The Freight is the Future of Commerce in the United States Act of 2010 (otherwise known as the Freight FOCUS Act of 2010), is designed to make the transport of freight more efficient and increase the availability of jobs within the trucking industry.
A large portion of the bill is based on improvements in funding. As an article in The Trucker notes, instead of the Highway Trust Fund providing the money needed to pay for construction and development, the general fund would transfer three million dollars instead into the projects.
The Freight FOCUS Act of 2010 also wants to guarantee that funds are used strictly for the benefit of the trucking industry. To ensure this, the bill wants to create both a “Goods Movement Trust Fund, which would fund grants to deserving projects across the nation,” as well as a National Freight Advisory Committee, which would “allow the public and private sectors to offer opinions on planning and which projects are to be funded” (http://www.thetrucker.com/News/Stories/2010/10/27/Billtofundinfrastructurefixfastingatheringsupport.aspx).
Aside from funding, the bill asks for the price of diesel fuel to increase by twelve cents as well as the improvement of check points, the article notes.
According to The Trucker, the bill has already gained full support of the American Trucking Association (ATA), the Waterfront Coalition, The Retail Industry Leaders Association, and the Port of Long Beach.
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