The time to choose your next president is now

The 2000 and 2004 presidential elections were among the closest races in American history, and the 2008 election is shaping up to be just as competitive. Regardless of who wins, changes are on the horizon. For the first time in recent history a sitting vice president is not seeking the highest office in the land, so a complete regime change is guaranteed.
America is also at a point in history where much is at stake. National security, economic prosperity and domestic social issues are all a concern. Every American citizen and every business has something at stake in this election. What about the trucking industry, though – have the candidates made themselves clear on where they stand on issues important to this industry? In some regards they have, while in others they have not.

Taking a good look at the records and positions of Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama is important as Election Day nears. So, where do they stand on the issues at hand?

On The Issues:

FUEL PRICES
Without a doubt, one of the biggest issues facing the American trucking industry today is escalating fuel prices. With diesel prices at or above $4 per gallon, many independent drivers, not to mention the small and large carriers, are finding it more and more challenging to realize the profits they did only a few years ago. What, if anything, will Obama and McCain do to address this issue?
Obama on Fuel Prices
Obama is keenly aware of this issue and its impact on the motoring public. In the 110th Congress, he introduced the Oil Sense Act, which is designed to eliminate unnecessary tax breaks to the oil industry. In the 109th Congress, he sponsored legislation, the Fill Up Act, that would require oil companies that made at least $1 billion in profits in the first quarter of 2006 to invest at least 1 percent of their total reported first-quarter 2006 profits into installing E-85 pumps.

Obama, according to his campaign Web site, also proposes the following short-term solutions:

• Crack down on excessive energy speculation – Obama will close energy industry market loopholes and increase transparency to prevent traders from unfairly lining their pockets while driving up oil prices at the expense of the American people.
• Swap oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to cut prices – With oil prices doubling in the past year, Obama believes we have an economic emergency that requires a limited, responsible swap of light oil from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve (SPR) for heavy crude oil to help bring down prices at the pump.

Obama, according to his campaign Web site, also proposes the following long-term solutions:

• Increase fuel economy standards – Obama will increase fuel economy standards 4 percent per year while providing $4 billion for domestic automakers to retool their manufacturing facilities in America to produce these vehicles.
• Get 1 million plug-in hybrid cars on the road by 2015 – These vehicles can get up to 150 miles per gallon. Obama believes we should work to ensure these cars are built here in America, instead of in factories overseas.
• Create a $7,000 tax credit for purchasing advanced vehicles. Establish a National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard – Obama will establish a National Low-Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS) to reduce the carbon in our fuels 10 percent by 2020. Obama will also require 60 billion gallons of advanced bio-fuels to be phased into our fuel supply by 2030.
• A "use it or lose it" approach to existing oil and gas leases – Obama will require oil companies to develop the 68 million acres of land (more than 40 million of which are offshore) that they have already leased and are not drilling on.
• Promote the responsible domestic production of oil and natural gas – An Obama administration will establish a process for early identification of any infrastructure obstacles/shortages or possible federal permitting process delays to drilling in the Bakken Shale formation, the Barnett shale formation and Alaska’s National Petroleum Reserve.

McCain on Fuel Prices
McCain is also well aware of this issue and its impact on the motoring public. In April he introduced the Summer Gas Tax Holiday bill. The legislation would have suspended the 18.4 cents per gallon federal gas tax and the 24.4 cent diesel tax between Memorial Day and Labor Day 2008. McCain’s legislation would have ensured that the Highway Trust Fund was not depleted during this “gas tax holiday” by transferring monies from the general treasury, and also would have ensured that highway construction projects were not impacted.

McCain, according to his campaign Web site, also proposes the following short-term solutions:

• Understand the role speculation is playing in our soaring energy prices – Where we find abuses, they need to be swiftly punished. To make sure it never happens again, we must reform the laws and regulations governing the oil futures market, so that they are just as clear and effective as the rules applied to stocks, bonds and other financial instruments.
• Oppose a windfall profits tax – A windfall profits tax on the oil companies will ultimately result in increasing our dependence on foreign oil and hinder investment in domestic exploration. Jimmy Carter put a windfall profits tax in place with little to no useful results.

