91ÊÓƵ

Congress has to come up with a short-term bill by Dec. 9 to keep the government funded, but a longer view of infrastructure needs was taking shape elsewhere in Washington. Keith Laing of The Detroit News joins TT's Eugene Mulero for a video preview of the week ahead for trucking on Capitol Hill.

Funding for government agencies is expected to go beyond March in a bid to give Trump administration officials a voice in the congressional appropriations process next year, House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) said Dec. 1.

Elaine Chao, President-elect Donald Trump’s choice for secretary of transportation, has the endorsement of the commercial transportation sector and would bring to the job nearly a decade of experience running a federal agency.

House Republican leaders chose to stick with Rep. Bill Shuster (R-Pa.) as their lead transportation authorizer in the 115th Congress, allowing him to keep control of the influential Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

Federal regulatory officials on Dec. 2 announced a final rule that will create a clearinghouse that would track when a commercial driver fails a drug or alcohol test and require carriers to check an applicant against the clearinghouse database.

For-hire trucking gained 1,100 jobs in November, while overall payrolls increased by 178,000, the Labor Department reported Dec. 2.

If President-elect Donald Trump is successful with his proposed $1 trillion, 10-year program to fix America’s disintegrating and inadequate infrastructure, the states have a list of critical projects ready for him. And while $1 trillion could be a decent down payment, it’s not nearly enough.

During his successful campaign for the White House, Donald Trump talked often about dismantling Nafta. In response, the Canadian Trucking Alliance is reminding the incoming American administration that 35 of the 50 states’ top trading partners are Canadian jurisdictions, creating 9 million jobs on this side of the border. Trucks carry about two-thirds of that trade.

Trucking industry executives and stakeholders will have the chance to share insight and perspective with House lawmakers on Dec. 6 when they meet for a roundtable discussion about policy for autonomous vehicles in the coming years.