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NRC PAC

The National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association now has a Political Action Committee or PAC. PACs are designed to funnel many relatively small political contributions by members of a group into a pool from which large contributions can be made. There are a variety of PACs in the construction and railroad industries. The major railroads and railroad associations have PACs. Most major construction companies have PACs. None of them address our specific industry issues. NRC-PAC is the only PAC created on behalf of the independent railroad contracting industry as represented by the NRC membership.

NRC PAC funds are used to strategically contribute to the election campaigns of politicians who share our core policy views and are willing to work to protect them. Those views include:

		All rail infrastructure projects receiving government dollars should require an open and competitive bidding process.
		Government subsidized entities should not be permitted to bid on construction or maintenance projects against independent taxpaying rail contracting companies.
		Independent rail contractors should not be burdened with regulations that raise costs and decrease efficiency without clearly demonstrated safety benefits.
		The federal government must shift its infrastructure spending priorities to the neglected rail freight and passenger mode. Government spending for the rail mode should at a minimum reach parity with highway spending.

To run successfully for federal office or for re-election requires a tremendous amount of money. Candidates spend much of their time fund raising. What little time they have left is aggressively fought over by people who want access to the lawmaker/candidate. The reality is that financial contributors are more likely to gain access to lawmakers and have the precious time needed to make their case on issues that matter to them. The highway industry spends huge amounts on political contributions each year for just this purpose. They get the access, make their case, and you can see the results in the tens of billions spent by the federal government on highway infrastructure every year in this country. The railroad construction industry needs to be a player also, and that is why NRC PAC is important. A contribution to NRC PAC is an investment in the future of the growth and expansion of rail infrastructure in the United States.

For more information on the NRC PAC, contact Chuck Baker, NRC PAC Treasurer at: cbaker@nrcma.org

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