News From ASET - February, 2000

Currently, ASET is planning our April 4, 2000 fly-in to Washington, D.C. Invitations will be sent out in the next few weeks to members and interested participants across the country. We have added a new page on our web site titled April 4th Fly-In. Please click here to view all of ASET's materials relating to this upcoming event. They include our invitation, agenda, and reply form.

If you would like your company or organization to be invited to the spring fly-in, please contact Jake Jacoby at (703) 549-9467. If you would like to RSVP for this event, visit the April 4th Fly-In section of our site and click on the reply form link.

Collin Peterson (D-MN), sponsor of H.R. 1667, will be sending a letter soon to the entire House Agriculture Committee to encourage congressional support and co-sponsorship of ASET's legislation. Peterson, a member of this committee, is also a leader in the Blue Dog Coalition. This group acts as a conservative group of Democrats in Congress who often work to ensure bipartisan support for legislation. Many of the Blue Dogs also serve on the House Agriculture Committee. ASET is confident that this letter, along with our planned spring fly-in event, will help bring on more cosponsors in the coming months ahead. It is vital that Members of Congress hear from our members and from anyone who supports truck productivity improvements. To find our more how you can help in this effort, contact ASET at (703) 549-9467.

ASET's director, Peter Vroom, will take part in the American Trucking Associations' planned Productivity Task Force Friday, February 4, 2000. The ATA set up this group last summer to study the different proposals currently available to increase the trucking industry's efficiency and safety. ASET's legislation, H.R. 1667, will be one of the subjects discussed at length during the meeting in Florida. ASET will continue to work aggressively to move the productivity debate forward within the transportation community.

The Department of Transportation has not released their final version of the Comprehensive Truck Size and Weight Study originally due out in December 1999. It is our understanding that the final version will not differ dramatically from the draft study released in December 1998. In this study, there was a similar scenario to ASET's legislation studied. The results included an estimated 11% reduction in truck vehicle miles traveled as well as a decrease in fuel emissions of 6%. The estimated financial benefit for shippers, truckers and consumers was $14.5 billion dollars annually. ASET welcomes the final version of this study and plans to lobby Congress on H.R. 1667 based, in part, on DOT's findings.