As I was saying ...

Such is the state of politics in the U.S. that there now are people who market themselves as "coalition consultants," and, for a fee, will help identify potential partners regarding legislative (or other) issues.

An interesting example of how these consultants work involved the creation of a federal bill that was supported by organizations representing vending machine operators, blind people, tollway booth workers and casino owners.

Give yourself a pat on the back if you can identify the issue those folks agreed on: supporting legislation to replace paper $1 bills with coins.

One of NRCA's priorities these days is gathering support for the Realistic Roof Tax Treatment Act (R2T2), which would reduce the depreciation period for nonresidential roofs from 39 years to 20 years. To do that, we must find partners from outside our industry (without paying consultant fees).

To date, our coalition includes the American Hotel and Lodging Association, American Rental Association, Associated Builders and Contractors, Associated General Contractors of America, Association of Equipment Manufacturers, Food Marketing Institute, International Council of Shopping Centers, International Franchise Association, National Association of Convenience Stores and National Small Business Association.

We're grateful to them all. But even more important to the effort is to have unity within the roofing industry, and we're proud to include the Asphalt Roofing Manufacturers Association; CertainTeed Corp., Valley Forge, Pa.; Elk Corp., Dallas; GAF Materials Corp., Wayne, N.J.; ISP Corp., Wayne; Johns Manville Corp., Denver; Owens Corning Corp., Toledo, Ohio; Performance Roof Systems Inc., Kansas City, Mo.; Polyglass USA Inc., Fernley, Nev.; Polyisocyanurate Insulation Manufacturers Association; Roof Consultants Institute; and Tarco Inc., North Little Rock, Ark., among the bill's supporters.

The final piece of the effort is to secure enough Congressional co-sponsors to be sure the bill is noticed. We have momentum, and we have a great group of supporters. Now, let's make it happen.

Bill Good is NRCA's executive vice president.