USCA: Senators Introduce the “Livestock Hauler’s Wish List”
(WASHINGTON) – Today, Senators Ben Sasse (R-NE) and Jon Tester (D-MT) introduced a bipartisan bill to provide livestock haulers with regulatory relief from the restrictive Hours-of-Service (HOS) rules. The bill, the Transporting Livestock Across America Safely Act, offers a prescriptive and permanent solution to the “bull hauler’s hassle”. 17 other Senators joined in support of the legislation.
Specifically, the bill would make the following changes:
- Increase the exempt air miles from the current 150 to 300
- Increase the current driving time from 11 hours to not less than 15 and no more than 18 hours
- Grant flexibility for drivers to rest when they need to without counting against the hours of service time
- If a driver comes within 150 air miles of their delivery point, they may continue to finish their delivery regardless of hours of service.
- After the drive is completed a driver will rest for 10 hours if hours of service are 15 hours of driving time and for 13 hours of hours of service if driving time is 18 hours.
United States Cattlemen’s Association (USCA) Transportation Committee Chairman Steve Hilker issued the following statement:
“We greatly appreciate the work of Senators Tester and Sasse in bringing forth a prescriptive solution for livestock haulers that gives them the flexibility needed to get their live cargo to its destination as safely and efficiently as possible. This bill will not only allow drivers to take a rest break when it is needed, not when it is required, it will also increase the safety and welfare of the animals.
“USCA has led on this issue from the beginning and we will see it through to its end. We look forward to broad bipartisan support of this legislation that will allow for swift passage into law.”
Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith
| Senator Kevin Cramer | Senator Jerry Moran |
| Senator James Risch | Senator Doug Jones |
| Senator Steve Daines | Senator John Hoeven |
| Senator Marco Rubio | Senator Mike Rounds |
| Senator James Lankford | Senator Mike Braun |
| Senator Tina Smith | Senator Mike Enzi |
| Senator Mike Crapo | Senator Joni Ernst |
| Senator Pat Roberts | Senator Deb Fischer |
Established in March 2007, USCA is committed to enhancing and expanding the cattle industry’s voice on Capitol Hill. USCA has a full-time presence in Washington, giving cattle producers across the country a strong influence on policy development. For more information go to www.uscattlemen.org.