rails to trails conservancy

Dear Campaign Advocate,

Many thanks to all of you who arranged for your lobbyist or other campaign representative in Washington, D.C., to attend Rails-to-Trails Conservancy’s (RTC) recent strategy session on H.R. 4722, the ACT Act. We enjoyed an engaging, spirited discussion. With fresh new ideas for advancing the legislation, we have developed an updated strategy to grow our co-sponsor list.

The central piece of this strategy is a concentrated effort to repeatedly engage target offices. Key steps include:

  1. The office of Rep. Earl Blumenauer, bill author, will circulate a "Dear Colleague" letter among U.S. House of Representatives members, encouraging their co-sponsorship. This letter will be sent to offices around the middle of next week (July 14 or 15).
  2. Please have your lobbyists or other D.C. representatives contact House members to encourage co-sponsorships starting July 19 and continuing until summer recess begins on August 9. In addition to select materials about the national campaign, we would like your lobbyists to be armed with a local letter of support and a copy of your case statement (details below).
  3. If you have access to an online supporter list or other grassroots opportunity, please encourage them to push for co-sponsorship as well.
  4. Simultaneously, RTC will issue an action alert to our online readership, asking them to encourage representatives who have not yet co-sponsored to do so.

Regardless of whether your lobbyist was able to attend our strategy session, please encourage him/her to participate in this subsequent effort.

In addition to national campaign and legislation materials, please prepare your lobbyist with:

  • One to three very strong, compelling documents of support for the ACT Act from local leaders (e.g., letter from the mayor or president of the chamber of commerce or a city council resolution). If you already have such documents (perhaps as part of your initial case statement) that adequately speak to local support for the ACT Act, these may be reused for this purpose. If not, please arrange for these materials to be assembled and submitted to your lobbyists, keeping in mind the very fast turnaround we anticipate for this process.
  • A copy of your case statement. If you would like to update the document or make any changes, please do so in advance of upcoming lobbying activities. Please let us know if you would like to update your case statement on our website.

It is critical that you please let us know about any congressional meetings or other co-sponsorship efforts. This is essential so we can track our progress, provide you with intelligence when appropriate (including online actions taken and other touches about which we are aware) and avoid uncoordinated contacts. Of course, we will communicate with you about any meetings or contacts we have with members of your delegation and provide feedback.

Just complete this short form to submit details about your upcoming meeting. Or, email kartik@railstotrails.org with any questions.

After your meeting has taken place, we will follow up with you.

Thank you very much. This is a truly vital step in our strategy to pass the ACT Act, and your continuing support for this effort is very much appreciated.

Sincerely,

Rails-to-Trails Conservancy


PS – In case you were unable to attend last Thursday’s webinar on the upcoming TIGER II grant program, please see the Notice of Funding Availability or the webinar slideshow for full program details. All interested applicants must submit a very short pre-application by July 26. The final application will be due August 23 via www.grants.gov. Please see this FAQ or this fact sheet for more on TIGER II.  If you still have questions, they may be addressed to sustainablecommunities@hud.gov. Finally, please let RTC know of any plans you may have to apply for TIGER II funds to advance your active transportation plans. Thank you!

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Rails-to-Trails Conservancy
2121 Ward Ct., NW
5th Floor
Washington, DC 20037
+1-202-331-9696

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