Act Now!

NSTA and the American School Bus Council need your assistance to secure federal funding for a public education campaign to communicate the benefits of the yellow school bus to students, parents, and state and local elected officials.

Background: On February 18, Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC) sent letters to their colleagues in Congress urging support for a federally-funded public education and awareness campaign to support the safety, environmental, economic, energy, and congestion benefits of increased school bus ridership. The letter asked others Members to sign onto a letter to Secretary of Transportation, Ray LaHood, asking him to dedicate agency funding for the public education campaign to promote greater use of the yellow school bus.

View Letter to Secretary Ray LaHood

ACTION NEEDED
We need all NSTA members and employees to contact their Members of the House of Representatives to ask them to sign onto the letter to the Secretary of Transportation, Ray Lahood.

STEP ONE
Please FAX or EMAIL  the following letter to your Congressman.  Please do not mail the letter as it will take over a month for your Congressman to receive it.  If you do not know who your Congressman is, please use the box at the right to find out.
Dear Congressman _______,

Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) and Congressman Howard Coble (R-NC) are leading an effort to support a federally-funded public education and awareness campaign on the safety, environmental, economic, energy, and congestion benefits of increased school bus ridership. We urge you to help them achieve this measure by joining them on a letter to Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood that was circulated on February 18.

As the draft letter indicates, the nation's school bus fleet of 480,000 vehicles is the safest, most environmentally responsible way to get kids to school – and because each bus takes an average of 36 cars off the road it saves energy and eases congestion as well. A public education campaign is needed to communicate these benefits to students, parents and state and local elected officials.

Please add your signature to the Lipinski/Coble Dear Colleague letter to Secretary Ray LaHood to help ensure that this valuable mode of transportation is protected.

Sincerely,

XXX

STEP TWO
Please follow up with your representative's office with a phone call.  Ask for the Congressman's transportation aide.  Ask the aide to make sure that the Congressman supports the Lipinski/Coble effort.

STEP THREE
Email the NSTA Central Office and let us know that you've contacted your Congressman.

Thank you for your assistance!