Every night, across thousands of truck stops and highway shoulders from Ohio to Oregon, commercial drivers burn fuel and clock minutes searching for a legal place to park — not because they want to keep driving, but because federal hours-of-service rules leave them no choice.
It’s a mundane crisis, largely invisible to the traveling public, but one that industry groups say has compounded for years alongside aging road surfaces and a Highway Trust Fund running on revenue structures unchanged since 1993.
Now, a $580 billion House transportation bill called the BUILD America 250 Act is positioning itself as the broadest federal response to these pressures in a generation — and the freight industry is paying close attention.
A parking crisis hiding in plain sight
The American Transportation Research Institute has consistently ranked insufficient truck parking among the industry’s most pressing concerns, and the data backs up what drivers already know from experience. The American Trucking Associations has repeatedly warned that the shortage creates genuine safety risks, not mere inconvenience. When drivers can’t find legal parking before their hours-of-service clock runs out, the choice is stark: violate federal rules or stop wherever they can.
Political momentum around the issue has been building. Earlier in 2025, President Trump signed government funding legislation that included $200 million for truck parking initiatives, with the Federal Highway Administration responsible for administering the funds — a shift in how seriously Washington is beginning to treat a problem long dismissed as a niche industry complaint.
The BUILD America 250 Act would go further, formally directing the transportation secretary to establish a DOT grant program funding projects that expand parking availability, facilitate freight movement, and improve highway safety. Eligible applicants would need to demonstrate the capacity to maintain and operate such facilities — a requirement designed to ensure the money produces durable results rather than short-term fixes.
What the BUILD America 250 Act actually proposes
The bill is a five-year, $580 billion surface transportation reauthorization package crafted by House Transportation Committee Chairman Sam Graves (R-Mo.) and ranking member Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.). Both worked to meet a September 30 deadline for federal highway program reauthorization — a hard calendar constraint that gave the bipartisan effort real urgency.
The legislation reaches well beyond parking. It would improve restroom access for commercial drivers, extend an apprenticeship pilot program targeting 18-to-20-year-old drivers, expand pathways for veterans entering the freight workforce, and strengthen consumer protections in the moving and storage sector. CDL requirements would also be updated to align with Trump administration policies.
The bill was scheduled for committee markup on May 21. Senate consideration remains unscheduled, with lawmakers there facing a crowded legislative calendar ahead of the fall midterm elections.
Autonomous trucks get a federal safety framework
One of the bill’s most significant provisions establishes the first federal safety standard specifically for autonomous trucks operating in interstate commerce. Until now, autonomous vehicle regulation has developed unevenly — states setting their own rules while federal guidance lagged behind commercial deployments.
Under the proposal, manufacturers of vehicles equipped with autonomous driving systems would need to meet existing regulations, demonstrate safety performance, and comply with reporting requirements. The ATA emphasized that the provision would push DOT to develop performance-based requirements, ensuring that safety — not speed to market — remains the top priority in ADS deployments.
Operators of ADS-equipped commercial vehicles would also be subject to further rulemakings. That detail matters. It signals a framework intentionally built to evolve alongside the technology, rather than locking in standards that could quickly become obsolete.
Funding the Highway Trust Fund in the EV era
The federal fuel taxes sustaining the Highway Trust Fund — 18.4 cents per gallon on gasoline and 24.4 cents on diesel — haven’t changed since 1993. As electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids bypass the pump entirely, the trust fund faces a structural revenue gap that widens with each passing model year.
The BUILD America 250 Act would introduce annual registration fees for EVs and plug-in hybrids. Bill sponsors describe these fees as the first new revenue stream for the trust fund in decades — a meaningful claim given how long policymakers have debated the problem without acting on it.
The approach ties road-use contributions to vehicle ownership rather than fuel consumption alone. Imperfect, yes, but it directly addresses a funding model never designed for a partially electrified fleet.
Industry praise — and pointed concerns
Industry response has been largely positive, though not without reservation. ATA President Chris Spear welcomed the bill’s bipartisan character and pledged to be a “constructive partner” throughout the legislative process. The National Association of Manufacturers cited highway congestion and port delays costing manufacturers nearly $40 billion annually and 65 million hours of lost efficiency each year.
Not everyone is satisfied. The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors raised concerns that freight-specific funding levels in the bill would weaken progress made under the last two infrastructure laws. CAGTC Executive Director Elaine Nessle warned that supply chain infrastructure — long overlooked in federal transportation programs — could again be deprioritized if the final numbers don’t hold.
Those concerns will shape the debate ahead. With Senate action still unscheduled and the September 30 deadline approaching, the bill’s freight provisions face real pressure. What happens in markup — and whether the Senate produces a comparable package — will determine whether this legislative moment delivers lasting change or another partial fix.