Trucking Sweetens the Political Pot
As of Nov. 1, TruckPac had raised just over $500,000 for the 1998 elections, according to PAC Director Royal Roth. TruckPac raised $462,870 in the 1996 elections and $365,331 in the 1992 elections, according to FEC records.
The increased revenue allowed the PAC to dole out ever-increasing amounts of donations to House and Senate candidates and to political parties.
TruckPac contributed $473,000 as of Nov. 1, Mr. Roth said. In 1996, the PAC contributed $426,860, up from $365,875 in the 1994 elections.
Mr. Roth said ATA President Walter McCormick “has put a strong emphasis on legislative advocacy.
“For ATA to become an even bigger player in Washington, a strong PAC is essential. We must be able to contribute to people and political parties that help trucking and to punish those that are anti-trucking.”
Since Mr. Roth joined ATA earlier this year, he has worked closely with Mr. Whittinghill, Mr. McCormick and outgoing TruckPac Chairman Roger Roberson to increase the size of the war chest. Mr. Roberson, chief executive officer of Roberson Transportation Services, Champaign, Ill., stepped up his appeals to ATA members this year. Information on the PAC was mailed to ATA’s board of directors, and Mr. Roberson personally solicited committee members for contributions.
The solicitations worked. This year, 26 members contributed the maximum $5,000 allowable. Twenty-five ATA staffers gave $250 or more to TruckPac, including Bob Rast, publisher of TT Publishing, who contributed $500, and David Barnes, national affairs writer for Transport Topics, who contributed nearly $700. In all, ATA staff gave $25,000 to the PAC this year.
Mr. Roberson, who stepped down as TruckPac chairman last month after four years in the volunteer post, credited ATA’s aggressive lobbying this year as the reason for the increased contributions.
“When (ATA’s lobbying staff) got punched, they got right back up,” he said, citing the months-long fight to prevent Congress from moving the Office of Motor Carriers from the Federal Highway Administration to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.
“Now that Congress understands we will stick our noses into the fray, they know that we are not just bluff and bluster, but that we are for real.”
Raising money is just one side of the equation. Contributing where it will do the most good is somewhat of a black art. PAC directors like Mr. Roth have to consider numerous factors in deciding how to dole out funds.
TruckPac solicited input from ATA members and state trucking associations on which lawmakers should receive contributions. In addition, TruckPac gave heavily to congressional leaders of both parties, even to those who have opposed trucking on some issues.
“Politics is not a black and white world,” Mr. Roth said.
House Republican Whip Tom DeLay (R-Texas) was the largest House recipient of TruckPac funds, receiving $5,500. Members of key congressional committees, such as the Senate Commerce Committee and the House Transportation Committee, received contributions, especially if they were in difficult races. Sen. Ernest Hollings (D-S.C.) received $10,000, the most given to any lawmaker by TruckPac. Mr. Hollings, the senior Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, faced a tough re-election race last week.
TruckPac also contributed to races of concern to the Republican Party, which controls both houses of Congress. Republican Peter Fitzgerald, who bested Sen. Carol Mosely-Braun (D-Ill.) Nov. 3, received $10,000 from TruckPac. Some of that came from fund-raisers held for Mr. Fitzgerald by ATA members, including Mr. Roberson.
TruckPac also contributed $1,000 to House Appropriations Transportation Subcommittee Chairman Frank Wolf (R-Va.) shortly after the congressman proposed moving the Office of Motor Carriers. Mr. Whittinghill said the check gained him admittance to a fund-raiser held by Mr. Wolf. “It gave me the opportunity to discuss the issue face to face with him,” Mr. Whittinghill said.
While Mr. Wolf was sharply critical of ATA’s successful effort to prevent OMC’s transfer, including publicizing inaccurate information on truck safety given him by anti-truck groups, ATA will continue to maintain a relationship with him, Mr. Roth said. “He will remain a huge player in the area of transportation funding and it will be important to continue to have a dialogue with him.”
248
