Senate impasse freezes highway funds, sends DOT employees home

rookietrucker · Mar 1, 2010

Senate impasse freezes highway funds, sends DOT employees home

WASHINGTON Two thousand federal transportation workers will be furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it.

Federal reimbursements to states for highway programs will also be halted, the Transportation Department said in a statement late Sunday. The reimbursements amount to about $190 million a day, according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

The furloughs and freeze on payments were the result of a decision last week by Republican Sen. Jim Bunning to block passage of legislation that would have extended federal highway and transit programs, the department said. Those programs expired at midnight Sunday.

The extension of transportation programs was part of a larger package of government programs that also expired Sunday, including unemployment benefits for about 400,000 Americans.

more here>> Senate impasse freezes highway funds, sends DOT employees home

Click to expand...

TruckPreacher · Mar 1, 2010

My problem is not that the Highway bill did not pass, I am wondering why that unemployment benefits are attached to this Highway Bill?
It should not be.

kajidono · Mar 1, 2010

Yeah exactly. Remember what I said about job security, Mike? Got ya.

rookietrucker · Mar 1, 2010

Senate impasse puts federal employees out of work

WASHINGTON Two thousand federal transportation workers were furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it.

Federal reimbursements to states for highway programs will also be halted, the Transportation Department said in a statement late Sunday. The reimbursements amount to about $190 million a day, according to the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The furloughs and freeze on payments were the result of a decision last week by Republican Sen. Jim Bunning to block passage of legislation that would have extended federal highway and transit programs, the department said. Those programs expired at midnight Sunday.

The extension of transportation programs was part of a larger package of government programs that also expired Sunday, including unemployment benefits for about 400,000 Americans.

Bunning objected to the $10 billion measure, saying it would add to the budget deficit. He didn't respond to a request Monday for comment.

more here>> Senate impasse puts federal employees out of work

Click to expand...

joecitizen · Mar 1, 2010

i just got off the phone with the california division of the fmcsa and was told there is a funding issue but they are still operating. my concern is i am about to pay my insurance premium to reactivate my carrier authority. my luck i pay the insurance and then the fmcsa closes all offices and i still cant haul anything...

joecitizen · Mar 1, 2010

DOT information on furloughs...

http://www.dot.gov/announcements/20100228.htm

rookietrucker · Mar 1, 2010

DOT shutdown: Trickle-down has serious gravity

Truckers applying for DOT authority, waiting for grants or new-entrant audits are going to have to wait this one out. Thousands of U.S. Department of Transportation employees will be off the job without pay starting Tuesday, March 2, thanks to the U.S. Senates failure to pass a routine funding extension last week. That means furloughs for FMCSA, FHWA, NHTSA and the Federal Transit Authority.

According to the U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the shutdown stands to affect $768 million in infrastructure projects if Congress fails to act by weeks end. On hold are things like the FMCSAs Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program grants and new entrant audits, the T&I Committee reported.

Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-NV, adjourned on Friday after a Republican senator from Kentucky, Jim Bunning, blocked a bill that included a $10 billion temporary extension of the Highway Trust Fund. The fund has been surviving on a series of temporary extensions since authority expired in September 2009.

Mike Joyce, director of legislative affairs for the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association, said the transportation extension was a casualty in a fight over a larger bill that traces back to the healthcare debate. The bill also included extensions to unemployment benefits and COBRA and Medicare reimbursements to doctors.

more here>> DOT shutdown: Trickle-down has serious gravity

Click to expand...

phroziac · Mar 2, 2010

cobra is the biggest joke i have ever heard of. Yeah, you can have your insurance. I've never met someone who could afford it.

outerspacehillbilly · Mar 2, 2010

Two thousand federal transportation workers will be furloughed without pay on Monday, and the Obama administration said they have a Kentucky senator to blame for it.
Click to expand...

Like they would take credit for any wrong doing in anything! Always blame someone else.

Can you say CSA 2020 anyone?

outerspacehillbilly · Mar 2, 2010

phroziac said: ↑

cobra is the biggest joke i have ever heard of. Yeah, you can have your insurance. I've never met someone who could afford it.
Click to expand...

Yeah last time i could have got cobra it was something like $3000 a month! Yeah right.

Log in or Sign up

Forums

Find Trucking Jobs

Senate impasse freezes highway funds, sends DOT employees home

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

TruckPreacher Light Load Member

kajidono Road Train Member

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

joecitizen Light Load Member

joecitizen Light Load Member

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

phroziac Road Train Member

outerspacehillbilly "Instigator of the Legend"

outerspacehillbilly "Instigator of the Legend"

Trucking Jobs in 30 seconds

Wait, employers can't reach you!

Log in or Sign up

Useful Searches

Find Trucking Jobs

Senate impasse freezes highway funds, sends DOT employees home

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

Wait, employers can't reach you!

TruckPreacher Light Load Member

kajidono Road Train Member

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

joecitizen Light Load Member

joecitizen Light Load Member

rookietrucker Trucker Forum STAFF Staff Member

phroziac Road Train Member

outerspacehillbilly "Instigator of the Legend"

outerspacehillbilly "Instigator of the Legend"

Wait, employers can't reach you!