OOIDA supports Sean Duffy as new DOT Secretary

WASHINGTON – The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association has issued a letter of support for Sean Duffy as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The letter was sent from OOIDA President and CEO Todd Spencer to Chairman Ted Cruz and Ranking Member Maria Cantwell.

“The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association (OOIDA) is the largest professional association representing the views of small business owners and professional truck drivers,” Spencer said in the letter. “We have approximately 150,000 members in all fifty states who collectively own and operate more than 240,000 individual heavy-duty trucks.

“We are writing to express our strong support for the confirmation of Sean Duffy as Secretary of the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). Mr. Duffy’s past support for small truck drivers shows us that he will bring the right perspective to the role and work to ensure DOT’s actions reflect the priorities of America’s professional drivers.”

Spencer said during Duffy’s time as a member of the U.S. House of Representatives, he demonstrated an interest in addressing the regulatory burdens placed on small business truck drivers. He signed a letter to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration expressing support for an OOIDA petition that would have exempted small truck drivers from the controversial electronic logging device (ELD) requirement. This was a reasonable petition that would have addressed the most onerous regulation ever enacted on the trucking industry.

“With this motion, Mr. Duffy recognized that there should be no one-size-fits-all regulations and, more importantly, that Congress and federal regulators should provide relief to small businesses when the regulations impose significant costs and provide little or no benefit,” says Spencer said. “We believe this is the appropriate regulatory approach for the Secretary and the DOT. Trucking is one of the most regulated industries in America. Although compliance has never been better, many of these policies have not improved safety or efficiency on the roads. These ineffective rules have driven up costs for small business owners and pushed many safe and experienced operators out of the industry. It is absolutely important that the Minister recognizes that it is not just mega-carriers with huge back offices, support staff and working capital that need to comply with these regulations. A significant portion of our members are individual truckload carriers, and the trucking industry in general is primarily made up of small businesses. Approximately 50% of registered motor carriers operate a single truck, and 85% of trucking companies operate six trucks or fewer.”

Spencer pointed out that in addition to driving trucks and managing the day-to-day operations of their business, the men and women who operate these small trucking companies must also ensure they are in compliance with all federal, state and local regulations. If confirmed, OOIDA expects Duffy would help the department review sweeping regulations that do nothing to improve safety and make it difficult for smaller truck drivers to succeed.

“Since his nomination, Mr. Duffy’s team has reached out to us to better understand the needs of small business owners and professional drivers,” Spencer said. “Too many issues ignore our members’ viewpoints in favor of larger trucking companies looking to maximize profits or ‘safety advocates’ with little trucking experience. We appreciate Mr Duffy and his team seeking our input because for any trucking or transport policy to be successful it must be supported by those who must play by the rules.”

Spencer added that OOIDA is pleased that Duffy received bipartisan support among senators for his confirmation. OOIDA focuses on actions that improve the lives and working conditions of the men and women who make their living behind the wheel. These policies do not clearly align with party political lines and OOIDA believes that the Minister should fairly consider policies and proposals regardless of obvious party political implications.

“Given his demonstrated interest in issues affecting small business owners and professional drivers and his efforts to better understand these issues, we believe that Mr. Duffy is well suited to serve as DOT Secretary and ask you to vote in favor of his to move forward with the nomination,” Spencer said.

Dana Guthrie is an award-winning journalist who has been featured in numerous newspapers, books and magazines around the world. She currently lives in the Atlanta, Georgia area.