The President: There are some big truckers here. You guy are the biggest guys in the business. I'm looking around, I read about you in all the magazines. Good, and you're the ones that make more money, though.(Laughter) Male Speaker: Supply and Demand. (Laughter) The President: It's great to be with you, and I don't know who's starting it off. Should I start it off, I'll start it off. The President: First of
all, I want to thank you for your support
on healthcare.
That's been great. I know you had a big
problem with Obamacare, and everybody does, so
welcome to the crowd. But I very much appreciate
you being here and I very much appreciate
your support. I'm honored to welcome all
of the many truckers and the trucking industry
leaders to the White House.
And I must say, really,
you are the leaders. You are the big ones. I'm very impressed I was
able to get you -- I think it was the White House
that was able to get you. (Laughter.) No one knows America like truckers know America.
You see it every day, and
you see every hill and you see every valley and you
see every pothole in our roads that have
to be re-done. Every town, every forest,
from border to border, to ocean to ocean
-- it's true. It's true. And you love America, and
you love the spirit, and we love your spirit.
And we want to thank you
very much, because -- very special people. Through day and night in
all kinds of weather, truckers course the arteries of our nation's highways. You carry anything and
everything -- the food that stocks our shelves,
the fuel that runs our cars, and the steel
that builds our cities. You think I wrote that? (Laughter.) Not bad, is it? (Laughter.) Save that -- I want to save that paragraph.
But America
depends on you. And you work very
hard for America. Many of you spend weeks
away from your families doing what can sometimes
be a very difficult and dangerous job,
to put it mildly. But you take care of
yourselves, you look out for your friends, and you don't stop until the job is done.
That's true. Obamacare has inflicted
great pain on American truckers. Many of you were forced to
buy health insurance on the Obamacare exchanges. You experienced a
crippling rise in premiums and a dramatic
loss in options.
And you just take a look at what's happened to the costs, and it's incredible. You look at what's going
on with deductibles where they're through the roof,
so essentially you don't have it because hopefully
you'll never have to use it because you won't have
that kind of injury or sickness. So, you know the problems,
and it's put a lot of the trucking businesses out of
business, which is pretty tough. In addition, many union
drivers are slated to have their plans taxed to pay
Obamacare, and they've been against it for a
long period of time.
And trucking companies
that are considered large employers have to offer government-mandated health insurance. You have the mandate that
just doesn't work for them. You're forced to do things
that you don't want to do. Today, the House is voting
to repeal and replace the disaster known as Obamacare.
We'll see what happens,
going to be a very close vote. After we repeal and
replace Obamacare -- and by the way, it's close not
because Obamacare is good, it's close -- politics. They know it's no good. Everybody knows it's no good.
It's only politics,
because we have a great bill, and I think we
have a very good chance. But it's only politics. After we repeal and
replace Obamacare, we're going to do everything we
can to make sure truckers stay busy moving American
goods made by American companies and workers. Big difference out there
now, don't you think? Big difference.
We will rewrite our broken
tax code and fix our terrible trade deals. We will also eliminate
job-killing regulations where -- you guys are so
subject to regulations, and we're going
to free it up. It's going to be freed up. You're going to be
back to business.
And we'll make sure
America's infrastructure is the best in the world. Right now, it's probably
the worst it's been in 40 years. I have friends in your
business, they say trucking from Los Angeles
to New York and back, it's very tough on the trucks
-- never used to be that way -- with the condition
of the roads and the highways. So, I look forward
to hearing from you.
We're going to have a long
talk -- although I'm not going to make it too long
because I have to get votes. I don't want to spend too
much time with you and then lose by one vote. (Laughter.) Then I'm going to blame the truckers. (Laughter.) But we're going to talk for a little while and then I'm going to go back to business.
And I appreciate
you all being here. And maybe we'll go around
the table, just introduce yourself and your company
real fast, and we'll leave the press stay because
I'm sure they'll be very excited by that. And let's go. Mr.
Congdon: Okay. I'm David Congdon, I'm the CEO of Old Dominion Freight Lines. We're a truckload carrier
based in North Carolina, and we operate 8,000
tractors, 25,000 trailers, and do about $3 billion in
sales, 19,500 employees. The President: Wow,
that's fantastic, David.
How do you compare size-wise with the other big ones? Mr. Congdon: We're the
third-largest in the less than truckload sector. The President: Who
is the largest? Mr. Congdon: The largest
is FedEx Freight.
The President: I see,
and they're here, too. Mr. Congdon: We have --
freighters at the table. The President: Where's
FedEx Freight? Mr.
Ducker: Here, sir. The President:
Very impressive. Oh, you're central
casting, look at that. (Laughter.) Great company.
Mr. Burg: Good afternoon,
Mr. President. Jim Burg, JBTC Trucking
from Macomb County, Michigan -- a county
you carried well.
