Pro-trucker' highway bill advances to House floor

‘Pro-trucker’ highway bill advances to House floor The BUILD America 250 Act has advanced through the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee with major pro-trucker priorities intact. During a markup hearing that began on Thursday, March 21 and concluded in the early-morning hours on Friday, March 22, the T&I Committee voted 62-2 in favor of the bipartisan measure. The $580 billion highway bill package now advances to the full House. Although dozens of amendments were introduced at the markup hearing, the package moves to the next stage of the legislative process, chock full of provisions that the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association listed as highway bill priorities during House testimony in 2025. Those OOIDA priorities that made their way into the highway bill include truck parking funding, restroom access for truck drivers, prohibition of predatory lease-purchase agreements, strengthened entry-level driver training standards and broker standards, improvements to the DataQ system, ELD certification process and the National Consumer Complaint Database; crackdowns on freight fraud and chameleon carriers; and implementation of a system that requires electric vehicles to contribute to the Highway Trust Fund. Perhaps just as important are the provisions that aren’t included. During OOIDA’s testimony in March 2025, Executive Vice President Lewie Pugh urged lawmakers to oppose increases to minimum liability insurance, mandates for speed limiters, side underride guards, hair testing, and funding for electric vehicles and charging stations. These are the reasons OOIDA is calling the current version of the BUILD America 250 Act “the most pro-trucker highway bill in recent memory.” “OOIDA commends the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure for passing the BUILD America 250 Act …” President Todd Spencer said. “OOIDA’s advocacy played a critical role in securing several priorities in this bipartisan effort, including a $750 million investment in truck parking, guaranteed restroom access at shipping facilities