PART 1
In ICSA’s November Regulatory Roundup, we shared some insights into how presidential elections affect legislation and rulemaking at the federal level and why members should care. I have spent much of my lengthy career in trucking representing our industry before state legislatures, federal and state agencies and Congress, starting with the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980. (Yes, I am THAT old!)
In every single presidential transition, “Lame Ducks” – the political term for an official or administration in their final weeks in office – tended to do one of three things:
1. Suspend rulemaking and other regulatory or legislative changes, knowing their efforts can be undone by the incoming administration if the newly elected president has different views and policies;
2. Roll the dice and rush to enact all manner of regulatory changes, betting that the incoming administration will be overwhelmed and, thus, more selective about which rules they wish to overturn; or
3. If the outgoing and incoming administrations are of the same party and share the same views, they usually respect each other’s runway for getting things done during the time of transition.
The Biden Administration is leaving behind a greater number of flawed and onerous policies that deserve to be repealed, rescinded or revised than of any administration in my career. Biden and the many Democrat-controlled agencies have been less friendly to trucking than President Trump was during his first term from January 2017 to January 2021. Now, however, with Republican control of both houses of Congress and the White House (and, some say, the Supreme Court) I am optimistic that trucking will get a fairer shake than it has during Biden’s term in office.
Watch for Part 2 in the December Landing Gear, when we will detail some of the more critical issues we hope to address following the transition to the Trump Administration.
Every year, TAT (formerly called Truckers Against Trafficking) honors a member of the trucking, bus or energy industry, whose direct actions help save or improve the lives of those exploited or prevent human trafficking from taking place, with the Harriet Tubman Award
Bob Costello has indicated that the freight market has improved – but very slowly – since January. It must be said that ATA’s indices are dominated by contract freight as opposed to spot rates.
Notes from a recent stakeholder meeting covering FMCSA’s proposed new registration system. It should be noted that FMCSA has completed only the workflow for new individual motor-carrier registrants.