Document Md7OKdYxZMwaJ2bkdD38qvLM

SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION Full Committee Nominations Hearing Wednesday, July 16, 2025, at 10:00 A.M. DEMOCRATIC QUESTIONS FOR THE RECORD Mr. Derek Barrs COVER PAGE SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL (D-WA) OST-2025-1200 Page 01358 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024545 Barrs Federal Workforce Staffing Cuts In May, DOT paused its planned reductions in force due to ongoing litigation. On July 8, the Supreme Court allowed the Administration to move forward with widespread firings. There is now uncertainty about what actions DOT plans to take. Meanwhile, 13.7 percent of Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) employees have already left the agency through the deferred resignation program. Question 1: Yes or No: Do you oppose a reduction-in-force at FMCSA, particularly when the agency has already lost nearly 14 percent of its workforce? Answer: Question 2: Are you concerned that widespread departures may be contributing to the decline in enforcement of commercial motor vehicle safety laws? Answer: Autonomous Vehicle Safety and AI Moratorium Mr. Bans, some of my colleagues have proposed prohibiting state and local governments from regulating AI. This would include prohibiting states from imposing safety and reporting requirements on autonomous vehicles. Question 1: Are you aware of any federal requirements to ensure the safe operation of autonomous trucks? Answer: Question 2: If the federal government does not have any safety requirements, do you think it make sense to prohibit states like Florida from ensuring autonomous trucks are safe to operate on public roads? Answer: Fatigue and Truck Accidents There were 54 fatal accidents with large trucks in Washington State last year, and 1,200 more accidents that resulted in injuries. The NTSB has frequently cited fatigue as a significant factor in fatal truck crashes. To ensure that truck and bus drivers are getting the rest they need, drivers must comply with hours-of-service requirements. However, in President Trump's first term DOT created a loophole to allow truck drivers to continue driving a loaded truck as long as it was for a personal reason known as personal convenience. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Alliance found that about 40 percent of drivers were misusing this flexibility, and those drivers were four times as likely to be in a crash. Question 1: Yes or No: If confirmed, would you work to close this loophole? Answer: Reconciliation Bill and Overtime for Truck Drivers 2 OST-2025-1200 Page 01359 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024546 Barrs President Trump has touted his recent tax bill as the largest tax cut in history for middle- and working-class Americans." One key provision is intended to eliminate taxes on overtime for workers. There are 3.5 million truck drivers employed in this country, including 34,500 truck drivers in the State of Washington. Truck drivers are exempted from receiving overtime under the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. We hear from the Trucking Industry frequently about the driver shortage. Question 1: Do you think that preventing truck drivers from receiving a tax exemption on overtime payments will help or hurt the trucking industry's ability to recruit new drivers? Answer: Driver Training Currently federal entry level driver training requirements do not require truck drivers to spend a certain number of hours training behind the wheel of a truck. However, in a negotiated rulemaking a broad coalition of trucking companies, drivers, and safety groups agreed that it would be appropriate for drivers to receive at least 30 hours of behind the wheel training. Question 2: Do you think the Entry Level Driver Training requirements need to be reviewed to require some amount of behind-the-wheel training? Answer: Under 21-Year-Old Truck Drivers According to the American Trucking Associations (ATA), the industry is facing a shortage of 60,000 truck drivers. However, truck drivers under the age of 21 are not permitted in interstate commerce, despite being able to drive in intrastate commerce in most states. Question 1: Do you believe that allowing 18-year-olds to drive in interstate commerce is a good solution to address ATA's concerns about a trucking shortage. Answer: Lease to Own Agreements The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created a task force to study predatory lease to purchase agreements for truck drivers. The task force, made up of a broad group including carriers, owneroperators, lessors, attorneys, and economists recommended that these lease to purchase agreements be banned. Question 1: Do you agree these agreements should be banned? Answer: Questions 2: What steps will you take at FMCSA to address the recommendations in this report? Answer: Universal Identifiers 3 OST-2025-1200 Page 01360 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024547 Barrs The Commercial Vehicle Safety Alliance, which represents many state commercial vehicle enforcement organizations, has recommended that FMCSA require universal identifiers on all trucks to improve enforcement efficiency. However, some truck drivers have raised privacy concerns with the technology. Question 1: Do you think that universal identifiers are beneficial to truck safety enforcement? Answer: Question 2: What actions regarding universal identifiers would you take at FMCSA? Answer: SENATOR ED MARKEY (D-MA) OST-2025-1200 Page 01361 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024548 Barrs Automatic Emergency Braking The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law required DOT to issue a final