Why It Matters
The Truckload Carriers Association listed highway reauthorization among its lobbied issues in its 2026 Q3 report, while federal highway program funding runs only through Dec. 11 under an interim extension. The current extension covers highway, transit, and road-safety programs but is an interim measure, not a long-term reauthorization.
By the Numbers
The association's in-house third-quarter 2026 report discloses $164,916 in lobbying expenses. That's up $25,122 from the $139,794 reported in-house in the second quarter, and compared with the third quarter of 2025, when in-house spending was $126,747, the increase is $38,169.
Dave Heller, the association's senior vice president for safety and government affairs, is the sole lobbyist named on the in-house filing.
Broader Context
The filing lists six issues: Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Modernization, Truck Size and Weight, Truck Parking, Highway Funding, Highway Reauthorization, and Drug Testing, and separately names the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act and highway reauthorization.
H.R. 1659, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, was introduced by Rep. Mike Bost (R-IL-12) on Feb. 27, 2025, and referred to the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, where it remained as of the filing date. The bill would direct the Department of Transportation to award competitive grants for public commercial motor vehicle parking projects, with no fees charged to drivers. Congress.gov listed 54 cosponsors; no Senate companion was identified. The American Trucking Associations backed the bill, citing a proposed $755 million in grants and a Department of Transportation report finding 98% of drivers regularly struggle to find safe parking.
The House's BUILD America 250 Act (H.R. 8870), sponsored by Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO), proposed surface-transportation reauthorization through fiscal year 2031; the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced the measure, but no Senate action was identified. Congress enacted H.R. 6500 in September to extend existing authorizations through Dec. 11, 2026.
The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, the Teamsters, and the Truckload Carriers Association opposed proposals to increase commercial truck size and weight. The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association argued that larger and heavier trucks would reduce safety and adversely affect small trucking businesses.
Rep. Hillary Scholten (D-MI-3) posted in January that she had spoken with the association about infrastructure funding, workforce development, and driver safety. Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-TX-28) noted in September that he met with Landstar and the association about enforcing safety standards.
Competitive Landscape
Five other organizations are on record lobbying H.R. 1659: the National Association of Small Trucking Companies, the American Chemistry Council Inc., the American Trucking Associations Inc., the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and the Safer Hauling and Infrastructure Protection Coalition.
The Bottom Line
H.R. 1659, the Truck Parking Safety Improvement Act, was referred to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and its Congress.gov record shows no committee or floor action since.
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