U.S. Legislative Issues

Funding for the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) is set to expire on May 31, 2015. In light of this deadline, Congress and the White House are mulling various short term patches and multi-year extension proposals in an effort to reach agreement before funding runs out. The May 31 deadline that lawmakers face is of their own making. Upon expiration of funding last year, Congress settled on a 10 month extension, ignoring the shortfalls facing the HTF caused by declining federal gas tax revenue.

On March 30, 2015, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled the "Grow America Act 2.0," the Administration’s multi-year surface transportation reauthorization proposal that aims to overhaul the federal role in highway, transit and rail programs. The six-year plan includes a significant increase in transportation funding, but unlike its original iteration, this proposal would be funded by a fourteen percent "transition" tax on an estimated $2 trillion of untaxed offshore revenue. It also grants greater decision-making authority to regional planners and state and local governments, a shift that has generally won bipartisan support from Congress in the past.

Specifically, the Grow America Act 2.0 would provide $217 billion for highway programs and $115 billion for transit. The proposal would increase highway funds by roughly 29 percent above current levels, with a policy emphasis on repairing deteriorating existing roads and bridges before investing in new construction. Some of the increased funding would also go to federal regulators that police automotive, truck and bus safety. Foxx argues that the Administration’s proposal provides an opportunity to break away from 10 years of flat funding and the past six years in which Congress has funded transportation with 32 short-term measures.

It is unclear which, if any, of the President’s proposals will gain traction in Congress. Given the complexity of approving a long-term transportation bill, however, the odds are that Congress will again opt for a short-term patch while it struggles for consensus on how to pay for a multi-year bill.



The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has announced that the proposed Phase 2 greenhouse-gas emissions (2 GHG) rule for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, originally planned for publication in March, will be delayed until June.

The proposal was sent for White House review on March 27, according to EPA’s Regulatory Development and Retrospective Review Tracker.

The joint EPA-National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) proposed rule will address fuel-efficiency standards for medium- and heavy-duty on-highway vehicles for model years beyond 2018 but likely would not take effect before 2020, according to EPA. The Phase 2 rule will follow the first-ever greenhouse-gas emissions and fuel-efficiency standards issued in 2011.

James Tamm, a top NHTSA official that has been heavily involved in the 2 GHG rulemaking, addressed this issue as part of NAFA’s 2015 Institute and Expo in Orlando, Florida last week.



Representative Lou Barletta (R-PA) has re-introduced legislation that aims to reform motor carrier and motor coach safety scores to more accurately reflect a company’s safety record. H.R. 1371, the Safer Trucks and Buses Act, would temporarily prohibit the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) from releasing a carrier’s Behavior Analysis and Safety Improvement Category (BASIC) scores to the general public. This mandate would remain in effect until the agency revamps the methodology behind the Compliance, Safety, Accountability (CSA) enforcement model. The Act also prevents the BASIC scores from being used as evidence in liability cases.

In addition, the bill contains language that requires the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) – an independent, non-profit, and non-partisan organization chartered by Congress – to work with FMCSA to redesign its CSA scoring system. Once the necessary methodology changes are made, according to Barletta’s bill, CSA BASIC scores will again be made available to the public to assist parties in making informed decisions about carriers.

Senator John Thune (R-SD), Chairman of the influential Senate Commerce Committee, has announced his intention of introducing similar legislation soon. "We need to take another look at the data inputs, how accident fault is used, and whether there might be a better way to develop a safety partnership," Thune said.



Representatives Reid Ribble (R-WI) and Tim Walz (D-MN) have reintroduced legislation that reaffirms congressional opposition to any increase of the excise tax on new heavy-duty trucks. The concurrent resolution, H. Con. Res. 33, was introduced with 17 original bipartisan cosponsors. NAFA has officially weighed in with the sponsors of this legislation to convey its support. "The federal excise tax damages truck manufacturing and its related jobs by raising the costs of new, safer trucks," said Representative Ribble. "The tax is a minimal part of the Highway Trust Fund and should not be increased."

Originally implemented to help defray the cost of World War I, the federal excise tax (FET) on heavy-duty trucks, tractors and trailers has increased steadily over the years. In fact, since 1955, the FET has increased by 300 percent, going from three percent when it was initially incorporated into the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) to its current rate of twelve percent. The twelve percent FET is the highest excise tax on a percentage basis that Congress levies. Proposals calling for an increase in the FET as a way to raise revenue for the depleted HTF have been made, leaving many transportation stakeholders concerned about the impacts an increase would have on new heavy-duty truck sales and the deployment of cleaner, safer, and more fuel efficient trucks.



On March 26, 2015, Senators Rand Paul (R-KY) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) introduced S. 889, the Fuel Choice and Deregulation Act of 2015, legislation that aims to provide regulatory relief to alternative fuel producers and consumers. One provision of the bill would grant relief from a regulatory quirk that some argue thwarts free market sales of E15, fuel that’s fifteen percent ethanol and 85 percent gasoline.

"The EPA’s onerous regulation of fuels is artificially limiting options for consumers and producers and preventing the adoption of new fuel options that could benefit our environment, our economy, and our energy security. Through competition and consumer choice, my bill will free fuel producers and automobile manufacturers to innovate and bring new products to market that can lower costs to consumers, increase domestic energy production, and benefit the environment." Senator Paul said.