News From ASET - June 25, 2002
ASET Members Meet On Capitol Hill
ASET held its 2002 fly-in meeting in Washington, D.C. on Wednesday, June 19th on Capitol Hill. The meeting saw several transportation gurus speak from their own experience and Members of Congress added their own opinions during a two-hour luncheon in the Rayburn House Office Building's Gold Room.
Among those who gave brief speeches to the ASET coalition were:
- Congressman Bob Ney, Chairman, House Administration Committee
- Congressman Butch Otter, House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee
- Bill Canary, President and CEO, American Trucking Associations
- Joe Morris, Senior Program Officer, Transportation Research Board
- Joe Bryan, Managing Principal, Reebie Associates
- Robert Pugh, Vice President for Transportation & Logistics, Georgia-Pacific
- Steve Williams, Chairman, Maverick Transportation
In addition to ASET members, several staffers and a handful of Members of Congress, including House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, stopped by to chat with folks about the ASET legislative proposal.
Both Joe Morris from the TRB and Joe Bryan gave informative power point presentations. Mr. Morris discussed the recent release of the TRB size and weight study that has called for a lifting of the truck weight freeze. He was the staff person responsible for the study itself. Mr. Bryan serves as a consultant to the Department of Transportation and discussed overall transportation logistics predictions and problems that will need to be addressed soon, most namely highway congestion. Bill Canary of the ATA reaffirmed his association's support for the ASET weight proposal, which is crucial for our ultimate success. Robert Pugh and Steve Williams both spoke of the importance of productivity legislation from their own perspective - one a shipper and one a motor carrier. Robert and Steve serve as ASET's two Co-Chairman currently.
Lastly, Congressman Ney and Congressman Otter encouraged those in attendance to be vigilant and start early in the educational and lobbying efforts that will be needed to ensure our victory. Chairman Ney has been a strong past supporter of the ASET productivity legislation and understands firsthand the benefits that can accrue from such a change in trucking policy.
Following the luncheon, ASET members broke out into five groups and met with 5-6 Members of Congress who serve on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. From all accounts, these meetings went very well in most instances and several Members of Congress indicated their support during the reauthorization process for the ASET proposal. Follow-up with congressional offices has already begun as we attempt to education and provide valuable information to Members of Congress as they begin to deliberate the highway reauthorization bill in Congress. The final vote is scheduled to take place sometime next year.
At the end of the day, many ASET members stayed in Washington, DC for a dinner at the La Colline restaurant a few blocks from the Capitol Building to discuss the day's activities and compare notes. ASET received great feedback and suggestions for making our next meeting even a greater success.
Overall, the meeting on June 19th was a positive step in the process for enacting productivity legislation in Congress next year. We feel strongly that the participation of our members will inevitably make this effort a triumphant one. The more members we have the better our chances and ASET encourages all those who would like to see safety and productivity enhanced in our trucking policy, to join us today. For more information, please call Jake Jacoby at (703) 549-9467.