Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to introduce legislation with Senator Alexander of Tennessee that I believe will have a dramatic impact on the safety of our Nation's highways and interstates, called the Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act. This bill will require the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA, to implement regulations requiring the use of electronic on-board recording devices, EOBRs, for motor carriers in order to improve compliance with Hours-of-Service, HOS, regulations. Requiring the use of these technologies in motor carriers will not only improve compliance with HOS regulations, but it will also reduce the number of fatigued commercial motor vehicle drivers on the road. This will have a profound impact on highway safety and reduce accidents and fatalities on our highways and interstates.

Hours-of-Service regulations place limits on when and how long commercial motor vehicle drivers may drive. These regulations are based on an exhaustive scientific review and are designed to ensure truck drivers get the necessary rest to drive safely. In developing HOS rules, the FMCSA reviewed existing fatigue research and worked with nongovernmental organizations like the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and the National Institute for Occupational Safety. HOS regulations are designed to continue the downward trend in truck driving fatalities and maintain motor carrier operational efficiencies.

Unfortunately, compliance with HOS regulations is often spotty due to inaccurate reporting by drivers as they are only required to fill out a paper log, a tracking method that dates back to the 1930s. Inaccurate reporting may result from an honest mistake or an intentional error by a driver seeking to extend his work day. These inaccuracies can lead to too much time on the road, leaving the driver fatigued and placing other drivers at risk. After listening to the many interest groups and experts on this issue in meetings and Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearings, I have come to learn that there is an available and affordable twenty-first-century technology that can ensure accurate logs, enhance compliance, and reduce the number of fatigued drivers on the road. They are being used today, and they are producing results. I believe that widespread utilization of these devices as soon as possible will significantly reduce further loss of life resulting from driver fatigue.

Our legislation will require motor carriers to install in their trucks an electronic device that performs multiple tasks to ensure compliance with HOS regulations. These devices must be engaged to the truck engine control module and capable of identifying the driver operating the truck, recording a driver's duty status, and monitoring the location and movement of the vehicle. Requiring electronic log books that are integrally connected to the vehicle engine as this bill requires will dramatically increase the accuracy of information submitted for hours of service compliance. Our bill will also require these recording devices to be tamper resistant and fully accessible by law enforcement personnel and Federal safety regulators only for purposes of enforcement and compliance reviews.

While I understand that some drivers may be reluctant to transition to electronic logging devices, I strongly believe that the safety benefits of the use of these devices far outweigh the costs. I don't want to see more lives lost due to driver fatigue resulting from log book manipulation. I also believe that with the rapid development of electronic technology, especially in the wireless telecommunications area, we will see strong competition among EOBR manufacturers and reduced costs for these technologies. In addition, the price of these products should go down as the demand increases through regulatory requirement to utilize this equipment.

Senator Alexander and I are not alone in calling for this technology to be more widely used by commercial vehicles. There are a number of Senators, including Senator Lautenberg, who have long been strong proponents of implementing the use of this technology. In addition, multiple Federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations have recognized the benefits of this technology and called for its widespread use.

For example, Mr. Francis France of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance stated at the April 28, 2010, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Oversight of Motor Carrier Safety Efforts that,

All motor vehicles should be equipped with EOBRs to better

comply with Hours of Service laws . . . CVSA has been working

with a broad partnership to help provide guidance to achieve

uniform performance standards for EOBRs.

Similarly, the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honorable Deborah Hersman, stated at the same hearing that,

For the past 30 years, the NTSB has advocated the use of

onboard data recorders to increase Hours of Service

compliance . . . the NTSB recommended that they be required

on all commercial vehicles.

During the same hearing, Ms. Jacqueline S. Gillan, with the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, stated that,

We regard the mandatory, universal installation and use of

EOBRs as crucial to stopping the epidemic of hours of service

violations that produce fatigued, sleep-deprived commercial

drivers . . . at very high risk of serious injury and fatal

crashes.

I have also heard from Administrator Ferro of the FMCSA on her thoughts of how EOBRs would enhance compliance and improve highway safety. The FMCSA recently implemented a rule to require that these devices be mandated for truck drivers and trucking companies that have been found to be noncompliant with FMCSA rules. These rules will be effective in June 2012. It is my understanding that the FMCSA is looking to expand these requirements to include more motor carriers, and I support those efforts as they reflect the qualities and intent of this legislation.

Finally, in addition to the support from safety advocates and federal transportation safety officials, I have also heard from a number of Arkansas trucking companies currently utilizing this technology. These companies have

experienced reductions in driver fatigue, increases in compliance, and reductions in insurance premiums. The executives of these companies, which include J.B. Hunt and Maverick U.S.A. among others, support the expanded use of these devices to increase compliance, improve highway safety, and level the playing field among the industry. I agree with their views on the importance of widespread utilization of this safety and compliance device.

The Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act, if enacted, will require the Department of Transportation to issue regulations within eighteen months from enactment to require commercial motor vehicles used in interstate commerce to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders for purposes of improving compliance with hours of service regulations. The regulation will apply to commercial motor carriers, commercial motor vehicles, and vehicle operators subject to both hours of service and record of duty status requirements three years after the date of enactment of this Act. This population represents a vast majority of drivers and carriers who operate trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more involved in interstate commerce. It will cover one hundred percent of over-the-road, long-haul truck drivers.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to recognize the importance of this technology in saving lives on our nation's highways and interstates. I also ask for their support for this legislation and help in moving it to the President as quickly as possible. It is my hope that we move this legislation through the Senate no later than the Surface Transportation Reauthorization legislation that the Senate will take up in the near future.

Mr. President, I come to the floor today to introduce legislation with Senator Alexander of Tennessee that I believe will have a dramatic impact on the safety of our Nation's highways and interstates, called the Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act. This bill will require the Department of Transportation's Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration FMCSA, to implement regulations requiring the use of electronic on-board recording devices, EOBRs, for motor carriers in order to improve compliance with Hours-of-Service, HOS, regulations. Requiring the use of these technologies in motor carriers will not only improve compliance with HOS regulations, but it will also reduce the number of fatigued commercial motor vehicle drivers on the road. This will have a profound impact on highway safety and reduce accidents and fatalities on our highways and interstates.

Hours-of-Service regulations place limits on when and how long commercial motor vehicle drivers may drive. These regulations are based on an exhaustive scientific review and are designed to ensure truck drivers get the necessary rest to drive safely. In developing HOS rules, the FMCSA reviewed existing fatigue research and worked with nongovernmental organizations like the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies and the National Institute for Occupational Safety. HOS regulations are designed to continue the downward trend in truck driving fatalities and maintain motor carrier operational efficiencies.

Unfortunately, compliance with HOS regulations is often spotty due to inaccurate reporting by drivers as they are only required to fill out a paper log, a tracking method that dates back to the 1930s. Inaccurate reporting may result from an honest mistake or an intentional error by a driver seeking to extend his work day. These inaccuracies can lead to too much time on the road, leaving the driver fatigued and placing other drivers at risk. After listening to the many interest groups and experts on this issue in meetings and Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee hearings, I have come to learn that there is an available and affordable twenty-first-century technology that can ensure accurate logs, enhance compliance, and reduce the number of fatigued drivers on the road. They are being used today, and they are producing results. I believe that widespread utilization of these devices as soon as possible will significantly reduce further loss of life resulting from driver fatigue.

Our legislation will require motor carriers to install in their trucks an electronic device that performs multiple tasks to ensure compliance with HOS regulations. These devices must be engaged to the truck engine control module and capable of identifying the driver operating the truck, recording a driver's duty status, and monitoring the location and movement of the vehicle. Requiring electronic log books that are integrally connected to the vehicle engine as this bill requires will dramatically increase the accuracy of information submitted for hours of service compliance. Our bill will also require these recording devices to be tamper resistant and fully accessible by law enforcement personnel and Federal safety regulators only for purposes of enforcement and compliance reviews.

While I understand that some drivers may be reluctant to transition to electronic logging devices, I strongly believe that the safety benefits of the use of these devices far outweigh the costs. I don't want to see more lives lost due to driver fatigue resulting from log book manipulation. I also believe that with the rapid development of electronic technology, especially in the wireless telecommunications area, we will see strong competition among EOBR manufacturers and reduced costs for these technologies. In addition, the price of these products should go down as the demand increases through regulatory requirement to utilize this equipment.

Senator Alexander and I are not alone in calling for this technology to be more widely used by commercial vehicles. There are a number of Senators, including Senator Lautenberg, who have long been strong proponents of implementing the use of this technology. In addition, multiple Federal agencies and nongovernmental organizations have recognized the benefits of this technology and called for its widespread use.

For example, Mr. Francis France of the Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance stated at the April 28, 2010, Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation hearing on Oversight of Motor Carrier Safety Efforts that,

All motor vehicles should be equipped with EOBRs to better

comply with Hours of Service laws . . . CVSA has been working

with a broad partnership to help provide guidance to achieve

uniform performance standards for EOBRs.

Similarly, the Chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board, the Honorable Deborah Hersman, stated at the same hearing that,

For the past 30 years, the NTSB has advocated the use of

onboard data recorders to increase Hours of Service

compliance . . . the NTSB recommended that they be required

on all commercial vehicles.

