FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
Contact: Sean McNally |
April 2, 2014 |
703-838-1995 |
Trucking Exec to Congress: ‘Common Sense’ Hazmat Changes Needed
Arlington, Va. – Today, William Downey, executive vice president for corporate affairs and
chief security officer at The Kenan Advantage Group, said before the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that several statutory changes are
necessary in order to improve the safety and security of hazardous materials
shipments.
“Today, I want to
propose four common sense solutions that will improve safety, security and
efficient operations of transporting hazardous materials,” Downey told the
panel’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials on behalf
of American Trucking Associations.
First, Downey called
on Congress to limit the requirement for fingerprint-based background checks to
drivers transporting security-sensitive hazardous materials, saying that a move
would “save commercial drivers and the federal government both time and money
without compromising security.”
Second, Downey said
Congress should block proposed “wetlines” regulations
based on a report from the Government Accountability Office that found such a
rule’s benefits would be few to none and that its costs were underestimated.
Downey also said
Congress should clarify accountability in hazmat transportation by
distinguishing the functions performed by shippers versus those performed by
carriers and that the federal government should step in and reform the state
hazmat transportation permitting process.
“This committee,”
Downey said in calling for these changes, “has an opportunity to capitalize on
the successes of MAP-21.”
To read Downey’s
testimony, click here.
American Trucking Associations is
the largest national trade association for the trucking industry. Through a
federation of 50 affiliated state trucking associations and industry-related
conferences and councils, ATA is the
voice of the industry America depends on most to move our nation’s freight. Follow
ATA on Twitter or on Facebook. Trucking Moves
America Forward.
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