A press release on Marketwatch indicated that the American Trucking Association will announce its support for bipartisan energy plan. The gist:
The American Trucking Associations today will announce its support for a bipartisan comprehensive energy bill that calls for domestic oil drilling, tax incentives and alternative energy research to lower the price of fuel for the nation's 3.5 million truck drivers and American consumers.
ATA First Vice Chairman Charles "Shorty" Whittington and professional truck driver Tony Sifford will speak about the need for action on energy issues at a press conference held at 12 CST by U.S. Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) at ATA's National Truck Driving Championships in Houston, Texas.
If enacted, The National Conservation, Environment, and Energy Independence Act would enhance the United States' path toward energy independence and security by increasing the production of domestic energy sources as well as dedicating funds to renewable energy research and development.
The trucking industry is experiencing the highest prolonged fuel prices in history. For most motor carriers, fuel has surpassed labor as their largest expense. It currently costs $1,400 to fill a typical tractor trailer's fuel tanks. Fuel cost increases ultimately increase the cost of everything delivered by truck. . . .
Read the rest as at Marketwatch. Addressing another hot button issue, the Austin version of the Post Bulletin editorializes in Let's have a real forum on immigration:
Ron Branstner was back in Austin on Monday, selling the same arguments that he's been pitching for more than a year now -- namely, that illegal immigrants are stealing jobs from hard-working Americans, committing crimes, demanding assistance from social services -- and that the Welcome Center is making it easier for them to do so these things in Austin.
Yadda, yadda, yadda.
We've heard this shtick before from Branstner, the California Minutemen border-watcher who seems to show up every time the Minnesota Coalition for Immigration Reduction holds a public meeting in Austin.
If the coalition asked Branstner to stay away from its next public meeting, its status would grow considerably in our eyes.
As it is, we're pleased to see that some people in attendance at Monday's meeting dared to challenge Branstner's unsubstantiated claims. Illegal immigration is a serious national problem that needs a national solution, but until the dialogue about it becomes a two-way street, little can be accomplished.
So perhaps it's time for a pre-emptive meeting. Instead of waiting for the coalition's next rally-disguised-as-forum, we encourage city leaders to organize the real thing, to allow people from both sides to air their views and lay their cards on the table. . . .
Read the paper's recommendations in the rest of the editorial.
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