BY MARK B. SOLOMON, SENIOR EDITOR THE DC VELOCITY Q&A
thoughtleaders
Freedom
to move
INTERVIEW WITH MARC SCRIBNER
To Marc Scribner of the Competitive
Enterprise Institute, the only good
economic regulation is no economic
regulation. On the transport battlefield,
he has much work to do to keep
government out of the equation.
THERE’S AN OLD MAXIM THAT “OIL AND WATER DON’T
mix.” In Washington, D.C., a living, breathing example of that
would be the Obama administration and the libertarian think
tank known as the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).
The administration believes increased regulation is often
needed to restore fairness and balance to the nation’s economic system. The CEI, by contrast, espouses “free market”
economic principles and strenuously opposes government
involvement in business affairs.
Marc Scribner, who coordinates CEI’s freight transportation activities as its land-use and transportation policy analyst, is a true believer in the free market. His sights are firmly set on any effort to either increase existing regulations or
turn back the deregulatory clock. Two of his current targets
are proposals to change the rule governing a truck driver’s
operating schedule, known as “Hours of Service” (HOS), and
moves by Democrats in Congress, supported by certain shippers, to reintroduce some level of regulation into the railroad
industry more than 30 years after it was deregulated.
Scribner spoke recently with DC VELOCITY Senior Editor
Mark Solomon to give his take on the two proposals, what’s
behind them, and the potential consequences for industry.
QA CEO of a major truckload carrier recently told us the proposed HOS rule would force his company to add
four or five more trucks to handle the same volume of freight
it transports today. Do you think that’s an exaggeration?
AThis is certainly possible depending on the nature of the freight being moved, the makeup of his work force,
and the geographic distribution of his client base. For most
carriers, I suspect the proposed rule would have a somewhat
smaller impact, but the impact is certainly negative.
QAnother trucking executive has said the revisions are a bone thrown by the Obama administration to the
Teamsters union to essentially pad
driver rolls. Do
