Spend More on Highways and BridgesThere’s little agreement among witnesses on the best way to boost surface infrastructure spending, but they all want Uncle Sam to open his wallet more. Aside from raising the fuel tax, executives have encouraged Congress to consider charging highway users by how far they drive and making infrastructure projects more welcoming to private investment.

Increase Truck SizesAlthough witnesses refrained from calling for higher truck weight limits, FedEx President, CEO and Chairman Fred Smith and UPS Chief Operating Officer David Abney called for trailer sizes to be increased from about 28 feet to 33 feet. This would allow the parcel carriers to haul more goods, particularly the increasing number of lightweight items ordered via the Internet.

Finish Next Generation Transportation System Congress needs to fund the long-delayed satellite-based system that will replace the current ground-based system, witnesses said. By allowing flight routes to be shortened, the air cargo industry will be able to better manage capacity and reduce delays. The absence of the Next Gen system means the U.S. wastes “millions and millions of gallons of fuel a day,” FedEx’s Smith said.

Don’t/Do Re-regulate the RailroadsSometimes the best way Congress can help is staying out of the way. That’s the message the Association of American Railroads delivered to Congress on June 27. Some shipper groups, including the National Industrial Transportation League, counter that proposals, such as one to allow reciprocal switching, would increase competition and boost industry.

Increase Free Trade AgreementsUPS’s Abney urged Congress to complete the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the recently launched Trade in Services Agreement, a proposed pact aimed to change the rules of how 21 countries conduct global trade. UPS also supports the anticipated start of free trade talks with the European Union, known as the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership. When the U.S signs a free trade pact with a country, Abney says UPS sees cargo traffic between the U.S. and that country increase more than 20 percent.

Reduce Customs DelaysDelays in getting goods cleared by Customs and Border Protection at land, sea and air ports of entry hinder shippers’ just-in-time supply chains. Reducing supply chain barriers, such as slow Customs clearance, could raise global GDP by about 5 percent and increase trade by nearly 15 percent, Abney said in prepared statements, quoting a World Economic Forum study.

Create National Freight Policy and Freight Trust FundA national freight policy is needed to transform the country’s freight patchwork into a network, executives told the House. The Department of Transportation is forging such a plan and is seeking input from an advisory group consisting of shippers and logistics providers. Although grant programs, namely TIGER, have helped advance freight projects, executives also want a Freight Trust Fund.

Fully Use HMT Tax for PortsAll of the revenue gained through the Harbor Maintenance Tax has to go back to the ports that collected the revenue, not just half as is currently done now. The Senate’s version of the Water Resources Development Act would eventually give ports all the money back they collect, and the House is poised to try something similar in its own version of the bill.

Provide More Clarity on Trucking RegulationsShippers and freight brokers need more help from the government in determining which drivers are safe to hire in relation to the Safety Measurement System in its Compliance, Safety, Accountability program, better known as CSA, said Scott Satterlee, senior vice president of transportation at C.H. Robinson Worldwide. Truck executives also have complained that the new hours-of-service rules, set to take effect July 1, are too vague.

Make Freight Project Reviews More EfficientFreight projects take too long to be permitted, AAR President and CEO Ed Hamberger told the House. He pointed to the years of delays added to the construction timeline of an intermodal terminal to serve the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles. “In many cases, railroads face a classic ‘not-in-my-backyard’ problem, even for projects for which the benefits to a locality or region far outweigh the drawbacks,” Hamberger said in prepared statements.

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