3PL Perspectives
TIA CONTINUES TO vigorously advocate for three top legislative priorities in addition to monitoring dozens of other legislative and regulatory actions from Washington, D.C., and state capitals across the country. Additionally, TIA maintains a robust PAC, derived from our members’ generous contributions to this fund and used to support Members of Congress who support our agenda. We would not be where we are on Capitol Hill without the support of our incredible members. These are the best logistics and transportation companies in the market. They are dedicated and hardworking, we thank you for your membership!
Our members deserve clarity and expect a fair evaluation during their carrier selection process. Today they get neither. The Federal government has failed to do its part of the deal in the carrier rating process, leaving 90% of carriers unrated. Because of these failures, TIA has been advocating for a federal motor carrier safety selection standard and a complete overhaul of the motor carrier safety rating process. Our legislation proposes that the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) change this system to one based on data. Use the input from the state level to drive the carrier rating. This is a winwin for both the brokers and carriers. This language was very close to becoming part of the large infrastructure package passed and signed into law last year because of strong bipartisan support. But in a last-minute move, the House Rules Committee ruled that our amendment was “out of order” and not germane to the legislation, even though the language was perfectly germane and was removed by politics.
The United States Senate has sent TIA-backed legislation through the Homeland and Governmental Affairs Committee in the upper chamber. S.2322, the “C-TPAT Pilot Program Act,” now waits for a full Senate vote. Lead sponsor, Senator John Cornyn (R-TX), has led the charge on this legislation and is now pushing for approval via unanimous consent. This method means that the bill would pass unless someone reports opposition versus a traditional vote which every senator goes on the record. Across the Capitol in the House of Representatives, (at this writing) Representatives Slotkin (D-MI) and Miller-Meeks (R-IA) are preparing to introduce their companion piece to S.2322. The language will be almost identical with some minor changes. This legislation is critical for our members as they have seen business come and go for years because they could not certify C-TPAT status for their brokerage. It is important to note that this should never have been a problem, to begin with, as Congress was clear with their intent—brokers belong in C-TPAT.
TIA continues to tackle the issue of double brokering in the supply chain head-on. Our government affairs team is requesting appropriated dollars and formal direction from the Department of Transportation (DOT) to investigate and control the glaring problem of double brokering in the supply chain. This could not be possible without the help of our dedicated TIA members who are tired of paying for loads twice, and losing customers’ freight to these criminal actors. TIA made an affirmative effort to crack down on this in MAP-21, the Obama-era transportation law that said that if you want to broker freight, you must have the license and the proper bond or trust in place. These entities have neither and are putting good brokers like yourself in harm’s way while giving the industry a bad reputation.
TIA received a significant victory in our effort to push back on bad actors in the supply chain on the regulatory front. Through filings from the federal government, FMCSA has confirmed that revisions to the National Consumer Complaint Database will include a more straightforward path for brokers to file complaints.
A lot is going on in the department and at TIA. We look forward to working with you on upcoming events like our TIA Policy Forum happening in just a few months. We could not do our best work on Capitol Hill without our members’ guidance and industry insight, for that, we thank you.
