NATIONAL CALL TO ACTION: Fuel surcharge
May 13, 2005

The U.S. Senate opened debate on the floor this week on its version of the highway bill and is expected to pass its version by Tuesday, May 17.

The House of Representatives passed its version - HR3 - in March.

So far, the Senate has failed to add a provision included in Section 4139 of HR3 that says all motor carriers, brokers and freight forwarders running truckload freight MUST implement fuel surcharges and they MUST pass 100 percent of those surcharges through to the person who actually pays for the fuel.

With diesel prices at historic highs and climbing even higher, now is the time to write the fuel surcharge legislation into law. Some truckers are currently receiving some surcharge money, but most are either getting back a fraction of what they actually pay for fuel or nothing at all.

Section 4139 of HR3 will:

• Help truckers survive spikes in prices at the pumps.
• Level the playing field for small business truckers.
• Use the standard industry benchmark price ($1.10/gallon). The surcharge would kick in when fuel exceeds the benchmark price by a nickel and would kick back off when the price of fuel falls back to less than 5 cents above the benchmark.
• Cost the government no money to implement or enforce.

It is important the full Senate include the fuel surcharge provision in its version of the highway bill.

Please fax and call both of your senators as soon as possible to urge them to support the fuel surcharge legislation in Section 4139 of HR3. We need their support. Remember, you are their constituent and you are a valuable asset to their state.

If you are not sure who your senators are, simply phone the OOIDA Membership Department and they'll look up the information for you. The toll-free number is 1-800-444-5791. You can also call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and be connected to the senators' offices after providing the operator with your zip code.

SAMPLE  PHONE  MESSAGE:

"I am from Hometown, State, and I am a small business trucker. We need to have fuel surcharge legislation passed to survive spikes in diesel fuel prices. I ask that Senator _______ support Section 4139 from the House highway bill (HR3) in the Senate highway bill."

Please write and call your senators as soon as possible. A sample letter is attached. Feel free to cut and paste, use exact same wording, personalize and add your own thoughts or write something completely different - just let them know that truckers from their home state and across the nation need the fuel surcharge passed into law.

You can also visit www.congress.org or www.senate.gov to find out who your senators are, where to send letters and how to get a fax to them.