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By Amanda Hampton, Associate,
Nessle & Blakey
Over the past few months, legislators have narrowed in on the current state of U.S. supply chains, with the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure conducting various hearings to examine the implementation of the Ocean Shipping Reform Act as well as rail, trucking, and maritime industry challenges. On May 23, the committee held a markup to consider 18 bills, all aimed at improving supply chain efficiency.
A concern frequently covered during congressional hearings was addressed by the committee approving the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act. The bill, which also received committee approval under the previous 117th Congress, would authorize $755 million to fund projects increasing the availability of commercial motor vehicle parking.
Among the legislation approved by the committee was an amended version of the Supply Chain Improvement Act that directs the U.S Department of Transportation (USDOT) to give projects improving supply chain resiliency priority consideration under the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program (INFRA) and National Infrastructure Project Assistance program (Mega). Notably, the amended version of the bill would remove the current funding cap to allow USDOT to award more than 30 percent of annual INFRA grant funding to multimodal freight projects.
The Developing Responsible Individuals for a Vibrant Economy (DRIVE) Safe Integrity Act, which sought to improve the Safe Driver Apprenticeship Pilot Program (SDAP), was pulled from consideration during the committee markup. The SDAP was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to allow individuals under the age of 21 to operate commercial motor vehicles in interstate commerce. Currently, these younger drivers may operate only within state lines. According to the American Trucking Association, a supporter of the legislation, less than a dozen individuals have enrolled in the pilot program. The DRIVE Safe Integrity Act directed USDOT to promote the pilot program and if deemed necessary to improve participation, remove any program requirements beyond those set forth by the BIL. Further, the bill instructed USDOT to implement regulations allowing drivers under the age of 21 to participate in interstate commerce within one year after the conclusion of the pilot program. While the bill was not approved, it could be modified and considered at a subsequent markup.
The One Federal Decision (OFD) For All Act was
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approved by voice vote to expand OFD policies that streamline environmental permitting reviews to additional project types. OFD was first established during the Trump Administration to limit project review times to two years and reduce delays in federal environmental reviews. Currently, OFD only applies to highway projects, but the proposal would extend the provisions to cover pipeline, aviation, and port projects.
Additionally, the committee approved the Licensing Individual Commercial Exam-takers Now Safely and Efficiently Act, the Motor Carrier Safety Selection Standard Act, and an amended version of the Ocean Shipping Reform Implementation Act. The bills approved by the committee now await further action by the full House and subsequent consideration by the Senate.
Separate from the supply chain package, Congress also addressed inefficiencies in the permitting process in the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023, which became law on June 3 to suspend the debt ceiling until January 2025, avoiding a government default. In addition to setting spending caps, the legislation made updates to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by incorporating provisions from Rep. Graves’ (R-LA) Building United States Infrastructure through Limited Delays and Efficient Reviews (BUILDER) Act.
The permitting reforms seek to streamline the environmental review process by setting procedures for determining a lead agency to carry out an environmental review, setting page limits for environmental impact statements and environmental assessments, requiring environmental impact statements be completed within two years, requiring environmental assessments be completed in one year, and allowing an agency to adopt a categorical exclusion listed in another agency’s NEPA procedures.
Nessle & Blakey, Ltd. is a public affairs and
communications consulting firm based in
Washington, DC.
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