Nothing in TEA21 came easily or quickly. In fact, the brewing of this "TEA" lasted nearly two years. During that time, The Highway Users led a business coalition, called Keep America Moving (KAM), to advocate highway policies and programs that would improve the safety and efficiency of our national transportation system. KAM undertook a nationwide grassroots, media, and lobbying campaign that has been credited with mobilizing public support for the highway bill.

Following are some of the highlights of our work during this major two-year undertaking:

• Halting "Highway Robbery" — When, in mid-1997, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee produced a six-year highway bill that fell $35 billion short of the full funding provided for highways in the House version, a bipartisan group of four powerful Senators decided to push for more highway money. Senators Robert C. Byrd (D-WV), Phil Gramm (R-TX), John Warner (R-VA), and Max Baucus (D-MT) introduced an amendment to increase the amount for highways by $31 billion above the committee-approved level. They asked for help from The Highway Users and other advocates to build political support for their proposal.

  Meeting with the Senators and their staffs as often as three times a week, we went to work on a coordinated, nationwide lobbying and grassroots campaign. Our toll-free hotline transferred over 1,000 constituent calls to Capitol Hill urging other Senators to cosponsor and support the Byrd-Gramm-Warner-Baucus amendment. Grassroots leaders in targeted states wrote letters to their Senators and to local newspapers in support of the amendment. Our members and grassroots allies held press conferences in four state capitals urging prompt action on the highway bill and support for the funding amendment. And we sponsored drive-time radio ads in targeted states, hitting hard on the important local benefits to be derived from increase highway funding. The outpouring of constituent support generated by these and other activities resulted in a $26 billion increase for highways in the Senate bill and spurred prompt action on the highway bill in both chambers of Congress.

• In Defense of Highways — KAM produced two primers on the federal highway program and a variety of transportation issues. The Road to Congress, our first primer, was distributed to congressional candidates during the summer leading up to the 1996 elections. The second, more in-depth analysis of highway issues, entitled Better, Safer Roads for the 21st Century, was distributed to all members of Congress in 1997 when legislation to reauthorize the federal highway program was just being drafted. During congressional debate on TEA21, The Highway Users staff fielded numerous phone calls from staff on Capitol Hill seeking additional information after reading about an issue in the 150-page KAM binder. We knew then that our message was being heard where it counted most.

• Hearing From Constituents — KAM sponsored two rallies (March 10 and April 29, 1998) on Capitol Hill to demonstrate constituent support for prompt congressional action on legislation that fully invests highway taxes in road and bridge improvements. Coming from across the country, highway advocates gathered on the steps of the U.S. Capitol to hear from congressional transportation leaders before fanning out to meet with members of their own congressional delegations.

• Delivering Our Message to the Media — Mobilizing public support for better, safer highways was a fundamental element of The Highway Users' overall strategy for highway reauthorization. To garner that support, a specially trained army of Highway Users and KAM volunteers delivered our pro-highway message directly to local news media in targeted states. Over an 11-month period, our volunteers met with editorial writers and transportation reporters for daily newspapers in over 130 cities. In some cases, they also scheduled interviews on local radio talk shows and television programs or with local business publications. In the end, newspapers read by 25 million Americans (nearly 45% of total daily circulations) and more than half of the nation's total Sunday circulation had received a visit from a highway advocate.

• Refining Our Message — Political realities in contemporary Washington demand that advocacy groups develop a compelling message, one that not only resonates with the American public and lawmakers, but that is also substantiated by the numbers. The Highway Users and KAM turned to Wirthlin Worldwide, a respected independent polling firm, to examine public opinion on a variety of highway and tax issues. In addition, we sponsored four focus group session around the country and two instant response sessions on the east coast to ensure that our messages, both written and oral, were conveyed in terms that would resonate with ordinary Americans.

• Working Together With Governors — Created by the National Governors' Association (NGA) in April 1997, the Coalition for TRUST (Transportation Revenues Used Solely for Transportation) brought together public officials, business, labor, and farm organizations for a common purpose: tying annual federal highway funding to the taxes paid by motorists. The Highway Users was a leading partner in the TRUST coalition, providing both financial and staff support. We worked closely with the NGA staff to develop lobbying and media campaigns to support the coalition's agenda. Working with the coalition, numerous governors personally lobbied members of the congressional budget and highway committees to support a substantial increase in highway funding. The TRUST coalition's work was critical to achieving the highway funding guarantee that Congress ultimately incorporated in TEA21.

• Responding to a Veto Threat — In May 1998, as congressional negotiators were close to reaching agreement on TEA21, President Clinton's top advisors warned that he would veto the bill unless highway funding levels were reduced. The Highway Users and KAM immediately went into action, building opposition to a veto and circulating a letter to the president among state officials, mayors, labor unions, trade associations, and businesses urging him to sign TEA21. More than 1,000 organizations and public officials, representing all 50 states, responded to our call and delivered a broad outpouring of support for the highway bill. The letter was hand delivered to the White House a week before the president ultimately signed the bill.