News From ASET - August 23, 2000
Hours-of-service is on everyone's lips in Washington, DC this summer. The proposed changes in HOS regulations by the Department of Transportation have met with a barrage of criticism from trucking and shipper interests across the country. Americans for Safe & Efficient Transportation is actively working to defeat the HOS proposal. ASET members are united behind the idea that all transportation legislation and regulation should always meet two criteria - it should enhance the public safety and make companies more productive in doing business. It is clear from the HOS proposal that both of these criteria will be greatly diminished.
ASET has been formulating our official comments to DOT on this critical issue and can be viewed online. Our goal is to have members and participants of ASET view our comments and give suggestions and ideas for its final version. ASET's due date for member's remarks and notes is Friday, September 1, 2000. We plan to officially enter our comments into the DOT docket by mid-September. We have now added an Hours-of-Service section on our website to focus on this issue.
Steel Companies to Meet in Washington
ASET is coordinating an effort with the American Iron and Steel Institute to bring steel company representatives to Washington, DC to meet with Members of Congress. On September 19, 2000, various steel representatives will arrive in Washington to meet with members of the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. These critical Members of Congress may be ultimately responsible for whether language is included in the transportation appropriations bill that would eliminate funding to finalize the Department of Transportation's hours-of-service proposal. Some of the members of this subcommittee are also on the Steel Caucus and have a specific interest in how regulations and legislation may affect the steel industry.
As well as HOS, ASET and the steel representatives will be discussing next year's goal of enacting ASET's 97,000-pound legislation. Next year may prove to be the perfect year for this legislation's passage as motor carriers and shippers will be faced with possible HOS reform, higher diesel fuel costs, and an ever-growing increase in the amount of vehicle miles traveled by large trucks. All of these conditions will make it even more necessary to enact productivity legislation that actually helps alleviate some of these problems.
Following the Capitol Hill meetings during the day, ASET has organized an intimate dinner that evening with Congressman Bob Ney (R-OH). Congressman Ney is a House Deputy Whip and member of the Steel Caucus and House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. Ney spoke at ASET's Spring Fly-In on April 4th and is a cosponsor of our existing 97,000-pound legislation (H.R. 1667). During this dinner, steel representatives will have the chance to discuss what is currently happening in Washington, including the HOS proposal, as well as long-term predictions for transportation issues and policy.
Bethlehem Steel Becomes Executive Committee Member
Bethlehem Steel, a member of ASET for the past few years, joined as an Executive Committee Member this month. Del Davis, Director of Transportation for Bethlehem, has been active with ASET since our inception. Del also serves as head of the Traffic Committee within the American Iron and Steel Institute and has taken a leadership role in shaping ASET's message and strategy for the coming year. We would like to thank Del and Bethlehem Steel for their continued support and commitment to ASET's success.