In his annual state of the trucking industry speech at the American Trucking Associations' Management Conference and Exhibition, President and CEO Chris Spear touted the organization's lobbying victories in Washington, D.C and state capitals.
“Our success this year is a reflection of who we are, what we stand for, and what it all means to the more than 340 million Americans who depend on trucking each day,” Spear told a crowd of the industry’s top leaders meeting in San Diego. “In this new era, winning isn’t everything; it’s the only thing.”
According to a statement from the ATA, Spear attributed this progress to what the organization said were "record-setting levels of advocacy" on Capitol Hill and with the executive branch. Spear said nearly 400 t\association members from 36 states have held nearly 500 meetings with their representatives through ATA’s Call on Washington program. Additionally, ATA testified seven times on Capitol Hill, according to Spear.
Spear went on to cite several additional accomplishments, including:
- Rolling back the Environmental Protection Agency’s GHG3 rule.
- Working with the Department of Transportation to address enforcement and regulatory gaps to ensure highway safety.
- Convincing the Department of Labor to protect independent contractors.
- Passing tort reform in multiple states and making significant strides on federal solutions.
- Adding a $200 million investment to expand truck parking.
“These major wins are historic game changers for ATA members, giving us more time and energy to push forward other tier one priorities as we round out the first two years of this Administration,” Spear said.
One of those priorities is to fight the lawsuit abuse, which was initially added to ATA’s tier one list of priorities at MCE in San Diego in 2019.
“Five years later, nearly 20 states have passed legislation, with more to come,” Spear said. “This White House and Congress may well be in a position to help us push through some federal reforms, including a bill we introduced last month that would move these frivolous state suits to a level playing field in federal court.”
Spear also took aim at another pressing challenge, cargo theft, which a study by the American Transportation Research Institute recently calculated costs trucking over $18 million every day. Spear noted ATA has endorsed the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act that has been co-sponsored by one-third of the House and Senate.
Spear also praised ATA's strong partnership that has been forged between the ATA and the Trump Administration. In his speech, Spear thanked Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy for working to ensure that only safe, qualified drivers are on the road.
“The ATA supports Secretary Duffy’s efforts to crack down on states that refuse to enforce the federal English Language Proficiency requirement, suspend visas for foreign truck drivers while audits and investigations are conducted; require every state to root out bad actors …and target rogue actors who abuse U.S. drivers by illegally handing foreign B1 visa drivers their loads to avoid paying higher wages,” Spear said.
Spear concluded his remarks by calling on members to remain united and help build on recent momentum.
