WASHINGTON - Results from this month's national elections seem to offer lots of good news for the motorcoach and over-the-road bus industry.
Whether you agree with the outcome or not, the fact Republicans retained control of the House and Senate should make it easier for the industry to advance its issues. By that, we mean private-sector initiatives, especially those included in the massive federal highway and public transportation bill that has been languishing in Congress for more than a year.
The key, says Norman Littler, senior vice president of government and industry relations at the United Motorcoach Association, is to sustain the political pressure that was built during the past year by a coalition of private bus industry associations; retiring Rep. Doug Ose of California and his jabs at the Federal Transit Administration; Sen. Richard Shelby of Alabama; Rep. Ernest Istook of Oklahoma, and grassroots support from operators across the U.S.
"We have an opportunity now to really capitalize on the momentum gained from the Ose hearings to strengthen the charter prohibitions and hold the transits' feet to the fire," added Victor Parra, president and CEO of UMA.
During the year, Congressman Ose chaired two major hearings in the House that laid bare failures by the Federal Transit Administration to enforce its own rules and penalize maverick public transit agencies that ignore federal prohibitions against engaging in charter bus service.
The big unknown in Washington, however, remains the stalled highway and public transportation bill. Parra and Littler expect there will be a strong push by Congress to get the six-year highway-transportation bill passed. Both think it is possible President Bush will relent and be willing to sign a bill that is above the $256 billion-$280 billion limit he indicated before the elections he was willing to tolerate.
Congress, of course, has held out for a larger bill, more on the order to $300 billion or (much) more.
There remain political observers who think the president may try to stick to his pre-election position as a gesture to the political conservatives who voted in such large numbers to put him back in the White House.
Twice this year, The Washington Post has reported that the administration has sent memos to several agencies, including the Transportation Department and the Environmental Protection Agency, saying budget cuts should be expected during a second term.
Although there will be some shifting of committee assignments in the wake of the elections, at least the motorcoach industry won't be forced to gin up a major effort to educate a new batch of committee chairmen as it would if there were a swap in party control and wholesale changes in committee assignments.
Here are some of the committee changes being talked about in Washington:
Sen. John McCain of Arizona reportedly wants to step down as chairman of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee. Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska would likely move into the chairman's slot, and Democratic Sen. Daniel Inouye of Hawaii would become the commerce committee's ranking minority member, replacing retiring Sen. Fritz Hollings of South Carolina.
Defeated presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry would return as ranking minority member of the Committee on Small Business and Entrepreneurship, which is chaired by Sen. Olympia Snow of Maine.
"Hopefully, President Bush will take a page from Sen. Kerry and push for more support for small business, including expansion of the 7(a) loan program and other SBA programs," said Parra. Bush pledged at his first post-election news conference to continue efforts to move the economy forward, but he did not get into program specifics.
The Democrats have to pick a new minority leader to replace defeated Sen. Tom Daschle of South Dakota. Sen. Harry Reid of Nevada , the minority whip, is seen as the leading candidate.
Few changes are expected among key House committees.
The overhaul of the Bush cabinet almost certainly will impact the industry with a new secretary of the Department of Transportation. Current USDOT Secretary Norman Mineta is expected to decamp, and early speculation about a replacement has centered on Elaine Chow, secretary of the Labor Department; Marion C. Blakey, chairwoman of the Federal Aviation Administration, and Michael Jackson, the former deputy secretary at the Transportation Department.
Of course, a lot of folks in the industry would like to see the administration clean house at the FTA, with Administrator Jenna Dorn and her general counsel shown the door.