Senate Bill Introduced to Criminalize Staged Accidents
Last Tuesday, Sen. Ashley Moody (R-FL) introduced the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act. S. 5058 is the Senate companion to a bill led in the House by Rep. Mike Collins (R-GA). It would make intentionally staging an accident with a CMV a federal offense with specific criminal penalties, and ensure that attorneys, physicians, and other co-conspirators are held accountable if they knowingly participate in these fraudulent schemes.
ATA strongly supports the legislation. ATA Chief Advocacy & Public Affairs Officer Henry Hanscom stated: “ATA commends Senator Ashley Moody for introducing the Staged Accident Fraud Prevention Act, which would close legal loopholes that criminals are exploiting to target America’s hardworking truckers. By establishing clear, enforceable criminal penalties, we can finally put an end to this dangerous and costly practice.”
ATA will work closely with Senator Moody and other champions in Congress to advance this bill to the President’s desk.
Connected Vehicles Legislation Set for Senate Commerce Consideration
Last Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee unanimously approved an amended version of the Connected Vehicles Security Act, sponsored by Sens. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and Elissa Slotkin (D-MI). This bill would prohibit the importation of Chinese connected vehicle hardware and software to protect national security and American innovations in these spaces.
ATA has worked closely with the bill’s sponsors to improve the bill to ensure that the unique needs of heavy-duty truck manufacturers are addressed separately from the concerns that primarily impact passenger and light-duty vehicles. ATA will continue these efforts to improve and advance a measure that promotes national security for our truck manufacturing supply chains. As approved by the Committee, the bill is likely to be included as part of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act due to its relevance to national security.
House Committee Advance 2nd Bill Clarifying Joint Employer Definition
On Tuesday, the House Education & Workforce Committee approved the American Franchise Act, H.R. 5267. This bill, led by Rep. Kevin Hern (R-OK), clarifies the definition of a joint employer for franchisors and franchisees under the National Labor Relations Act.
ATA is closely monitoring this issue and is strongly supportive of a similar measure, the Save Local Business Act, which is more applicable to the trucking industry as it clarifies the joint employer standard for employers under both the National Labor Relations Act and Fair Labor Standards Act. The Save Local Business Act was approved by the House Education & Workforce Committee last July, and ATA is working with House leadership to advance this meaningful legislation on the House floor later this year.
House Republicans Approve Reconciliation 3.0 Blueprint
On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved a budget resolution that would provide $95 billion in deficit spending for the war in Iran ($73 billion), aid to farmers ($12 billion), and efforts to prevent voting fraud ($10 billion). The bill does not include any proposals for changes to tax revenues, which potentially would have been a vehicle for key ATA priorities.
House Republican Leadership is seeking to advance these party-line priorities to the President’s desk but will face stiff resistance from fiscal conservatives in the House. However, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) has publicly stated that there are not 50 Republican votes in the chamber, and as a result he does not plan to bring this resolution to the floor. Should this proposal advance, the budget resolution would set up conflicts with the Senate Parliamentarian and moderate Senate Republicans.
Congress has a very limited window to debate legislation prior to the November midterm Congressional elections. ATA will work closely with champions of the trucking industry in both the House and Senate to advance trucking priorities on any legislation that can pass Congress in 2026.
Congress Set to Start Negotiating Final FY2027 NDAA
Last week, the House passed its version of the FY2027 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). While the Senate version of this bill failed to gather 60 votes to advance to debate, the bipartisan blueprint approved by the Senate Armed Services Committee and “managers package” of bipartisan amendments that was primed for floor consideration will serve as the starting point for that chamber in negotiations.
Major sticking points for the fate of the legislation include further hostilities against Iran without Congressional approval as well as the overall requested spending level of $1.15 trillion. However, the NDAA has passed Congress for 65 consecutive years and will likely be one of the final pieces of legislation in the 119th Congress. ATA is working hard to ensure that the final omnibus bill will include key trucking priorities such as the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act (CORCA) and legislation to prohibit and limit the import of Chinese connected vehicle technologies.
