AgTEC Update

BREAKING NEWS: Maine Pilot GVW Provision Passes Conference
On the evening of December 8, a House-Senate conference committee gave its approval for the inclusion of Sen. Susan Collins’s (R-Maine) amendment to the Senate version of the HUD/Transportation Appropriations Bill calling for a one-year pilot project to allow 100,000-pound, six-axle trucks full access to Interstate highways within Maine, and for the federal government to conduct various studies of the provision’s impacts—on public safety, road wear, and the environment—with preliminary reports to be issued at the six-month point. If action on broader, nationwide gross vehicle weight reform is still pending by the time of the interim reports, those reports will be a part of the case we will make on behalf of adopting the provisions of Rep. Mike Michaud’s (D-Maine) Safe and Efficient Transportation Act of 2009 within the Highway Reauthorization Bill.

Following the full report of this conference committee, both the House and the Senate must approve the full HUD/Transportation Appropriations Bill. Barring a deal-breaking floor amendment—considered very unlikely—the bill will probably pass before congress breaks for the holidays. Once the bill becomes law, with the President’s signature, the pilot’s one-year term begins at once.

Congratulations to the Maine Motor Transport Association, to AgTEC members, and to all gross vehicle weight reform advocates for bringing this Maine-specific reform forward so effectively.

Fly-In to DC: February 2-3
As this session of congress moves into the new year, the possibility of critical action on the Highway Reauthorization Bill opens up, and AgTEC and its allies—the Coalition for Transportation Productivity and Americans for Safe and Efficient Transportation—have determined that raising the visibility of Gross Vehicle Weight reform within that process is also critical, to ensure its inclusion. We have scheduled a broad Fly-In of all our memberships to Washington, DC early next year to promote Rep. Mike Michaud’s Safe and Efficient Transportation Act (HR 1799) within that process.

HR 1799’s visibility on Capitol Hill has grown significantly since its introduction eight months ago, and legislators of many different loyalties have acknowledged our position and agreed that our points have standing in the debate over freight movement and the use of surface infrastructure. We invite all AgTEC members to gather in the nation’s capitol the evening of Tuesday, February 2 to prepare for a full day of congressional office visits the next day, Wednesday, February 3. Registration for the 2010 Gross Vehicle Weight Fly-In, to bring the HR 1799 sale to closure, is free, and the more constituents we have, willing to speak from their own interest about what the reforms in HR 1799 mean to their business’s growth—and survival—the stronger our position will register. Do you—as a trucker, shipper, or other interest—have a story to tell? This Fly-In is your chance.

Register on line at this link: http://2010congressionalflyin.eventbrite.com/, providing your contact information and information about legislators you and your business have relationships with—and commit to joining us for a full day of office visits—and we will set up your appointments and prepare briefing materials. (Again, there is no charge to register. There will be no headquarters hotel, but we will provide all participants with information about lodging options in the DC area.)

More information is available at the registration link—or contact Richard Lewis at rl@forestresources.org, 301-838-9385.

Rep. Michaud Speaks to AgTEC Members
We were honored to welcome Congressman Mike Michaud, the lead sponsor of HR 1799, to participate in AgTEC’s December 1 Members Meeting Conference Call and to provide his assessment of the political position of Gross Vehicle Weight reform in the Highway Reauthorization process. The Congressman noted that our work is paying off, in raising both the visibility of the reform movement and that of the suite of benefits that reform provides, which sum to more favorable views of the legislation. He pointed to shifts in “attitude”—even if not always shifts in position—on the part of some very influential legislators.

The reform movement, he said, has the White House’s attention, too, with both White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and the President’s Senior Counselor for Manufacturing Policy, Ron Bloom, now aware of our position and our points and of how they fit into the Administration’s broader agenda—whether economic recovery or carbon policy.

In short, for all the noise on Capitol Hill these days about other issues—energy, carbon, health care, national security, and the economy—the opportunity to do something constructive about freight movement is in a position to place itself on the agenda!

Apart from Congress, immediate past American Trucking Associations Chairman Charles “Shorty” Whittington took the opportunity to advocate AgTEC’s mission with the Pressident and White House staff at the December 3 White House Jobs Forum.

Contact Congress at Home Offices!
As congress moves into the holiday recess, a special opportunity emerges—constituent contacts with legislators in their districts.

We urge all AgTEC members to visit with, or phone, their members of congress at their home offices over the break, so they return to Washington in January with a special sense of what is important to constituents. This type of contact is the perfect complement to the impact of the February Fly-In.

If your member of congress is already a co-sponsor of HR 1799, thank him or her and encourage them to raise the visibility of their support. If he or she has not yet signed on, make the case in the terms that mean most in your district—whether it’s jobs, economic recovery, public safety, air quality, or reducing congestion and road wear. If you don’t know the location or phone of your member’s office in your district, you’ll find it on his or her web site, which a little work on google will turn up. Please don’t neglect this important opportunity!

The following 45 members, in addition to lead sponsor Michaud, currently sponsor HR 1799; districts are indicated in brackets, followed by the date of sponsorship.

Support AgTEC
The Agricultural Transportation Efficiency Coalition is looking to the future of our campaign to obtain meaningful gross vehicle weight limit reform on our nation's Interstate system, to enable states to take more control of how forest and agricultural raw materials travel to their processing destinations.

It is clear that gross vehicle weight reform now has Congress's attention. With the prospect of the Highway Reauthorization Bill passage process taking our reform campaign well into 2011, AgTEC faces an active agenda through 2010 and into the next Congress.

AgTEC leverages our members' talents and resources to make a difference in Washington, but the campaign has direct expenses, as well. To support this coming year's work—developing communications and web-based advocacy, organizing more Fly-Ins, commissioning research, developing media liaisons, and pitching the AgTEC message at state and regional meetings—your financial support will be crucial.

Please consider making a contribution to AgTEC's operating budget to help us continue this active, aggressive campaign through 2010.

We will need to continue "opening up the highway" to real and necessary gross vehicle weight reform throughout 2010. May we count on your support?

The voluntary categories for financial support the AgTEC Coalition are:

Associations:
Small associations - $500 (budget less than $1 million)
Large associations - $1000 (budget over $1 million)

Businesses:
Sales under $1 million dollars - $500
Sales of $1 - 5 million dollars - $1000
Sales of $5 - $10M - $2500
Sales over $10M - $5000

Friends of AgTEC Coalition: $250 - $500

Please indicate your level of commitment and support below:

Company or Organization Name _____________________________________

Contact Person __________________________________________________

Address ________________________________________________________

Telephone ______________________________________________________

Email _________________________________________________________

Fax Number ____________________________________________________

Level of voluntary commitment/support for AgTEC - $__________ Amount

Please request an invoice—or send payment (checks payable to: "AgTEC Coalition") directly to:

AgTEC Coalition
c/o Forest Resources Association Inc.
600 Jefferson Plaza, Suite 350
Rockville, Maryland 20852

Thank you!

Note: Contributions to AgTEC cannot be treated as charitable donations or necessary and ordinary business expense deductions.