The President: I did. Mr. Burg: First
time since 2004. The President:
Love that state.
(Laughter.) Bringing back a lot of jobs, you see what's happening. Mr. Burg: Started the
company with one truck in 1984, built it up to
a 90-truck operation. We're a flatbed carrier
that hauls steel and construction materials
within Michigan and the Midwest.
The President: Fantastic. Say hello to
Michigan for me. Mr. Burg: I
certainly will.
The President: We like
that sound, "Breaking news, Donald Trump has won Michigan." (Laughter.) You know what, we're doing even better now because we've brought back -- Ford is moving back in and General Motors, they're going to be doing a lot of new plants and thousands and thousands of people coming back into Michigan. Mr. Burg: We'll be hauling
the steel for those plants. The President: I know you
will, I know you will.
Good. Thank you very much. Mr. Burch: Mr.
President,
it's an honor to be here. My name is Kevin Burch. I'm President of Jet
Express Trucking out of Dayton, Ohio, a
truckload carrier. I'm also this year's
chairman of the board of American Trucking Association.
Originally from Flint,
Michigan, we were involved with handling a lot of the
water, and appreciate all your support in helping us. The President: They just
gave a check for $100 million to Flint. Think of that whole
horrible deal. That's great
political leadership.
What a disaster. In order to save a fee,
they went to bad water and spent a fortune on pipes
and infrastructure. Anyway, we're helping out Flint. Mr.
Burch: We're primarily
a truckload carrier for General Motors, around
300 loads a day. Just in time right to
some of the plants. The President: Yup, and
they're expanding, as you know. Mr.
Burch: Yes, they are. The President:
In this country. The rest of their
expansion, I don't care too much about. But, I don't think they're
going to be doing too much.
Okay, there's my guy. Go ahead. Neal Kedzie: Mr.
President, it's an honor to be here, Neal
Kedzie, I'm The President of the Wisconsin Motor
Carriers Association. We represent the trucking
industry in Wisconsin.
There are 50 associations
across the entire country that live under the umbrella of the American Trucking Association. We have over 1,100 members
in our association. There are over 15,000
trucking companies in Wisconsin. And prior to that time,
I spent 18 years in the Wisconsin state legislature.
And also, Reince Priebus
and I are graduates from UW-Whitewater, and have
been buddies for about 20 years ourselves. So, it's an honor
to be here, sir. The President: Thank you. He's doing a good job.
Mr. Nash: Mr.
President, Dennis Nash. I'm the founder and CEO of
The Kenan Advantage Group, based in Canton, Ohio. We're in the tank truck
hauling business, primarily fuels and chemicals.
We have about 10,000
drivers located in 38 states. The President: Great job. Mr. Nash: And I think they
have a mutual friend, or had a mutual friend in Charlie Eichholtz (phonetic sp).
The President: Absolutely. Mr. Nash: Yeah, his daughter is still running the company. The President: Great guy.
Mr. Fuller: Eric Fuller, CEO of U.S. Xpress Enterprises, out of Chattanooga, Tennessee. We're the second-largest privately-held truckload carrier.
We have about 7,000
tractors, 10,000 employees. The President: All right. Good job. Mr.
Smith: John Smith,
from CRST in Cedar Rapids. Second generation -- my
dad started the business. Third generation is coming in, so we hope to keep it going. Would like to invite
you to Cedar Rapids.
We also do a lot of
training and bringing in the new blood to the
industry, and I think it's quite unique and would
love to get you out there. The President: Well, Cedar
Rapids was very good to me. You know that, right? So I like Cedar Rapids. Say hello to the people.
Mr. Smith: I will. Mr. Spear: Mr.
President,
I'm Chris Spear. I'm president and CEO of the American Trucking Association. Thanks to you and Mr. Vice
President for hosting us here today.
We have one in 16
jobs in this country. And in 29 states, truck
drivers are the number one job. So, for the 7.3 Million
employees in the industry, 3.5 Million drivers, we
have 12 of them here today that have 29.4 Million
accident-free miles. Safety is our
number one priority.
And, obviously, we are here to help you get the job done. We would love to see
Obamacare replaced. We love the bill. We want to bring
costs down.
We want to make our lives
and our families better. And we believe this is the
proposal to get the job done. The President: It's a
great, great proposal. And you're going to have
competitive bidding.
You're going to have those
insurance companies going wild for your companies. And you'll be able to pick
the right plan and the right doctor -- which as
you know, was a big lie. But you're going to have
the plan and the doctor, yeah. And I think
we're doing well.
We'll find out in
about three hours. Mr. Spear: Absolutely. The President: I don't
know why I'm with you.
(Laughter.) That's all right. Thanks, Chris. Mr. Ostergard: Mr.