Senate HELP Vote on Sonderling DOL Nomination Delayed
A planned vote in the Senate Health, Education, Labor & Pensions (HELP) Committee on the nomination of Keith Sonderling to serve as the next Secretary of Labor was delayed last week due to attendance issues. The vote is now scheduled for this Thursday, July 30th. Sonderling was previously confirmed by the Senate in March 2025 to serve as Deputy Secretary of Labor.
ATA strongly supports his nomination and submitted a letter to the Committee encouraging his swift confirmation. The letter of support noted that Sonderling possesses the deep workforce expertise, strong policy judgment, and agency management experience that is vitally important to ensuring steady, thoughtful leadership of DOL. The Committee will meet on Thursday morning to vote on his nomination.
Election Update
Last week, Arizona held closely watched primaries. At the top of the ticket, Rep. Andy Biggs from the 5th district had a virtually clean sweep in the gubernatorial Republican primary which included Rep. David Schweikert from the 1st District. He will now face current Governor Katie Hobbs (D) in November. Other races of note are below:
- AZ-01: Former state legislator and 2024 nominee Amish Shah prevailed over Democrat establishment-backed Marlene Galan-Woods. Shah lost to Schweikert last cycle by 4 points. Shah will face former NFL kicker Jay Feely (R) in November. This highly competitive race is being closely watched as a key seat to decide the majority in the House next Congress.
- AZ-04: Rep. Greg Stanton (D) defended his seat against activist Kai Newkirk in his first primary in recent memory.
- AZ-05: Former Pinal County Sheriff Mark Lamb (R) prevailed in a closer than expected primary against construction company owner Daniel Keenan.
The next state primary elections will be held in Virgina, Kansas, Michigan, Missouri, and Washington on August 4th.
Committee Notes
- On Wednesday, July 22nd, the Senate Budget Committee held its first hearing following the unexpected loss of Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) with the new Committee Chairman Ron Johnson (R-WI). Sen. Darline Graham, who was appointed to fill the remainder of her brother’s term, has officially joined the Budget, Judiciary, Appropriations (including the Transportation subcommittee), and Environment & Public Works Committees.
- Also on Wednesday, the Senate Finance Committee held a hearing with U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer on President Trump’s 2026 trade policy agenda. A frequent topic was the fate of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), which is currently under review. Greer remained optimistic that an interim agreement would be finalized by the end of the year; however, he noted labor and environmental issues would still be negotiated into 2027.
- On Monday, July 20th, and Tuesday July 21st, the House Energy & Commerce Committee held full Committee markups on energy and healthcare legislation. Of the 40 bills that were considered, the Pipeline Safety Authorization Act of 2026 was advanced unanimously by voice vote. On Wednesday, July 22nd, the House Ways & Means Committee held a markup and advanced four bills that would provide greater transparency for foreign funding in tax-exempt sectors. ATA was encouraged by this markup and looks forward to working with the Committee on bringing transparency to foreign investments in third-party litigation financing.
- On Friday, July 24th, the House Education & Workforce Committee held its eighth hearing in their ‘Building an AI-Ready America’ series on AI’s impact on the workforce. This hearing was held at the Georgia Cyber Innovation and Training Center with stakeholders from academia, a union representative, agriculture, and biotechnology.
Grassroots Update
Last week, the Georgia Trucking Association brought 8 attendees to D.C. to visit with their full delegation. The group met with tort reform champion Rep. Mike Collins as well as Reps. Austin Scott, Buddy Carter, and Sen. Jon Ossoff. GTA’s group was able to share stories about this overly litigious environment from the perspective of attorneys with firsthand experience defending the trucking industry, motor carriers, drayage companies, and a trailer manufacturer.
Following advocacy from the Maine Motor Transport Association, Sen. Angus King (I-ME) joined as the 49th cosponsor of the Combating Organized Retail Crime Act. Interested in engaging with your Senators on CORCA? Please click this link to send a letter to your Senators asking for their continued support.
ATA’s Call on Washington program will return with the Moving & Storage Conference’s annual visit to Washington D.C. on September 16th. Interested in participating in Call on Washington or hosting a truck terminal visit with your Member of Congress? Email Abbey Schroeder (aschroeder@trucking.org).
The Week Ahead
The House has adjourned for August recess, but the Senate is in session this week. The next Hill Report will be sent on August 3rd.