Revitalized Lobbying Scores Wins

The 415-5 vote by the House of Representatives earlier this month to create a national motor carrier administration illustrates that American Trucking Associations is achieving its goal of being a major player in legislative advocacy, according to the group’s senior staff and some key members.

“It was a strategy that was well-planned, carefully timed and efficiently executed,” ATA Chairman John E. Wren said of the bill’s nearly unanimous approval on Oct. 14.

ATA has also worked both publicly and behind the scenes to build support for several other trucking issues, Wren said.

“You may not always see ATA’s name attached to initiatives, but I can promise you there is ATA’s expertise and guidance behind all of them,” he said in a recent speech to the Texas Motor Transport Association. “That’s because it’s not always best to work out front but behind the scenes. ATA’s new staff knows when to play out front.”

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