Overdrive Magazine | Trucking Business News & Owner Operator Info
Issue link: http://read.dmtmag.com/i/472327
Logbook 14 | Overdrive | March 2015 Various proposals for long-term highway fund- ing have been floated in Washington, D.C., this year, but there is no clear solution as a deadline draws near. Congress must pass a highway funding measure before May 31, or the Highway Trust Fund will run dry. First, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) proposed a five-year $1 trillion transportation infrastruc- ture bill. Meanwhile, some House Democrats filed a six-year funding bill dubbed Transportation 2.0, while some House Republicans considered another proposal. Then President Obama proposed his own six-year $578 billion package, while Sens. Rand Paul (R- Ky.) and Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) unveiled a self- billed bipartisan plan. The American Trucking Associations also sent a letter to Congress pushing for a fuel tax increase to fund U.S. highways. The Senate's Environmental and Public Works com- mittee held a hearing on the matter, in which U.S. Transportation Secre- tary Anthony Foxx gave a passionate plea for a long-term transportation funding bill. Foxx reit- erated his concerns at a House committee meeting in mid-February. He also chastised Con- gress for its reluctance to pass anything longer than a two-year bill in the last 10 years, and only twice has it done that. The time between the bills has been supplemented with short- term extensions – some- times as short as three months – of already-exist- ing highway funding laws. Foxx told members of the House's Transporta- tion and Infrastructure Committee that if Con- gress does not act, freight corridors will become more jammed, roads and bridges already deficient will present dangers to highway users, and states will continue to put more projects on hold due to funding uncertainty. ATA, AAA and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce wrote lawmakers asking them to raise taxes on gas- oline and diesel purchases – a "user pays" solution they say will provide the funds the United States needs to prevent a short- fall in the HTF. – James Jaillet Highway funding debate ramps up U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx chastised Congress for procrastination on finding a funding solution. Drivers with commercial driver's licenses no longer are required to carry paper copies of their medical certification cards, as the certification now is inte- grated into their CDLs, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration said. The update went into effect a year later than intended, as the agency de- layed the official date from last January because some state licensing agencies weren't up to speed on the change. FMCSA spokesperson Marissa Padilla said driv- ers now can cease carrying paper copies of their medi- cal certification beginning 15 days after it is renewed. But that's not the case for non-CDL commer- cial drivers, said Richard Wilson of TCRG Consult- ing. "These drivers do not self-certify" with the state licensing agencies but have been required to carry cards, he said. Continuing to carry physical proof of certifica- tion will remain an option, Wilson also confirmed, as medical examiners will continue to issue the certificate for CDL and non-CDL commercial drivers alike. – James Jaillet Drivers can stop carrying paper copies of med cards Non-CDL commercial drivers still are required to carry medical cards.