6 / 30
6
Oregon Trucking Associations, Inc.
Oregon Truck Dispatch
LEGISLATIVE UPDATE
Bob Russell
OTA Vice President/
Government Affairs
2016 Election
I
am writing this three days after the election
and, quite frankly, I can’t say that I have even
begun to digest the impact. Trump’s
ascendency as our new President defies
conventional wisdom and was certainly not
predicted by any of the pollsters, political pundits
or lobbyists like me. It was fascinating to watch the
reaction of the mainstream media as the results
rolled in Tuesday night. Protests, or in some cases
riots, continue in major cities across the country
including Portland. Clearly, a lot of people are
shocked at what happened and do not yet accept
the results of the election. It is just different people
than those that we thought. Perhaps, it was
inevitable irrespective of the results given the tenor
of the campaigns.
What is clear is that there is a revolution going on
in our country that the political establishment and
the mainstream media must accept and respond to
in a positive manner for us to move forward. It
appears that it will take some time but it will also
require real leadership from our recently elected
officials. As of today, that’s not happening.
At least, some of Oregon liberal politicians are
attempting to conduct business as usual. Yesterday,
in the face of the presidential election and the
resounding defeat of Measure 97, here in Oregon,
the Senate President and Speaker were calling for
new revenue to balance the budget in 2017. There
was no mention of budget cuts. Clearly, they have
not yet digested recent events. I think they will
because I think the message will become
unavoidable as President-elect Trump develops his
transition plan and assumes the reigns of power.
It is certainly good news for us that President-elect
Trump campaigned on significantly increasing the
investment in infrastructure including our aging
highway system. Congress has not raised federal
fuel taxes since 1993 even though the trucking
industry has repeatedly asked for sizable increases.
This has put tremendous pressure on the states and
local governments to raise transportation revenues
themselves. Sometimes it feels like we are getting
nibbled to death by baby pigs. Now, that
Republicans control both houses of Congress and
the presidency, perhaps we will see some
movement. ATA’s new President, Chris Spear, has
indicated that he will actively participate in
President Elect Trump’s transition to advance the
industry’s position on highway infrastructure as
well as other issues that are important to us.
On election night, things changed here in Oregon
too, although, not nearly as significantly as they did
at the federal level. There will be one more
Republican in the Oregon Senate during the 2017
legislative session. As you know, Senator Betsy
Johnson often votes with the Republicans on key
business issues. For example, she voted against the
Low Carbon Fuel Standard, the sick leave mandate
and raising the minimum wage. With 17 Democrats
and 13 Republicans, the Senate will require one
Republican vote and Senator Johnson to increase
It is certainly good news for us that President-elect Trump
campaigned on significantly increasing the investment
in infrastructure including our aging highway system.
Congress has not raised federal fuel taxes since 1993 even though
the trucking industry has repeatedly asked for sizable increases.