The House and Senate are in recess until September 7, so you should take this time to introduce yourself to your members if and when you see them around your district or state. Better yet, call the office of your member of Congress and ask to schedule a face-to-face meeting. Contact Kelly Fink at kfink@nacsonline.com or (703) 518-4228 if you would like help facilitating these meetings.
The U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works is planning a markup for a four-month clean extension of the highway bill on September 8. Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) and the committee are also discussing marking up their two-year reauthorization proposal the week of September 12 if funding issues are worked out.
As noted before in the Washington Report, a Virginia Tech Study predicted a $600.7 decrease in tax revenue for localities nationwide in 2010 if the repeal of rest stop commercialization is overturned. The study predicted a 46 percent decrease in Interstate-serving gas station sales in each county, a 44 percent decrease in sales at Interstate serving restaurants, and a 35 percent decrease in truck service sales at Interstate-serving truck service businesses as a result of the commercialization of rest stops.
Click here to tell Congress to oppose rest stop commercialization.