National Call-to-Action 6/3/09

[LDB]

I just hung up from calling my Congressman. Your turn.



The U.S. House of Representatives will be debating and amending HR2200 tomorrow (Thursday). HR2200 (the TSA authorization bill) is a bill that lays out funding and policies for programs run by the Transportation Security Administration including the TWIC program and the HME background check process.

Congresswoman Kathy Castor (D-FL) will be offering an amendment to HR2200 that will prohibit states and/or ports from requiring their own security background checks for transportation security cards on top of the federally mandated TWIC card unless they have "a compelling homeland security reason that necessitates a separate background check."

If you go onto a port, whether regularly or occasionally, and you're fed up with being treated as an ATM and paying fees for duplicative security credentials in addition to possessing a valid, federally mandated TWIC, you need to contact your Congressional representative immediately to ask them to support the CASTOR Amendment to HR2200.

Truckers have complained bitterly about the outrageous practice of being forced into doling out both their time and money for additional credentialing in order to access some of the nations' ports. This practice has NOTHING to do with security but unfairly enriching state coffers at the expense of hard working truckers.

The CASTOR Amendment would effectively preempt states from continuing this practice or even initiating their own unique credential requirements. In this era of budget deficits, truckers are an easy target for cash strapped states and they are lobbying vigorously in Washington DC to defeat this amendment because it will deny them the ability to use you as a profit center for their phony security claims.

Possession of a valid TWIC should trump any state credentialing requirement for truckers accessing a port and nothing else should be required.

Please call your Representative in the U.S. House TODAY and again TOMORROW to ask them to support Congresswoman Castor's amendment to HR2200.

To contact your Representative in the House, call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at (202) 224-3121, provide the operator with your home zip code. The operator will connect you with the office of your lawmaker.

You are also welcome to call OOIDA at (800) 444-5791. Association staff will be happy to help put you in touch with your elected officials in Washington.

[moparnewt]

Thanx for the info,I'm calling my rep now to support HR2200 in Mi