rule to require Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) on all newly manufactured large trucks by November 2023. DOT estimates this technology will save over a hundred lives, prevent thousands of injuries, and tens of thousands of crashes involving large trucks every year. This critical standard is nearly 2 years overdue. Question 1: Do you commit to expedite the completion of thefinal AEB rule? When is your target date to issue the final rule? Answer: Quarterly Motor Carrier Safety Progress Report Question 1: Do you commit to ensuring Quarterly Motor Carrier Safety Progress Reports are transparently published in a timely manner? Answer: Truck Underrides The FMCSA report on side underride guards published in 2020 excluded any data on the number of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists that would be saved by the device. Subsequently, NHTSA did not account for these lives in its cost-benefit analysis in the 2023 ANPRM. This means the lives of at least two of my constituents -- Minh-Thi Nguyen and Sidney Olson -- were not accounted for in the benefits of a safety regulation that could have saved their lives. In April, the FMCSA denied a petition by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety to correct its report and include lives saved of pedestrians, cyclists, and motorcyclists. Question 1: Do you commit to reverse this decision and ensure the lives of my constituents are included in the FMCSA's report on the benefits ofside underride guards? Answer: Staffing Cuts According to recent reporting by Politico, 13.7 percent of FMCSA's employees took the Delayed Resignation Program offer. Question 1: At an agency whose chief mission is safety, do you support these drastic cuts to FMCSA's workforce? Answer: Question 2: What actions will you take to ensure FMCSA has the staff it needs to deliver on its safety mission? Answer: 5 OST-2025-1200 Page 01362 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024549 Barrs SENATOR GARY PETERS (D-MI) 1. The impact of heavier and longer trucks on our roads has been an ongoing concern I've heard from trucking, labor, and law enforcement. As the cost of replacing aging infrastructure continues to rise and accidents involving larger trucks climb, will you commit to working with a diverse industry stakeholder group when considering any changes to federal weight and length limits for trucks? 2. One of the most persistent and dangerous challenges in the freight sector is the national shortage of safe and available truck parking. When drivers are unable to find parking, they are forced to make unsafe choices--such as parking on highway shoulders or in unsecure locations--which puts both them and other road users at risk. New technologies that leverage real-time data sharing and predictive intelligence could offer solutions to help fleet managers and drivers locate available parking, and help state DOTs better plan where to best locate new parking capacity. If confirmed, how will you work to advance safe and adequate truck parking nationwide, and will you include the use of innovative technologies in addressing this challenge? SENATOR BEN RAY LUJAN (D-NM) 6 OST-2025-1200 Page 01363 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024550 Barrs 1. The role of the Department of Transportation is to ensure all vehicles, including those equipped with partially or fully automated driving systems, are safe for all road users. In 2024, nearly 70% of all vehicles sold in the US had some form of automated driving system. One of the most prevalent issues leading to AV crashes is over-trust in the automated system, leading to lack of oversight by the human in the loop. Trust in these systems is built on the assumption that the government is performing its oversight duties to ensure cars and roads are safe for everyone. (a) What do you plan to do to ensure drivers' trust in commercial AV technology is not misguided? How do you plan to enforce safety mechanisms in commercial autonomous vehicles so we can all benefit from the promise of these technologies? (b) hat do you believe are the biggest safety concerns or challenges that are unique to commercial autonomous vehicles? 7 OST-2025-1200 Page 01364 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024551 Barrs SENATOR JOHN HICKENLOOPER (D-CO) Commercial Driver's License Audits & Oversight Last year, we witnessed tragic fatalities in Jefferson County, Colorado, that involved trucking companies failing safety standards or employees unlicensed truck drivers. In response to our Sept. 2024 letter expressing these safety concerns to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), we learned: In Fiscal Year 2023, 705 motor carriers were identified with Commercial Drivers License (CDL) violations; In Fiscal Year 2024, 683 motor carriers had CDL violations. Every violation by motor carriers to ensure their drivers maintain valid CDL licenses puts more lives at risk. How will FMCSA improve its oversight and increasefrequency ofauditing the CDL registrationsfor commercial truck drivers? Automatic Emergency Braking The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) required DOT to issue a final rule to require Automatic Emergency Braking (AEB) on all newly manufactured large trucks by November 2023. DOT estimates this technology will save over a hundred lives, prevent thousands of injuries, and tens of thousands of crashes involving large trucks annually. This critical standard is nearly 2 years overdue. What steps willyou commit to taking to expedite the completion of thefinal AEB rule? When is your target date to issue thefinal rule? 8 OST-2025-1200 Page 01365 Sierra Club v. Dept. of Transp. - 3:25-cv-06221 SC_EVERSPLIT0024552