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Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx urged the top congressional appropriators on Dec. 4 not to include a provision that would suspend a “34-hour restart” trucking regulation in a large funding bill currently under consideration.

The trade deficit was little changed in October as an improving U.S. economy caused imports to climb to a record while exports also rose.

The trucking industry’s federal safety regulator must continue to improve its detection of carriers that operate under a new name to avoid safety violations, Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) said Dec. 4.

The House has passed a bill that could give the trucking industry hundreds of millions of dollars in tax breaks this year for everything from buying new trucks to using natural gas.

Mark Rosekind, the Obama administration’s pick to lead the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, told a Senate panel Dec. 3 his tenure as an investigator of national accidents has prepared him to tackle major safety issues.

Trucking and natural-gas industry witnesses told a Senate panel Dec. 3 that Congress could spur the use of the alternative fuel in the transportation sector by changing the tax code, subsidizing a fueling network and addressing existing weight restrictions on highways.

President Obama told chief executives on Dec. 3 he doubts congressional leaders will be able to advance a long-term comprehensive transportation measure next year, approving instead a short-term highway funding fix.