EASTON, Pa. — Members of the Lehigh Valley trucking community urged U.S. Rep. Ryan Mackenzie to help ease federal regulations and taxes on their industry during a tour of a South Side depot Friday afternoon.
Mackenzie, R-Lehigh Valley, met with about a dozen people during an hourlong visit to Ward Transport & Logistics Corp.
The Altona-based company employs 1,700 people, including about 110 at its Hilton Street location. After taking questions and feedback from trucking officials, Mackenzie took an 18-wheeler for a spin in the company's parking lot.
The group addressed the new congressman on issues from emission laws to regulations blocking young truck drivers from crossing interstate lines.
That last issue chases young workers into other lines of work since it often limits the routes they can perform and caps their earnings, said Rebecca Oyler, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association. They saw little safety benefits from the rule.
"You could drive from here to Erie, but you can't drive from here to Jersey," she said a mile or two from the state line.
Bill Ward Jr., the company president, urged Mackenzie to have Congress address its 12% excise tax on heavy duty trucks. Congress passed the law in 1917 to help finance the cost of World War I, but the tax has remained on the books ever since, he said. His company replaces about 40 tractors a year, which sell for about $155,000 each.
"You could drive from here to Erie, but you can't drive from here to Jersey."Rebecca Oyler, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association
Nearly every commodity in the United States moves by truck at some point, Ward said, leaving trucking companies to pass on the cost to customers across the American economy.
Emissions standards
And Ron Scholler Jr., a salesman with TransEdge Truck Centers in South Whitehall Township, told Mackenzie that urgent action was needed about Pennsylvania's emission laws.
In 2002, the state tied its emission standards to California's. Since then, California has adopted zero emission rules with the intent of moving the market to electric vehicles.
The change has ground truck sales in the Golden State to a halt, Scholler said. If the same trend occurs in Pennsylvania and other states, he said, the effects would be devastating. The PMTA and others have sued Pennsylvania in a bid to stop the regulations from going into effect next January. Congress, Scholler said, cannot allow California to set the national standard on emission rules.
"Shelves are going to be empty. People are going to lose jobs," Scholler said.
"Shelves are going to be empty. People are going to lose jobs."Ron Scholler Jr., salesman with TransEdge Truck Centers in South Whitehall Township
Mackenzie mostly listened to the input without committing to any outcomes.
When Scholler continued to press him on the emission standards, Mackenzie compared the situation to the problems in the federal government being created by the new Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
The new office, led by billionaire Elon Musk, has drawn criticism for making broad cuts to the federal government without considering the consequences of those actions.
"The concept is great, but then the execution and practical application is another factor," Mackenzie said, adding that Congress needs to act with due diligence.
