Magazine for the professional tire industry
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MTD January 2015 Highway funding bill is focus of Federal Lobby Day on Feb. 5 'When a small businessman looks a congressman in the eye, he's believed.' The United States Congress is deciding how to fund the Highway Trust Fund. The options being considered have the potential to greatly impact the operations of independent tire dealers and retread- ers. The proposals for funding the nation's highway infrastructure involve: • reinstating the federal excise tax of 5 cents to 15 cents per pound on tread rubber used in the retread process; • increasing the federal excise tax on truck tires by 10%; • increasing the federal excise tax on trucks and truck parts by 10%; • increasing the motor fuel tax by 15 cents to $2 per gallon; and • reinstating the federal excise tax on passenger tires. Since the 1930s, the nation's transportation infrastructure has been funded by taxes on gasoline. Why are lawmakers resisting an increase in the gasoline tax now? The answer is the shift in the bal- ance of power in Congress following the November 2014 elections. "Now we have a Republican Senate and a Repub- lican House, and I'm not sure they would agree to a gas tax," says Roy Littlefeld, executive vice presi- dent of the Tire Industry Association (TIA). Congress had a chance to pass a multi-year trans- portation funding package in 2014, but lawmakers could not agree on a way to pay for more than a couple of months' worth of projects, resulting in a temporary extension that lasts until May 2015. The nearly $11 billion measure, which reauthorized the collection of the gas tax but did not increase it, was intended only to prevent a bankruptcy in the Department of Transportation's Highway Trust Fund, according to TIA. To help lawmakers understand how the highway funding proposals could affect independent tire deal- ers, TIA has organized Federal Lobby Day on Feb. 5, 2015, in Washington, D.C. The more dealers who are there, the stronger the message, says Littlefeld. "You can make a difference. In my experience, when a small businessman looks a congressman in the eye, he's believed. He's believed more than a lobbyist, he's believed more than a hired gun." Face-to-face with legislators Federal Lobby Day includes a legislative overview by the Democratic Whip Steny Hoyer. Rep. John Del- aney will explain his proposals to create large-scale fnancing of the nation's infrastructure. Littlefeld and Kevin Rohlwing, TIA's senior vice president of training, will update members on a proposal for mandatory tire registration made by the Rubber Manufacturers Association at the National Transpor- tation Safety Board's Passenger Vehicle Tire Safety Symposium in December. A luncheon with Congres- sional leaders in the Caucus Room of the Cannon House Offce Building will follow. Next on the agenda are three hours of concurrent sessions where dealers: • participate in 10-minute, face-to-face, round robin connection sessions with key staffers from the House Transportation and Infrastructure Commit- tee and the House Ways and Means Committee to voice support for a sustainable federal highway program and to express concern with some of the proposed funding ideas; • meet freshmen members from the House Trans- portation and Infrastructure Committee to discuss their top transportation initiatives; and • meet individually with senators and representatives. The day will end with a reception where Rep. Bill Shuster, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, will give a keynote address. Tire dealers will not be alone on Feb. 5. Members of the Tire Retread & Repair Information Bureau (TRIB) and automotive and highway-user industry groups including the American Highway Users Alli- ance, WMDA/CAR Service Station and Automotive Repair Association, and Service Station Dealers of America and Allied Trades (SSDA) will also be meet- ing with committee staff and members of Congress on Feb. 5. — Ann Neal News/views For more information and to register, contact Roy Littlefeld IV, TIA government affairs manager, by calling (301) 430-7280, ext. 137, or email rlittlefeld2@tireindustry.org. ★ 8