During the same hearing, Ms. Jacqueline S. Gillan, with the Advocates for Highway and Auto Safety, stated that,

We regard the mandatory, universal installation and use of

EOBRs as crucial to stopping the epidemic of hours of service

violations that produce fatigued, sleep-deprived commercial

drivers . . . at very high risk of serious injury and fatal

crashes.

I have also heard from Administrator Ferro of the FMCSA on her thoughts of how EOBRs would enhance compliance and improve highway safety. The FMCSA recently implemented a rule to require that these devices be mandated for truck drivers and trucking companies that have been found to be noncompliant with FMCSA rules. These rules will be effective in June 2012. It is my understanding that the FMCSA is looking to expand these requirements to include more motor carriers, and I support those efforts as they reflect the qualities and intent of this legislation.

Finally, in addition to the support from safety advocates and federal transportation safety officials, I have also heard from a number of Arkansas trucking companies currently utilizing this technology. These companies have

experienced reductions in driver fatigue, increases in compliance, and reductions in insurance premiums. The executives of these companies, which include J.B. Hunt and Maverick U.S.A. among others, support the expanded use of these devices to increase compliance, improve highway safety, and level the playing field among the industry. I agree with their views on the importance of widespread utilization of this safety and compliance device.

The Commercial Driver Compliance Improvement Act, if enacted, will require the Department of Transportation to issue regulations within eighteen months from enactment to require commercial motor vehicles used in interstate commerce to be equipped with electronic onboard recorders for purposes of improving compliance with hours of service regulations. The regulation will apply to commercial motor carriers, commercial motor vehicles, and vehicle operators subject to both hours of service and record of duty status requirements three years after the date of enactment of this Act. This population represents a vast majority of drivers and carriers who operate trucks weighing 10,001 pounds or more involved in interstate commerce. It will cover one hundred percent of over-the-road, long-haul truck drivers.

I urge my colleagues in the Senate to recognize the importance of this technology in saving lives on our nation's highways and interstates. I also ask for their support for this legislation and help in moving it to the President as quickly as possible. It is my hope that we move this legislation through the Senate no later than the Surface Transportation Reauthorization legislation that the Senate will take up in the near future.

Mr. President, I rise today to introduce the U.S. Outdoor Act. In the Pacific Northwest, spending time in the great outdoors is a part of life. Our magnificent mountains, our clear rivers and streams, and our majestic forests provide for a quality of life that is, in my view, unparalleled. Unfortunately, the outerwear that enables us to enjoy these wonderful treasures is more expensive than it needs to be. This is because under current law, the United States imposes steep tariffs on outdoor performance outerwear like jackets and pants used for skiing and snowboarding, mountaineering, hunting, fishing and dozens of other outdoor activities.

These high tariffs--and let us call them what they are, taxes--were originally implemented to promote an import substitution policy. They were imposed to discourage American consumers from buying outerwear that was manufactured overseas, even if those were superior products. Today, there is no domestic outerwear industry to really protect with these tariffs, yet consumers are still paying through the teeth for products like snow pants and rain jackets. These tariffs are hammering the pocketbooks of millions of American consumers, and they harm the businesses that are engaged in promoting enjoyment of the great outdoors.

But we can fix this in a way that helps American producers better compete globally in an environmentally sustainable manner, and relieves consumers of artificially high costs. But it is more than just reducing costs and promoting innovation.

To me, the Outdoor Act is also about encouraging our kids and members of our community to get outside, to be active, and to appreciate and protect our natural treasures. I want to associate myself with the efforts of the First Lady, Michelle Obama, who is leading an important initiative to get people--especially kids--moving and eating healthier. I see the Outdoor Act, which makes getting outside to hike, bike, or fish more affordable as complementary of the First Lady's efforts.

I am proud that this legislation enjoys support from both sides of the political aisle and especially pleased that my friend, Senator Crapo from Idaho, is helping to lead the charge with this initiative. Furthermore, I am happy that this legislation is supported by domestic textile and apparel companies as well as the performance outerwear designers and retailers. This all makes sense given that it will spur outdoor recreation and consumption of goods to support these activities. The outdoor recreation industry accounts for $730 billion dollars and 65 million jobs across the United States, with 73,000 jobs in Oregon. With this bill, we can potentially create even more jobs by increasing the purchasing power of consumers of outdoor goods, by saving them money on unnecessary tariffs.

The U.S. OUTDOOR Act eliminates the import duty for qualifying recreational performance outerwear, bringing duties that can be as high as 28 percent down to zero. It also establishes the Sustainable Textile and Apparel Research, STAR, fund, which invests in U.S. technologies and jobs that focus on sustainable, environmentally conscious manufacturing, helping textile and apparel companies work towards minimizing their energy and

water use, reducing waste and their carbon footprint, and incorporating efficiencies that help them better compete globally. I urge my colleagues to take a look at this legislation and to work with me to move it toward becoming law.

