Texas Co-ops Represented at NRECA Legislative Conference

May 6, 2016

Electric cooperative leaders from Texas traveled to the nation’s capital May 1–4 for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association Legislative Conference. They joined representatives from Texas Electric Cooperatives and others from across the country to advocate on a variety of issues for cooperatives and their member-owners.

The Texas delegation visited Capitol Hill to meet with the staffs of elected officials representing the cooperatives’ service areas. One objective was to thank the 18 Texas congressional offices whose House members signed the letter authored by House Committee on Agriculture Chairman Mike Conaway of Texas in support of continued funding for the Rural Utilities Service.

Cooperative leaders also asked their representatives to join the Rural Broadband Caucus and the Cooperative Business Caucus, in addition to urging them to maintain the federal pole attachment exemption for cooperatives and extend tax credits for geothermal heat pumps.

The offices of Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz were asked to co-sponsor S. 2446, the Improving Coal Combustion Residuals Regulation Act; support H.R. 1471, the FEMA Disaster Assistance Reform Act; and support H.R. 2358, the Electricity Reliability and Forest Protection Act.