Admin
March 18th, 2005, 13:23
NATIONAL CALL-TO-ACTION: Fuel surcharge
On March 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, also known simply as “The Highway Bill.”
Section 4139 of that bill says that 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 H.R. 3 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.
The next step is to have the Senate Commerce Committee include the fuel surcharge provision in its version of the highway bill.
Please write and call both of your senators as soon as possible to urge them to support the fuel surcharge legislation in Section 4139 of H.R. 3. Even if they are not members of the Senate Commerce Committee, they can help to influence the senators who are. 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 _______ tell his/her colleagues on the Commerce Committee to include Section 4139 from the House highway bill (H.R. 3) in the committee’s part of 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 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.
TO ENSURE YOUR LETTER GETS TO YOUR SENATORS IN A TIMELY MANNER,
FAX IT TO THEM AND THEN DROP IT IN THE MAIL.
by OOIDA
On March 10, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 3, also known simply as “The Highway Bill.”
Section 4139 of that bill says that 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 H.R. 3 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.
The next step is to have the Senate Commerce Committee include the fuel surcharge provision in its version of the highway bill.
Please write and call both of your senators as soon as possible to urge them to support the fuel surcharge legislation in Section 4139 of H.R. 3. Even if they are not members of the Senate Commerce Committee, they can help to influence the senators who are. 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 _______ tell his/her colleagues on the Commerce Committee to include Section 4139 from the House highway bill (H.R. 3) in the committee’s part of 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 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.
TO ENSURE YOUR LETTER GETS TO YOUR SENATORS IN A TIMELY MANNER,
FAX IT TO THEM AND THEN DROP IT IN THE MAIL.
by OOIDA