely burdensome tax code.”

The result for truckers will be that “you will have so much money to spend,” he said.

Among the highlighted items of the framework were reducing the number of tax brackets, lowering tax rates, boosting credits for child and elderly care, and making it easier for companies to bring back overseas profits.

Trump also pledged that companies will be able to write-off 100% of new equipment in the same year it is purchased, and to cut the marginal tax rate for small and mid-sized businesses to the “lowest level in more than 80 years.”

Trump recognized Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express and chairman of American Trucking Associations (ATA), who said he would “be able to invest in new equipment and additional training for workers” if tax legislation is passed.

Additionally, Trump called for the permanent end to the estate tax, often referred to as the death tax.

Trump cited Calvin Ewell, president of trucking fleet H.R. Ewell, as an example of a business owner who could struggle to pass down his family-owned business if that tax is not repealed.

“While trucking sustains the vitality of the U.S. economy, we also carry a heavy tax burden, paying the highest corporate tax rate of any transportation mode,” said ATA president and CEO Chris Spear. “That is why we joined President Trump at today’s event, in support of his plan to reform our tax code. We urge Congress to follow the president’s lead and pass tax reform by year’s end."

One day before Trump’s speech, White House press secretary Sarah Sanders confirmed during her daily briefing there was not yet any actual tax reform legislation.

“Our priorities remain the same. But the final piece of legislation hasn’t been finalized, so this is a time of negotiation. But the principles and the priorities that we’ve laid out are not up for negotiation,” she said.

Ahead of the speech, Daseke Inc. CEO Don Daseke told Fleet Owner he was optimistic Trump would be able to lower tax rates, bring back overseas corporate profits, and boost economic growth at home.

“We, like all business executives, are in favor of all of those things,” said Daseke, whose company is a flatbed and specialized freight specialist.

In response to a question, Daseke said he believes Trump’s tax plan will benefit all truck drivers, including the 1,000 owner-operators his company utilizes.

“If it is good for the American economy, it is good for largest trucking company and the smallest trucking company,” he said of the tax proposal.

He also suggested that including truckers as part of the tax speech would help keep the focus on the desperate need for a new federal infrastructure plan. 

[Marcel67]

Have trump stop the ELD mandate and he will get a lot of support from truckers!