Co Sponsor Alert

ACTION ALERT:  Generate Support for S. 881 and H.R. 1584!

 

Short Line Railroad Tax Credit expires THIS year! 

Your action is required now to preserve these benefits!

 

Note:  The Section 45G tax credit has generated hundreds of millions of dollars worth of increased track work for the short line, contracting, and supply industries.  You may stop reading if it is not worth two hours of your time this week to preserve this benefit, or to enable you to claim your intended share of this benefit if you have been unable to do so.

 

This document is designed to help you support S. 881 and H.R. 1584, legislation to extend the benefits generated by the Section 45G tax credit to all short lines for the next three years.

 

The following questions can be answered on this page:

 

 

Who are the current House and Senate co-sponsors?

 

A list of current co-sponsors of H.R. 1584 and S. 881 is available by clicking here.  (This list may differ from lists posted on http://thomas.loc.gov due to a delay in updating the Thomas database.)

 

Currently, short line railroad supporters from Kansas have secured the co-sponsorship of their entire House delegation, becoming the first state with more than one Representative to do so.  North Dakota has secured the support of its entire House delegation in the form of Rep. Pomeroy (D-ND), the author of H.R. 1584.  Michigan short lines have also been active, securing three co-sponsors.

 



Percentage of Representatives in each state co-sponsoring H.R. 1584 (click here for larger version)

 

 

 

Congressional districts of co-sponsors of H.R. 1584 (click here for larger version)

 

 

 

 

Number of Senators from each state co-sponsoring S. 881 (click here for larger version)

 

Why are co-sponsors so important?

 

 

The most important task facing the short line industry is the collection of a massive number of Congressional “co-sponsors.”  Representatives and Senators show their support by “co-sponsoring” a bill.  When an elected official co-sponsors a bill their name is added to the bill as a public declaration of support. 

 

Without strong Congressional support, there will be no motivation for Congress to extend Section 45G.  Let us be perfectly clear:  In order for railroads, railroad customers, contractors, and suppliers to continue to benefit from the construction increases generated by Section 45G, every member of the association must work to recruit co-sponsors.  Without a strong showing, this effort will fail.

 

In 2003 and 2004, ASLRRA supporters worked to recruit co-sponsors for H.R. 876 (108th Cong.) and S. 1703 (108th Cong.) - legislation that ultimately inspired Section 45G.  ASLRRA supporters successfully recruited 268 sponsors in the House and 19 sponsors in the Senate.  In 2003 it took five months for H.R. 876 to break 100 co-sponsors; an additional five months was required to break 200 co-sponsors.  To complicate matters, 65 of these supporters have left office.  To view a list of co-sponsors from 2003 and 2004, click here.

 

We must accomplish in the next four months what we accomplished in ten months in 2003.  The required pace is daunting, but it is within our reach if individual members devote their time to this effort.  In order to achieve our goals, the ASLRRA must secure over 4 co-sponsors per day for the next 50 business days. 

 

How can I get my Representatives and Senators to co-sponsor?

 

A list of current co-sponsors of H.R. 1584 and S. 881 is available by clicking here.  (This list may differ from lists posted on http://thomas.loc.gov due to a delay in updating the Thomas database.)

 

Senators will co-sponsor S. 881.  Representatives will co-sponsor H.R. 1584.  The operative text is identical in both bills.

 

Steps to Secure Co-sponsors:

 

  1. Identify your Senators and Representatives
  2. Contact your Senators and Representatives
    1. By Telephone
    2. By Letter and Fax
  3. Tell the Section 45G Story
  4. Courtesy and Respect are of paramount importance
  5. Keep your Washington Team informed

 

H.R. 1584 and S. 881 will not secure the necessary number of co-sponsors without your support.  By asking your elected representatives to support these bills you are exercising your First Amendment right to “petition the government.” 

 

 

1.     Identify your Senators and Representatives

 

You should contact every Representative and Senator that represents an area where your company does business.  For railroad customers, contractors, and suppliers this includes the location of your shops, factories, shipping facilities, or warehouses, as well as locations where you may provide railroad repairs or services.  Railroads should contact every Representative and Senator that represents an area served by the railroad.

 

If you do not know the names of your Representatives and Senators, Christopher Johnson on the ASLRRA Washington Team can help you determine who represents your area of operation, and provide fax and phone numbers for Members of Congress.  You can reach Christopher at 202-638-7790, or by e-mail at chris.johnson@cch-llc.com.

 

2.     Contact your Senators and Representatives

 

a. Contacting your Representative by Telephone:

 

If you do not know your representatives personally, the most direct and effective way to get their attention is to develop a relationship with the staff responsible for transportation matters.  This is best accomplished by speaking directly with the staff.  Those of you involved in marketing your services will recognize that a direct relationship is a much more effective sales tool than unsolicited mail.  Working with Congress and the staff is no different.  Your company is a major service provider to the constituents of this elected official.  As such, the relationship you establish can be beneficial to you beyond the preservation of short line railroad tax credits.

 

Your Washington Team is available to help prepare you to contact your representatives.  If you still have questions after reviewing these materials, please contact Adam Nordstrom (adam.nordstrom@cch-llc.com), Keith Hartwell (keith.hartwell@cch-llc.com), or Christopher Johnson (chris.johnson@cch-llc.com) by e-mail or at 202-638-7790.

 

  • You can reach the office of any Congressman by calling the Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and asking the operator for your Congressman’s office by name.  Christopher Johnson (202-638-7790) can also help generate a list of phone numbers for you.

 

  • If you know the Congressman personally, start at the top.  If not, call the office and ask to speak with the staff person responsible for railroads.  Always remain courteous and polite.  If you act in an unbecoming manner, it will undermine our efforts. 