McCain, according to his campaign Web site, also proposes the following long-term solutions:

• Commit our country to expanding domestic oil exploration – The current federal moratorium on drilling in the Outer Continental Shelf stands in the way of energy exploration and production. We should keep more of our dollars here in the United States, lessen our foreign dependency, increase our domestic supplies and reduce our trade deficit – 41 percent of which is due to oil imports.
• Clean car challenge – McCain will commit a $5,000 tax credit for every customer who buys a zero-carbon-emission car, encouraging automakers to be first on the market with these cars in order to capitalize on the consumer incentives. For other vehicles, a graduated tax credit will apply so that the lower the carbon emissions, the higher the tax credit.
• Propose a prize to improve battery technology for full commercial development of plug-in hybrid and fully electric automobiles. A $300 million prize should be awarded for the development of a battery package that has the size, capacity, cost and power to leapfrog the commercially available plug-in hybrids or electric cars.
• Flex-Fuel Vehicles (FFVs) should play a greater role in our transportation sector – McCain calls on automakers to make a more rapid and complete switch to FFVs.
• Alcohol-based fuels hold great promise as both an alternative to gasoline and as a means of expanding consumers’ choices.
• Effectively enforce existing CAFE standards. McCain believes that the penalties for not following these standards must be effective enough to compel all carmakers to produce fuel-efficient vehicles.

MEXICAN TRUCKING DEMONSTRATION/PILOT PROGRAM
One of the recent issues for the American trucking industry has been the implementation of the Mexican Truck Demonstration/Pilot Program. Though the American Trucking Association (ATA) has supported this initiative, many independent drivers and other associations, such as OOIDA and the Teamsters, have opposed it. Where do Obama and McCain stand on this issue?

Recent Statements By McCain and Obama

McCain offered the following statement on Sept. 12, 2007:
“The underlying bill provides funding for the Department of Transportation’s one-year pilot program that would allow a maximum of 100 Mexican trucks to enter and travel to a single destination in the United States this year. This pilot program is the result of planning and preparation over the past 14 years. NAFTA, passed by Congress in 1993 and signed into law by President Clinton in 1994, mandated the opening of our southern border to Mexican trucking operations. Congress set forth stringent pre-conditions for opening the border in Sec. 350 of the FY02 transportation appropriations bill, and DOT complied with all 22 of those requirements. The inspector general has reported five times that the department has substantially met those safety requirements. It is now time to allow these two countries to move forward with this one-year pilot program that will have numerous economic benefits for the two nations. Unfortunately, the Senate has voted 74-24 to prevent the pilot from going forward. As such, we continue to fall short of abiding by the obligations we committed to when we approved NAFTA.”

Obama offered the following statement on Sept. 6, 2007:
“I am opposed to the Bush administration decision to allow cross-border trucking into the interior of the United States. There simply remain too many safety and environmental concerns. Before truck drivers from this or any other country are allowed to crisscross our highways, they should meet minimum standards for vehicle safety, rules on how long drivers can operate a vehicle as well as adequate oversight over those operations, and driver training. We need more time to study whether Mexican trucking firms and drivers can meet those standards across the entirety of their fleets.”

Recent Votes By McCain and Obama

On Sept. 11, 2007, a roll call vote was taken on S. Amendment 2797 to H.R. 3074 (Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2008.) The amendment’s purpose was “to prohibit the establishment of a program that allows Mexican truck drivers to operate beyond the commercial zones near the Mexican border.” Obama voted in favor of the amendment. McCain did not vote.

That same day, a roll call vote was taken on another amendment to that act. The amendment’s purpose was “to ensure that every motor carrier entering the United States through the cross-border motor carrier demonstration program is inspected and meets all applicable safety standards established for United States commercial vehicles.” Obama voted against the amendment. McCain did not vote.

FREE/FAIR TRADE
With the implementation of NAFTA in the 1990s, and the fairly recent ratification of CAFTA, free-trade agreements are of great interest to those in the American trucking industry. With free-trade agreements can the industry continue to compete and be profitable? Will the industry become even more profitable? Is the sovereignty of the nation at stake?

Obama on Free / Fair Trade
According to the Obama campaign Web site, Obama believes that trade with foreign nations should strengthen the American economy and create more American jobs. He will stand firm against agreements that undermine our economic security.

• Fight for fair trade – Obama will fight for a trade policy that opens up foreign markets to support good American jobs. He will use trade agreements to spread good labor and environmental standards around the world and stand firm against agreements like the Central American Free Trade Agreement that fail to live up to those important benchmarks. Obama will also pressure the World Trade Organization to enforce trade agreements and stop countries from continuing unfair government subsidies to foreign exporters and non-tariff barriers on U.S. exports.
• Amend the North American Free Trade Agreement: Obama believes that NAFTA and its potential were oversold to the American people. Obama will work with the leaders of Canada and Mexico to fix NAFTA so that it works for American workers.
• Improve transition assistance: To help all workers adapt to a rapidly changing economy, Obama would update the existing system of Trade Adjustment Assistance by extending it to service industries, creating flexible education accounts to help workers retrain, and providing retraining assistance for workers in sectors of the economy vulnerable to dislocation before they lose their jobs.

McCain on Free / Fair Trade
According to the McCain Web site, McCain believes that globalization is an opportunity for American workers today and in the future.

• Lower barriers to trade: McCain believes we need to be at the table when the rules for access to those markets are written. To do so, the United States should engage in multilateral, regional and bilateral efforts to reduce barriers to trade, level the global playing field and build effective enforcement of global trading rules.
• Competitive American workers: McCain understands that globalization will not automatically benefit every American. We must prepare the next generation of workers by making American education worthy of the promise we make to our children and ourselves. We must be a nation committed to competitiveness and opportunity. We must fight for the ability of all students to have access to any school of demonstrated excellence. We must place parents and children at the center of the education process, empowering parents by greatly expanding the ability of parents to choose among schools for their children.

TRANSPORTATION
INFRASTRUCTURE
No event better demonstrated the need to address the nation’s transportation infrastructure than the August 2007 Interstate 35 bridge collapse in Minnesota. For the American trucking industry, transportation infrastructure maintenance and development is a significant issue. What thoughts do the presidential candidates have on this issue?

Obama on Transportation Infrastructure:
According to the Obama campaign Web site, Obama believes that it is critically important for the United States to rebuild its national transportation infrastructure – its highways, bridges, roads, ports, air and train systems – to strengthen user safety, bolster our long-term competitiveness and ensure our economy continues to grow. Specifically, Obama proposes to:

• Create a national infrastructure reinvestment bank: This will expand and enhance, not supplant, existing federal transportation investments. This independent entity will be directed to invest in our nation’s most challenging transportation infrastructure needs. The bank will receive an infusion of federal money, $60 billion over 10 years, to provide financing to transportation infrastructure projects across the nation. These projects will create up to 2 million direct and indirect jobs per year and stimulate approximately $35 billion per year in new economic activity.
• Strengthen core infrastructure: Obama believes that America’s long-term competitiveness depends on the stability of our critical infrastructure. As president, Obama would make strengthening our transportation systems, including our roads and bridges, a top priority.
• Obama says on his campaign Web site, “As our society becomes more mobile and interconnected, the need for 21st-century transportation networks has never been greater. However, too many of our nation’s railways, highways, bridges, airports and neighborhood streets are slowly decaying due to lack of investment and strategic long-term planning.”

McCain on Transportation Infrastructure:
In a statement to President Bush, McCain shared his thoughts on transportation infrastructure. “The tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota in August 2007 was a harsh reminder of just how critical our responsibilities are to balance competing transportation funding needs. But we simply must do so in a fiscally responsible manner.

• “In [S. 1789], we are not underfunding transportation, Mr. President; we are misdirecting infrastructure funding to earmarked projects that are questionable and certainly not urgently needed
• “In addition to our aging bridges, our interstate highway system is over 50 years old and not equipped to handle today’s traffic levels. So what has Congress done in response to this reality? We have increased earmarking of our highway program funding by a staggering level.
• “So instead of allowing states the ability to allocate their highway dollars to their most pressing needs, like deficient bridges, we are funding a significantly higher level of bike paths and highway beautification projects and sidewalk improvements.
• “Instead of raising the gas taxes, as some members of Congress have suggested, for the millions of Americans who are already paying more for gas than ever before, the federal and state governments must prioritize transportation spending to focus on projects with the most need rather than building ‘bridges to nowhere.’”

THE ELECTION
Regardless of whom you support in the 2008 presidential election, there can be little doubt that there is much at stake for the future of the American trucking industry. When it comes time to vote this Nov. 4, be sure you vote with as much information as possible.

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October 3rd, 2008 | Category: Featured
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