A subcommittee reviewed a Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill for Fiscal Year 2025. The House Appropriations Committee released the bill on June 26th, and the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, along with Related Agencies, discussed it during a markup session on June 27th.
The initial version of the THUD appropriations bill proposes allocating $200 million for truck parking. It includes provisions to prevent parking fees, restrict the FMCSA from implementing speed limiter regulations, and exempt livestock haulers from Electronic Logging Device (ELD) requirements.
“These targeted investments will enhance safety and improve the flow of commerce on our interstate highway system,” said Congressman Steve Womack during the subcommittee markup.
“OOIDA and the 150,000 small-business truck drivers we represent appreciate House appropriators for prioritizing key issues in their spending bill related to truck parking expansion, a dangerous federal speed limiter mandate, and commonsense flexibility for livestock haulers.” – Todd Spencer, OOIDA President said in a statement regarding the THUD appropriations bill.
“As a truck driver, I can tell you firsthand that when truckers don’t have a safe place to park, we are put in a no-win situation. We must either continue to drive while fatigued or out of legal driving time, or park in an undesignated and unsafe location like the side of the road or abandoned lot. It forces truck drivers to make a choice between safety and following federal Hours-of-Service rules,” Spencer continued. “The highest priority of America’s truck drivers is roadway safety. OOIDA applauds House appropriators for including in their transportation funding bill language that prevents FMCSA from pursuing a dangerous speed limiter mandate on large trucks. Such a mandate would result in drastic speed differentials on America’s roadways, increased crash rates, and would put innocent lives of all road users at risk.”
