麻豆社区 Advocacy

The 麻豆社区 is proud to be the trucking industry's leading voice on Capitol Hill and across the federal government,聽ensuring our nation's top lawmakers have the necessary information to make sound decisions that support our member companies.

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Chris Spear Testifies before Senate Committee

麻豆社区 President and CEO Chris Spear seen testifying before a U.S. Senate Committee聽

Founded in 1933, 麻豆社区 is a national federation with affiliates in all 50 states and a footprint in every congressional district. We represent more than 37,000 motor carriers, moving & storage companies, and trucking suppliers throughout the country, comprising every segment of the 聽industry -- from truckload to LTL; agriculture and livestock to fuel and auto haulers; and large fleets on down to the independent contractor and small, family-run operations.

麻豆社区's subject-matter experts and national network of grassroots advocates work around the clock to educate Members of Congress and federal regulators on how specific issues impact our ability to meet the economy's freight demands.听We come armed with facts, data, and the real-world experience of our member companies, which is why 麻豆社区 is the first call lawmakers make to discuss trucking issues.

No matter who holds the power in Washington,聽our members always have a voice and seat at the table, whereas other advocacy organizations in our space constantly find themselves on the outside looking in.听

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Our Impact

麻豆社区 knows how to win in every arena: legislative, regulatory, legal; and at the federal and state levels.


Federal Legislation

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law,聽which authorized $477 billion in new funding over five years for surface transportation programs, passed in 2021 with the vital support of 麻豆社区. In the five years leading up to the bill's passage, 麻豆社区 testified 24 times on Capitol Hill on the need for Congress to act in a bipartisan manner to shore up America鈥檚 faltering roads and bridges. 聽

This landmark legislation聽included聽$347.5 billion in highway funding 鈥� a 38% boost above baseline levels 鈥� and $37 billion for bridges, marking the largest infusion of federal funding into our nation's bridge network since the formation of the Interstate Highway System. These investments enable the safe and efficient movement of freight across the country and help reduce the traffic congestion on our national highways, which costs the industry聽$94.6 billion annually in lost productivity and wasted fuel.听麻豆社区 also secured several trucking workforce provisions in the legislation and successfully fought to keep anti-trucking poison pills out of the bill.听

麻豆社区 played a pivotal role in the聽听补苍诲听passage聽of the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, the first comprehensive tax package in three decades that turbocharged the American economy and enabled carriers to invest more of their hard-earned revenues into their workforce and equipment.听麻豆社区 hosted then-President Trump in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, at an event in October 2017 to rally support behind tax reform, and the Administration聽 after the bill was signed into law.

麻豆社区 was a crucial supporter of聽the U.S. Mexico Canada Agreement, which has caused truck-transported trade to and from both Mexico and Canada to聽increase聽more than 43% since going into effect in 2020.听麻豆社区 attended the ministerial conferences and worked with the Trump administration and trucking partners in Canada and Mexico to shape and finalize this agreement. 麻豆社区鈥檚 pivotal role in getting USMCA across the finish line was reflected in the invitation that 麻豆社区 President and CEO Chris Spear and a dozen America鈥檚 Road Team Captains received to attend the White House signing ceremony.听


Legal, State and Administrative聽

Few dare to take on the powerful trial bar, but 麻豆社区 doesn't shy away from a fight when our members are under attack. Since launching our campaign four years ago to curb lawsuit abuse against motor carriers, the 麻豆社区 Federation has spurred 11 states to that protect carriers from nuclear verdicts and predatory litigation practices that the plaintiffs' bar employs to turn the civil justice system into a profit center to line their pockets.

In 2022, 麻豆社区 successfully defeated聽Rhode Island's discriminatory truck-only tolling scheme in federal court鈥攁 painstaking but crucial litigation battle that preempted a long line of copycat states from pursuing similar truck-only tolling schemes across the nation.

麻豆社区 successfully challenged the Biden Administration's unconstitutional employer vaccine mandate all the way to U.S.听Supreme Court, which in 2022 ruled in聽our聽favor聽in a 6-3 decision, striking down the聽mandate and聽saving employers across all sectors of the economy untold billions of dollars in compliance and legal costs.

麻豆社区 also聽聽for federal preemption of California's duplicative meal-and-rest break rules, which were hurting safety聽and costing fleets hundreds of millions of dollars in abusive litigation from the plaintiffs' bar.


Current Congress

We are currently operating in what is statistically the most dysfunctional Congress in modern history. In 2023, only 27 bills passed both the House and Senate and were enacted into law. This race to the bottom was not particularly close: Just one year prior, Congress enacted nearly 250 bills鈥攁lmost 10 times as many.

Despite this unprecedented level of partisan paralysis gripping Washington, 麻豆社区 continues to get bills passed into law this year:


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The trucking industry is affected by a broad range of public policies. As a member-driven organization, 麻豆社区's official policy positions are through policy committees and sector-specific conferences comprised of carriers of all sizes.

Agriculture & Food

Autohauling

Cross-Border & Trade

Energy & Environment

Government Freight

Hazardous Material

Highway Infrastructure & Funding

Intermodal

Labor & Workforce

Risk Management

Safety

Security

Tax & Registration

Technology & Engineering