OOIDA National Call To Action
April 17, 2003

Congress has suspended its work for two weeks, and your Representative and both Senators are on Spring Break, or what they like to call "Spring District Work Period." This is a time when many lawmakers go home to touch base with their constituents (people who live in their district - not just those who voted for them!). They do this by holding office hours in their state or local office, attending local civic events, and holding town meetings. Any of these appearances is an excellent place for you to meet your Representative or Senator to talk to them about trucking issues.

In particular:

1) Ask your Representative to call Rep. Blunt or Rep. Rahall's office to cosponsor the mandatory fuel surcharge bill: The Motor Carrier Fuel Cost Recovery Act. Tell them how fuel prices have hurt your business, and why you need a fuel surcharge. Tell them that you should not have to suck up such high fuel prices that are completely outside of your control. Tell them that, unlike the airlines that are asking for a federal bailout, this bill will help small business truckers without any cost to the federal government. Ask them if they knew that over 250,000 trucks have been repossessed since fuel prices first spiked in 2000.

2) Ask your Representative to cosponsor Representative Graves resolution declaring this June "National Truck Safety Month." Tell them how you and other truckers across the country have committed to make an extra effort this June to comply with the truck safety rules, and that you would appreciate their support for your efforts by becoming a cosponsor of this Resolution.

You can usually find your Representative and Senator's state or district office in your local federal building. Their phone number can also be found in the government listings in your local phone book. If you have any questions about these efforts, visit the OOIDA web site OOIDA.com or call OOIDA headquarters at 1-800-444-5791.