Washington, D.C.—The following are opening remarks, as prepared for delivery, from Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Rick Larsen (D-WA) and Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) during today’s hearing titled, “America Builds: How Trucking Supports American Communities.”
Video of Ranking Member Norton’s opening statement is here.
More information on the hearing can be found here.
Ranking Member Larsen:
Thank you, Chairman Rouzer and Ranking Member Norton, for holding this hearing on the role of the trucking industry in our economy and communities.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) made landmark investments that keep our economy moving across all modes, including trucking.
Infrastructure law funds are building new truck parking, improving crucial freight corridors, integrating resilience and safety into transportation projects and creating good-paying jobs.
The BIL also provides $5 billion to USDOT to deliver on its mission to prevent truck and bus-related fatalities and injuries.
There is a clear federal interest in maintaining the efficiency and safety of our truck freight network.
Thanks to the BIL, we are making historic investments in our supply chain.
$365 billion is flowing to states, counties and cities under the BIL and improving roads, bridges, freight corridors and intermodal facilities from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) alone.
In Washington State, over $2 billion in BIL funding is dedicated to the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) program to replace the I-5 Bridge.
The I-5 Bridge is rated as the worst truck bottleneck in Washington and Oregon and the fifth worst bottleneck on the entire West Coast. There is a lot more work to do to ensure the smooth movement of goods.
The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) released its latest “Infrastructure Report Card” this week. Collectively, America’s infrastructure was given a C. Our roads and bridges received a D+ and C, respectively.
Despite this lackluster report card, our ratings are better than four years ago, evidence that the BIL working.
ASCE’s report card says, “This is promising momentum, but sustained infrastructure investments are necessary.”
I agree. Let’s keep it going.
This Subcommittee routinely holds hearings examining the state of our trucking industry.
In 2019, for the last surface reauthorization, Chair Norton held a hearing to highlight the pressure trucking companies and drivers are under to deliver goods efficiently with roadway congestion, outdated infrastructure, soaring freight demand and workforce challenges.
That hearing examined the need for dedicated truck parking, strong entry-level driver training investments, protecting U.S. drivers from unfair competition and ensuring fair driver pay.
All of those challenges remain today and come down to two issues: safety and workforce.
People are the backbone of our supply chain—truck drivers, railroad workers, longshoremen, and warehouse workers—who support moving goods from Point A to Point B.
Protecting the safety of truck drivers and the traveling public must be our top priority. Data shows that driving a truck continues to be a dangerous job.
According to the Institute for Safer Trucking, 5,936 people died in large-truck crashes in 2022, a 76 percent increase from 15 years ago.
We also need to make sure workers are paid fairly and have good and reliable working conditions. In many cases, truck drivers directly absorb the uncertainties of goods movement industries.
There are constantly new drivers on the road: 50,000 commercial driver’s license and learner’s permit holders enter the trucking industry every month.
Congress needs to ensure that they have the training, technology, safe conditions, rest and pay to make truck driving not just a job, but a good career.
The demand for truck freight is only expected to go up. Retaining workers and enhancing safety performance will be more important than ever as we work to meet this projected demand.
For trucking to continue supporting American communities, Congress must continue the investment levels of the BIL and improve safety and working conditions in the trucking industry.
I am ready to make that investment.
Thank you to our witnesses for being here today. I look forward to your testimony.
Ranking Member Norton:
I would like to thank Subcommittee Chair David Rouzer for holding this hearing on the importance of the trucking sector.
These last five years have reminded us again and again of the great debt we owe to our trucking workforce. Despite a pandemic and global and domestic supply chain disruptions, truckers never stopped delivering essential goods. Seventy-three percent of all domestic freight by weight—from groceries to life-saving medicine—are moved on trucks.
I would like to recognize the five District of Columbia-area truck drivers from Teamsters Local 369 who are in attendance today:
- Steven Raybould
- DeVaughn Jarvis Sr.
- Willie Oden
- Clarence Carey
- John Wright
Top of mind today is ensuring our truck drivers are paid the wages they deserve. While many work more than 60-hour weeks, they are often paid by the load, not the hour, and are responsible for funding their own fuel and health care. Drivers also face other challenges in doing their jobs, including inadequate parking and rest areas. Providing our drivers with safe workplaces and fair wages is key to retaining and growing the trucking workforce.
We cannot discuss trucking in America without considering the safety of both drivers and those who share roads with them. Over the last two decades, more and more people have lost their lives each year in large truck crashes, and in 2022, that number reached almost 6,000 deaths. We know that these fatal crashes frequently involve faster speeds and the involvement of vulnerable road users—such as pedestrians, bicyclists and construction workers.
This committee must prioritize reducing truck speeds by getting the technology that already exists—such as speed limiters and automatic breaking—onto trucks as quickly as possible.
Lives are on the line.
Additionally, as we consider the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, we must continue the safety investments we made in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. These programs are currently deploying infrastructure across the country that will protect bicyclists and pedestrians from avoidable truck crashes. This Congress, we have an opportunity to maintain these efforts and find new ways to make progress on safety.
I have long supported strong entry-level driver training standards to ensure that truckers are fully prepared to safely operate their vehicles and deliver their freight. Providing robust training empowers drivers to be safe and confident on the road.
Finally, we know that freight fraud is currently plaguing the industry. Fraudulent brokers, carriers and operators are using deceptive practices to steal from businesses and take advantage of consumers. That is why I introduced with Representative Mike Ezell the bipartisan, bicameral Household Goods Shipping Consumer Protection Act, which would clarify the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration’s authority to take action against scammers and limit their costly and unsafe operations from even starting. I am eager to work with this Committee to pass this bill.
I look forward to hearing from our witnesses today and hearing their proposals to improve safety, support workers and improve the ability of the trucking industry to efficiently move goods.
I ask unanimous consent to enter a letter from the Institute for Safer Trucking and Road Safe America into the record.
Thank you.