 

 

 

  • You are not expected to know the answer to every question that they may ask.  You may offer to get the staff in contact with Adam Nordstrom of the ASLRRA Washington Team at 202-538-7790, or by e-mail at adam.nordstrom@cch-llc.com to answer any technical questions that they may have.

 

  • If they say yes, let us know.  If they promise to examine the issue further, ask them when you can expect to hear back from them with an answer.

 

b. Contacting your Representative by Letter/Fax:

 

Please read “Contacting your Representative by Telephone” before reading this section.

 

When you talk with Congressional staff they will frequently ask you to reinforce your call with a letter that they can show to the Representative of Senator.  You can base your letter on the text of a draft letter that can be downloaded here.  However, the most effective letters will be personalized in the indicated areas.  Make sure you delete the notes between brackets (“[ ]”) before sending the letter.  The most effective letters and phone calls will be those that try to tell the Section 45G Story as described below.

 

With post-anthrax attack security screening in effect, the best way to send a letter is by fax.  Fax numbers can be found in the ASLRRA Congressional Directory, or by contacting Christopher Johnson at chris.johnson@cch-llc.com or 202-638-7790.  Send a copy of your letter by fax to Adam Nordstrom at 202-638-1045. 

 

3.     Tell the Section 45G Story

 

Contacting your elected representatives is like a marketing call.  You need to convince them that co-sponsorship of this bill is worth their time and limited political capital.  The best way to do that is to talk about the successes (and even failures) of Section 45G.  A summary of S. 881 and H.R. 1584 is available here.

 

The best way for railroads and railroad customers to talk about the success of Section 45G is to highlight the benefits for railroad customers.  Many examples of such success can be downloaded here.  If you are a railroad, you should be ready with a list of success stories on your property, and ways in which customers and communities also benefited from your improved track structure.

 

Many short line railroads were not able to take advantage of the Section 45G credit because of the alternative minimum tax (AMT).  Both S. 881 and H.R. 1584 seeks to fix that problem by letting short lines use the credit against their AMT liability.  If you were unable to use Section 45G because of the AMT, point that fact out, and point out the benefits that will flow from increased investment if you can use the credits after the enactment of S. 881 and H.R. 1584.

 

If you are a contractor to railroads, talk about the kinds of track work that you have carried out in the last year, and talk about how your short line railroad customers would have been unable to carry out all of that work if the Section 45G credit was not available.  Suppliers should talk about recent orders of track materials and how that order was made possible, in part or in whole, by the Section 45G credit.

 

If you want to rehearse or review your message before you contact your Congressman, please contact Adam Nordstrom (adam.nordstrom@cch-llc.com), Keith Hartwell (keith.hartwell@cch-llc.com), by e-mail or at 202-638-7790.

 

4.     Courtesy and Respect are of paramount importance

 

Being an elected representative, or a member of the staff, is a difficult and underappreciated job.  Each elected official will be bombarded with dozens of issues a day, and literally thousands of requests for assistance per year.  Just like you, a member of Congress can only devote their energy to a limited number of issues.  Approach your Congressman with patience, and courtesy, and provide conscience, brief, and clear explanations and requests.  Some frequent mistakes:

 

  • Do not use industry lingo:  “Class I”, “Class III”, “Class 2 track”, “excepted”, “ballast”, “shipper”, “MoW”, and many others are all terms of art heavily laden with specific connotations.  Avoid relying on them, and use plain English instead.  Do not talk past your audience.  If you must use a term of art briefly explain what it means.
  • Be patient and courteous:  Do NOT talk down to Congressmen or staff – no matter what.  Expect action on their part, but do so with reasonable patience.  Avoid condescending remarks at all times.  Phrases like “my taxes pay your salary” are no more likely to garner a co-sponsor than to get you out of a speeding ticket – never say such things.
  • Stick to the message:  Do not address unrelated issues unless you are specifically asked about them – always seek to say on message.  Your request should be focused on one issue: their co-sponsorship of S. 881 and H.R. 1584.
  • Be clear:  Make it clear what you are asking:  You want them to co-sponsor S. 881 or H.R. 1584

 

5.     Keep your Washington Team informed

 

Let your Washington Team know what happened.  Please contact Adam Nordstrom (adam.nordstrom@cch-llc.com), Keith Hartwell (keith.hartwell@cch-llc.com), or Christopher Johnson (chris.johnson@cch-llc.com) by e-mail or at 202-638-7790.  Please fax copies of your letters and other correspondence to Christopher Johnson at 202-638-1045.

 

S. 881 and H.R. 1584 supporting documentation:  Draft letters, white papers, supporter lists, bill language, statute text, etc.

 

The following materials may be helpful to you as you make your case to Congress, or as you attempt to understand the importance of S. 881 and H.R. 1584.  These documents, as with many others on this web page are provided in Adobe PDF format.

 

  • Sample Letter to Representatives and Senators – A draft letter to your Representatives and Senators that can be personalized.  Please remove substitute personalized content for all text between brackets (“[ ]”).  A draft letter with proper forms of address is included for Representatives on the first page, and Senators on the second page.  Please be sure to use the correct version depending on the office held by the recipient.  Also, review the section on how to tell your Section 45G Story for tips on personalizing these letters.

 

Saving Our Service Membership List

 

Currently over 1,000 short line rail shippers have signed up for Saving Our Service, a grassroots organization in support of extending of the short line investment tax credit. To view the list of shippers on the SOS list, click here.

 

Short Line Success Stories

 

The tax credit legislation works! Numerous Class II & III railroads have put this crucial bit of legislation to work for them. Included below are some examples: