Hearing of the Surface Transportation and Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety and Security Subcommittee of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee - Surface Transportation Reauthorization - Oversight and Reform of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration

Hearing

"Good Morning. I am pleased to convene the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation & Merchant Marine Infrastructure, Safety, and Security for our third hearing entitled, "Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Oversight and Reform of the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration."

"I also want to take a moment to note that this is our first official hearing with Senator Corey Booker as the subcommittee's ranking member. Welcome, Senator Booker. I look forward to working with you to address our nation's transportation challenges.

"Our nation's economy depends upon safe, timely, and efficient trucking. Nearly 500,000 truckers operate on America's roads today. From globally recognized companies to small owner-operators with a single truck, America's truckers move billions worth of goods and materials each year.

"Established in 2000, the Federal Motor Carrier Administration (FMCSA) plays a vitally important role in promoting safety on our nation's roads. Along with many of my colleagues and the trucking industry, I share the FMCSA's commitment to increasing the safety of our nation's roads. We must never lose sight of this goal.

"At the same time, members of Congress, independent agencies -- including the GAO, the NTSB, and the DOT inspector general -- and stakeholders have expressed serious concerns with the agency's flawed approach in a number of areas. Some of the FMCSA's actions over the past several years, however, challenge our shared goal of enhancing safety.

"For example, FMCSA issued the final 34-hour restart rule in 2013 with complete disregard for congressionally-mandated requirements for an efficacy study on the rule's impact. When the study was eventually issued several months late, the sample size was not representative of this diverse industry. In addition, serious concerns were raised about the rule's perverse impact on safety because, in effect, it pushed drivers onto the roads during workers, students, and families' morning commutes.

"In 2014, the GAO investigated the methodology behind FMCSA's Compliance, Safety, and Accountability Program. Inaccurate CSA scores, publically available online, have cost companies contracts and raised insurance rates -- all of this has occurred without a clear correlation to increasing highway safety.

"When confronted with these findings, FMCSA completely disregarded GAO's recommendations. To address flaws in CSA implementation, major stakeholders, including law enforcement, requested that FMCSA remove CSA scores from public view.

"As chairman of this subcommittee, I intend to author legislation to reform the FMCSA and ensure that the process is more inclusive of Congress and stakeholders. My efforts to reform the FMCSA's regulatory process will include two major principles

1) Guidance Review: FMCSA should complete a periodic review of its current technical and programmatic guidance and provide transparency to the public on its review.

2) Regulatory Framework Going Forward: FMCSA must conduct a more robust cost-benefit analysis that represents carriers from a wide variety of business models. If necessary, the agency should also conduct a real-world study of the proposed regulation.

"Most importantly, throughout its process, FMCSA must demonstrate more transparency to Congress and stakeholders. As the agency is funded through the already broken Highway Trust Fund, transparency is particularly important with regard to funding for the agency's rulemaking.

"Though the burden of FMCSA's mission is immense, Congress must reform the agency to ensure higher levels of trust, collaboration, and, ultimately, more effective regulations to keep our nation's roads safe.

"I would now like to invite my Ranking Member Booker to offer opening remarks."

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