Mr. President, I join the Senator from South Dakota, Mr. Thune, in cosponsoring a bill to modernize the tracking of hazardous waste. The federal waste law requires the tracking of hazardous waste from ``cradle to grave.'' This tracking system is designed to provide an enforceable chain of custody for hazardous wastes. The law provides a strong incentive for transporters to manage the waste in a responsible fashion. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's economic analysis estimates that over 139,000 regulated entities track between 2.4 and 5.1 million shipments a year.

This system provides for appropriate stewardship of the hazardous waste products of our modern world. Unfortunately, the tracking system itself is in serious need of modernization.

Currently, the tracking is handled entirely through a paper manifest system. The paperwork burden is enormous. Each manifest form has seven or eight copies, which currently must be manually filled out and signed with pen and ink signatures, physically carried with waste shipments, mailed to generators and state agencies, and finally stored among facility records.

The paperwork burden is so great that 22 States and the EPA do not even collect copies of the forms. Those that do so get their copies months after the waste has been shipped. In the vast majority of cases, the only time regulators look at the manifests is during inspections or after a disaster to identify the responsible parties.

Under the Thune-Cardin bill, the paper manifest will be replaced by an electronic manifest. The bill sets up a funding system for the manifest paid for by the users of the system, the generators, and waste companies that handle hazardous waste.

An e-manifest system would remove a tremendous paperwork burden, assist the States in receiving data more readily in a format they can use, improve the public's access to waste shipment information and save over $100 million every year. First responders could get data in real- time. That is why groups as varied as Dow Chemical, Sierra Club and the Association of State, Territorial, Solid Waste Management Officials support this bill.

EPA does not have the funding to set up this system, so the bill uses a unique way to contract for the work. Companies will ``bid'' to set up the system at their cost and risk. They will be paid back on a per manifest basis by the users, waste generators, and handlers. This puts the burden on the private company or companies to meet the needs of the users of the system. The legislation is needed so that the funds collected go to the operation of the program rather than go to the general treasury.

A hearing was held on this issue in 2006 on a similar bill, S. 3871 introduced by Senators Thune, Jeffords, and Inhofe. No serious objections were made at that time and strong support was expressed by all the witnesses including EPA.

In September of 2008, an equally similar bill introduced by Senator Thune was reported favorably out of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and passed the Senate. Unfortunately, the House did not take up the measure.

This is legislation that is overdue. I ask members to join us in supporting this legislation which has garnered the backing of industry, states, and environmental groups. It is time for the waste manifest system to move into the 21st century.

Mr. President, it might come as a surprise to some to learn that dog breeders who sell animals directly to consumers over the internet are not subject to any Federal regulation. Under the Animal Welfare Act, wholesale dog dealers have to have a Federal license and are subject to U.S. Department of Agriculture inspection. Wholesale dog dealers typically sell their puppies to retail pet stores. But the law exempts any ``retail pet store'' from the same licensing and inspection requirements, because there was a day when you bought a dog either from a licensed breeder or from a store, who bought their dogs from a licensed breeder.

While it is not defined in statute, the exemption for retail pet stores has been interpreted to mean any outlet that sells dogs directly to the public. With the advent of the internet, many people buy puppies and dogs from breeders that are not licensed. There are plenty of responsible breeders across the country who care about and take great pains to properly look after the dogs in their care. But this statutory loophole leaves the door wide open for unscrupulous and negligent commercial dog breeders.

Today, I am reintroducing the Puppy Uniform Protection and Safety, or PUPS, Act with my colleague Senator Vitter. The PUPS Act would require breeders who sell more than 50 dogs a year directly to the public to obtain a license from the USDA.

This licensing process is simple and inexpensive, but it allows for better oversight of the facilities that keep dogs to ensure that they are complying with minimum Federal standards.

The media regularly reports stories about dogs rescued from substandard facilities--where dogs are housed in stacked wire cages and seriously ill and injured dogs are routinely denied access to veterinary care. This inhumane treatment has a direct bearing on the physical and mental health of the dogs. I have heard from veterinarians in Illinois, who share heart-breaking tales of families who welcomed new puppies into their homes, only to learn later that the animals had serious health or behavioral problems. In some cases, these puppies could be treated, but often at great expense to their owners.

My bill would also require that dogs and puppies housed at all licensed breeding facilities have space to run around, something we all know dogs love to do, on a surface that is solid, or at the very least non-wire.

It is my hope that extending and improving oversight of this industry through the PUPS Act will help protect the welfare of puppies and dogs in Illinois and across the country. Americans should feel confident about the health and well-being of the dog that they welcome into their family.