President, it's an honor to be here. A privelege, thank you for hosting us I'm Tonn Ostergard,
president and CEO of Crete Carrier Corporation, a
family-owned trucking company in Lincoln, Nebraska. We run a little
over 5,000 trucks. And we're just proud to
help you make America great.
Thank you. The President: Thank you. Thank you very much. It's great.
Thank you. Great place -- Nebraska. Mr. Mcardle: Mr.
President, Rick McArdle with UPS. I'm The President of UPS Freight, based out of Atlanta. It is the home of
350,000-plus employees here in the United States. We're just glad to be here.
We're also proud to be a member of the Truckers Against Trafficking. It's a tremendous
organization that does a great job to help law
enforcement try to stop and put an end to
human trafficking. The President: Great. That's a big deal.
It's a much bigger problem
than people understand. Thank you very
much, Richard. Mr. Langer: Mr.
President, Jerry Langer.
I'm a chief commercial
officer for Langer Transport Corporation -- a family business in our 83rd year. My two brothers and I
are third generation. We are a liquid tank truck
carrier, and work with raw materials and for the
largest producers in the country for manufacturing. And my grandfather came
over from Russia, turn of the century, and started
his business by being a handyman and carrying
things around -- bought a horse and buggy,
and one truck.
And today we have 1,200
trucks on the road. And love what we do -- 18
states -- and we want to be a partner with you, and
keep growing your plan and your goals here. So, thank you very much. The President: You're
going to be loving it.
Thank you very much. Mr. Ducker: Mr. President,
Mike Ducker, with FedEx Frieght.
I represent FedEx -- about
350,000-plus American employees. And we have
150,000 trucks. We're the largest
LTL provider. And we thank you very much
for having us here today.
We thank you for including
the people that actually do the work, and that make
the money for the company. And we thank you for
tackling tough issues. The President: Thank you. And your founder is a
great gentleman, and a great friend of mine.
You know that, right? Mr. Ducker: Yes, sir. He sends his very,
very best to you. The President: He is a great one, thank you.
Say hello to him. Mr. Lex: Thank you, Mr.
President, for having us. I'm John Lex.
I'm and American
road team captain. Also, a share-the-road
professional. I'm also a truck driver
for Walmart transportation -- been driving for over
30 years, have 2.9 Million accident-free miles. And it's just an honor
to be here today.
Drive for a small little
company out of company named Walmart. (Laughter.) The President: Great job. Mr. Lex: Thank you.
Mr. Paul: How you
doing, Mr. President. Glad to be here.
I'm Charlton Paul -- UPS
Freight, America's road team captain, and driving
trainer for UPS Freight. This is my 21st year with
UPS, and 2.1 Million safe miles. The President: Fantastic. Mr.
Paul: And I'm
depending on you to do great things. I appreciate you. The President: Be careful
when you leave here now -- no accidents. (Laughter.) Mr.
Paul: Knock on wood. The President: It's
a fantastic job. Mr. Logan: Mr.
President,
I'm Don Logan. I work for FedEx Freight. I'm from Topeka, Kansas. I've been a truck driver
for 31 years, have 2.6 Million safe
driving miles.
The President: Fantastic. Boy, that's a lot of miles. Ms. Hartman: Rhonda Hartman, Old Dominion Freight Lines -- 34 years in the business, 2.7 Million miles driving without an accident.
The President: Fantastic. Ms. Hartman: And I
say -- and a ticket. No tickets either.
(Laughter.) The President:
That's pretty impressive. Mr. Garcia: Mr. President,
it's an honor to be here.
Ralph Garcia, with ABF
Brake Systems -- 38 years in the businesses -- and
I am a proud Hispanic for Trump. You did it. (Applause.) Mr. Simpson: Mr.
President, Russel Simpson. I reside in Springfield,
Ohio where you held a large rally I attended. I've been 31 years as a
professional driver, and when you get ready to
build the wall, I want to haul the first load of
concrete -- (laughter and applause.) The President: What a group. (Laughter.) Mr.
Taylor: How you doing? Mr. President, thank
you for having us here. I'm really proud
to be here. My name is Earl Taylor --
been in the business 19 years.
And unlike some of these
guys who are over-the-road drivers, I drive in the
cities around the state. And I have 19 years in the
business, and 1.2 Million miles -- in the city. (Applause.) The President: They don't know, that may be tougher. Mr.
Taylor: That's
much tougher, sir. Much tougher. The President: We
know about the city. (Laughter.) Mr.
Fields:
I'm Steve Fields. It's an honor, by the way. I work for Marcy Freight
out of Kansas City, Missouri. I've been driving 32
years, and I have 3.1 Million.
It's an honor to be here. The President:
Fantastic job. Mr. Fields: Thank you.
I appreciate you. The President:
Fantastic job. Boy, that's a great
group of people. I'm more impressed by them than I am with the executives.
(Applause.) Thank you
very much, everybody. Thank you very much..
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