ATA plan in place for 2009 highway funding debate
Elements in the ATA highway authorization package include a recommitment by the federal government to its role in managing and funding the transportation system, said ATA President and CEO Bill Graves.
By KEVIN JONES
The Trucker Staff
10/7/2008
NEW ORLEANS — Regardless the outcome of next month’s elections, the American Trucking Associations is ready to roll with it’s top priority: a trucking-aware transportation spending plan by Congress, according to President and CEO Bill Graves.
“We are much further ahead as an association on our agenda in developing the things we’d like to see included in the package,” Graves said, speaking to trucking industry journalists at the ATA Management Conference and Exhibition here. “We’re much further ahead with our coalition building, the outreach – so we’ll be ready to go.”
Elements in the ATA package include a recommitment by the federal government to its role in managing and funding the transportation system, Graves explained. He named congestion solutions at the top of the list, followed by a commitment to freight, and an understanding of the industry’s needs. He also said more-productive vehicles (MPVs) would be part of the discussion.
“We’re not asking for wholesale, dramatic changes in the size and weight of vehicles,” he said. “But given how critically important it is to be efficient with fuel consumption and emissions, if we could find some way of moving more freight and burning less fuel, that would make sense.”
And traditional safety concerns will be revisited, Graves said.
Association representatives have had meetings with the respective presidential campaigns although, Graves noted, “we still don’t have great clarity on what their plans for infrastructure would be.”
As to whether the reauthorization could be worked out and be passed by the time the current program expires Sept. 30, 2009, Graves said he was hopeful but doubtful about such a time frame.
“There’s so much at stake, there’s so much pressure for an expanded, very robust package, that to count on Congress to have it done by October of next year is, in my opinion, probably unrealistic,” Graves said, suggesting a more likely completion in early 2010.
The conference buzzword, “essentiality” – the singular ability to deliver the goods – is one of three pieces in the ATA’s overall message, along with sustainability initiatives and a safety agenda, he explained.
Graves also said the association was “thrilled” with attendance and participation in the conference, noting the exhibit hall had sold out – “in spite of the very challenging economic times” for the industry.
“I think there’s an optimistic sense – these are all fleets that have every intention of weathering any and all of these storms,” he said. “It’s probably a guarded optimism, but nonetheless these are folks that are in it for the long haul.”