Remarks at a Meeting With Members of the Trucking Industry on Health Care Reform

The President. We've got some big truckers here. You guys are the biggest guys in the business, huh? I'm looking around. I read about you in all the magazines. Good. And you're the ones that make more money though, which is—[laughter].

Participant. It's supply and demand. [Laughter]

The President. That's good. Great. [Laughter] It's great to be with you, and I don't know whose starting it off. Should I start it of? I'll start it off. Okay?

First of all, I want to thank you for your support on health care. 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 redone.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc. Chief Executive Officer David S. Congdon. Absolutely.

The President. 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 and 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] It's not bad.

Mr. Congdon. You did a good job.

The President. Save that. I want to save that paragraph for a book or something. [Laughter] That's beautiful.

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; it's 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 for 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?

Participants. Yes. Absolutely.

The President. 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]

So—[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 Line.

The President. Good carrier.

Mr. Congdon. We're a less-than-truckload carrier based in North Carolina.

The President. That's right.

Mr. Congdon. And we operate 8,000 tractors, 25,000 trailers——

The President. Wow.

Mr. Congdon. ——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, good. And they're here too.

Mr. Congdon. FedEx Freight is here at the table.

The President. Where's FedEx Freight?

FedEx Freight Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Michael L. Ducker. Here, sir.

The President. Very impressive. Oh, you're central casting; look at this guy. [Laughter] Great company.

James Burg Trucking Company President and Chief Executive Officer James 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] We're 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] But you know what, we're doing even better now because we've brought back—Ford, you know, 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.

Jet Express, Inc., President Kevin W. 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.

The President. Good.

Mr. Burch. Originally from Flint, Michigan, we were involved with handling a lot of the water, and appreciate all your support in helping us——

The President. We just gave a check for $100 million to Flint.

Mr. Burch. Absolutely. Born and raised there. The President. 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 assembly points. Thank you very much

The President. They are 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—it doesn't matter—but I don't think they'll be doing too much.

Okay, that's is my guy. Go ahead.

Wisconsin Motor Carriers Association President Neil Kedzie. Mr. President, it's an honor to be here. Neil 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 within the umbrella under 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——

The President. Good.

Mr. Kedzie. ——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, good job.

Kenan Advantage Group Inc. Chief Executive Officer Dennis A. 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. That's great. Great job.

Mr. Nash. And I think we have a mutual friend maybe—or had a mutual friend in Charlie Eichholtz.

The President. Absolutely. Absolutely. He's great.

Mr. Nash. Yes. His daughter is still running the company, but Charlie was a great friend.

The President. Great guy. Say hello. Great guy.

U.S. Xpress Enterprises Chief Executive Officer Eric 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. That's great. Good job.

CRST International, Inc. Chairman John M. 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. I 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 we would love to get you out there. The President. Well, Cedar Rapids was very good to me. You know that, right? [Laughter] So I like Cedar Rapids. Say hello to the people.

Mr. Smith. I will.

American Trucking Associations President and Chief Executive Officer Chris 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, yes. And I think we're doing well. We'll find out in about 3 hours.

Mr. Spear. Absolutely.

The President. I don't know why I'm with you. [Laughter] But we're going to find out.

That's all right. Thanks, Chris.

Mr. Spear. Thank you.

Crete Carrier Corp. President and Chief Executive Officer Tonn M. Ostergard. Mr. President, it's an honor to be here. 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. That's great. Thank you. Thank you very much. That's great. Thank you. Great place, Nebraska.

United Parcel Service Ground Freight, Inc. President Richard C. McArdle. Mr. President, Rich McArdle with UPS. I'm the president of UPS Freight parent 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. That's our goal.

The President. Great. That's a big deal. It's a much bigger problem than people understand. Thank you very much, Richard.

Langer Transport Corp. Chief Commercial Officer Jerry Langer. Mr. President, Jerry Langer. I'm a chief commercial officer for Langer Transport Corporation, a family business in our 83d year. My two brothers and I are third generation. We are a liquid tank truck carrier and work with raw materials and things 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 Freight. 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 tough—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.

Walmart Transportation truck driver John Lex. Thank you, Mr. President, for having us. I'm John Lex. I'm an 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 Bentonville, Arkansas named Walmart. [Laughter]

The President. Great job.

Mr. Lex. Thank you.

United Parcel Service Freight, Inc., driving trainer and truck driver Charlton Paul, Jr. How are 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. Wow.

Mr. Paul. And I'm——

The President. Wow. That's a lot of miles.

Mr. Paul. And I'm depending on you to do great things. I appreciate you.

The President. Very impressed. Now, be careful when you leave here—no accidents. [Laughter]

Mr. Paul. No accidents.

The President. With all those miles, next week, I don't want to be reading about you, right? [Laugher]

Mr. Paul. Knock on wood.

The President. That's a fantastic job.

FedEx Freight Corp. truck driver Donald 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.

Old Dominion Freight Line, Inc., truck driver Rhonda Hartman. Rhonda Hartman, Old Dominion Freight Lines. Thirty-four 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. No tickets. No tickets. How about you guys? Do you have any tickets? Did you get any tickets at least? Huh? Boy, that's pretty impressive.

Ms. Hartman. Thank you.

ABF Freight System truck driver Ralph Garcia. Mr. President, it's an honor to be here. Ralph Garcia with ABF Freight Systems. Thirty-eight years in the business, and I am a proud Hispanic for Trump. You did it.

The President. Come here.

[The President gave Mr. Garcia a handshake].

Holland Pickup and Delivery truck driver Russell Simpson. Mr. President, Russell 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 blocks. [Laughter]

The President. Thank you. Thank you. What a group, huh? [Laughter] What a group.

Participants. Two more.

Mr. President. Oh, two more.

Penske Logistics truck driver Earl Taylor. Yes, Mr. President.

The President. How are you doing?

[The President shook Mr. Taylor's hand.]

Mr. Taylor. How are 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. In the city.

The President. They don't know that makes you tougher.

Mr. Taylor. That's much tougher, sir. Much tougher.

The President. We know about the city. [Laughter]

YRC Freight truck driver Steve Fields. I'm Steve Fields. It's an honor, by the way.

The President. Thank you.

Mr. Fields. I work for YRC Freight out of Kansas City, Missouri. I've been driving 32 years, and I have 3.1 million.

The President. Wow.

Mr. Fields. 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. [Laughter] The executives? Executives, that's us. [Laughter]

Thank you very much, everybody. Thank you very much. Thank you.