Members of Congress are still pulling for livestock haulers.
On Tuesday, April 30, Sens. Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Jon Tester (D-MT) reintroduced the “Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act” to the Senate. The bill—S. 1255—was the same as S. 2938, which died in committee in the 115th Congress last year. But supporters see increased infrastructure interest in Congress as a hopeful sign.
The bill specifically addresses concerns first raised by livestock haulers in 2016 against the electronic logging devices (ELDs) mandate. The mandate took effect in December of 2017.
Since then, various waivers and extensions have combined to push back the ELD mandate on livestock haulers to Sept. 30, 2019. Still, livestock groups have been pursuing a more permanent fix to the situation.
Lia Biondo, director of policy and outreach with the U.S. Cattlemen’s Association (USCA), explained that part of that effort involved “countless conversations both on the Hill and in the agencies to discuss pressure points within the mandate and how legislation could help.”
“We greatly appreciate the work of Senators Tester and Sasse in bringing forth a prescriptive solution for livestock haulers that gives them the flexibility needed to get their live cargo to its destination as safely and efficiently as possible,” said Steve Hilker, USCA’s transportation committee chairman, in the group’s response to the bill.
“This bill will not only allow drivers to take a rest break when it is needed, not when it is required; it will also increase the safety and welfare of the animals.”
The changes proposed by the bill include:
• Increase the exempt air miles from the current 150 to 300;
• Exclude time related to loading and unloading of livestock from “on-duty time;”
• Increase the allowable drive time;
• Provide greater flexibility on timing and length of rest periods; and
• Allow for drivers within 150 air miles of their delivery point to finish their delivery regardless of hours of service.
Colin Woodall, senior vice president of government affairs with the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association, praised the bill for acknowledging that transporting livestock is inherently different than other consumer goods and that ELD hours of service requirements are not conducive to animal welfare.
“Live cattle cannot simply be left unattended in a trailer—especially in very hot or cold weather—for extended periods of time. This bill recognizes the unique needs of livestock haulers, and we are grateful for the continued support of Senator Sasse and the other co-sponsors.”
Senate effort 2.0
The new bill shares all of its text, one of its sponsors (Sasse), and most of its cosponsors with the earlier bill. That bill was introduced to the Senate by Sasse in May 2018, and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation where it died without further action. This new bill has been referred to the same committee.
The difference with the current bill lies in the situation, according to Biondo.
“There is a renewed interest in Congress on infrastructure, particularly surface transportation. We hope that in the $2 trillion that leadership has earmarked for this priority, that they will include this particular fix for livestock haulers,” she told WLJ.
“We’re confident that with the support of the countryside, we will be able to see this bill across the finish line,” she said, stressing that ranchers reaching out to their representatives in Congress on issues like this is very important.
Congressional copycats
The very next day following the announcement of S. 1255, House Agriculture Committee Chairman Collin Peterson (D-MN-07) and Rep. Greg Pence (R-IN-06) announced the reintroduction of the Modernizing Agricultural Transportation Act as H.R. 2460.
This bill was a word-for-word reintroduction of S. 3051 introduced to the 115th Senate last year. It also closely mirrors the goals of one of Peterson’s bills from 2018, H.R 5949. In both cases, the bills died in committee.
The new House bill is a companion to S. 600, which was introduced in the Senate earlier this year.
Hilker welcomed both new bills, saying, “We applaud Congress for working every angle to come up with solutions that would allow for the safe and efficient movement of cattle throughout the country.” — Kerry Halladay, WLJ editor
