I recently had the opportunity to participate in NATSO Day on Capitol Hill. That’s the day the truckstop and travel-center association has a meet-and-greet with our nation’s lawmakers. I have done this type of thing on the state and local level, but this was my first time on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C.
If you have never done anything like this before, I strongly suggest you do so with the state or national organization that you support. All the state petroleum marketing associations—along with NACS, SIGMA, PMAA and others—have similar political eff orts for educating and working with our lawmakers. It was an honor and privilege to participate in this effort.
I always find myself feeling very patriotic when I visit Washington. In spite of all the chaos there and government issues, D.C. holds a special place in my heart. Amid the history in and around Washington (we toured Mount Vernon this time) and the sheer power and influence held by our nation’s leaders, I am always awestruck.
After a thorough briefing by the NATSO lobbyist and staff, we were ready to go. The best advice that they gave us was to not assume or prejudge anything.
It all began with pie. NATSO hosted a reception for senators, representatives and their staff, and the event was a huge success. I had the opportunity to talk to numerous staffers and get their unique perspective on Washington and how things do or don’t get done. And the strawberry rhubarb pie was delicious.
The next day, we went on the trek up the hill. I was assigned to the Oregon delegation and got the opportunity to meet with senators and representatives from both sides of the aisle. In spite of the briefing, I went in thinking that I was going to validate my Republican leanings and that talking to the Democratic side was a necessary evil. I was in for a rude awakening. It was nothing like I expected.
Labels Mean Nothing
Our two main issues to talk about were no tolling on existing roads and a long-term highway transit bill for roads and infrastructure. I found out that we were on our 24th stopgap funding bill. The gas tax, which is dedicated to this, has not changed since 1993 and is not tied to inflation or indexed in any way. So in essence, there has been no increase in revenue, while costs continue to rise. The stopgaps have pulled money from a variety of sources to cover the shortfalls and will continue to do so until a long-term solution is reached.
We spoke directly to three U.S. representatives: Democrats Peter DeFazio and Earl Blumenauer and Republican
Greg Walden. Each one could not have been more kind and generous with his time. Here is where the advice about not assuming came into play: I assumed that the Republican representatives would have the right approach and the Democratic approach would be the opposite. Instead, if I had not seen the (D) or (R) next to the names of the representatives, I would not have been able to say which party they were from.
All three were in agreement that the best solution might be to raise and index the gas tax so that it would be a long-term solution based on use and miles driven. They also all agreed that it wasn’t perfect, given cars’ increased mpg and the evolving compressed natural gas (CNG) market.
Finally, they all agreed that it would not happen because it would be considered raising taxes, and that would be politically very difficult. So they continue to look at a series of fees and other sources to pass another stopgap measure. Every one of the other solutions seemed to me to be more costly, with additional administrative dollars, etc. Aren’t fees just another word for taxes? (There I go again trying to use logic and sense.)
Where’s the Solution?
It seemed to me, a naive Washington outsider, that if both sides agree on an issue, it would be fairly simple to hammer out a bipartisan solution. They are 0-24 in that department. That streak has crossed Republican and Democratic presidents, Houses and Senates.
What is the holdup? I don’t have the answers, but I do think that being there to talk directly to our representatives was a positive step.
I found all three representatives to be very open, welcoming and caring. They all had great knowledge of the issues and spoke with passion and listened intently. I do think that, with the right motivation, these leaders can come up with a solution. The motivation comes from “We the People,” no matter which side of the aisle you are on.
When given the opportunity to meet your legislators, jump at the chance. It may not be the perfect system, but it is our system; if they are to represent us, they should hear from us. Our trip to Capitol Hill didn’t change the world, but it did change me.
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