I was working in New York early in fall 2001 when I got a call from DGA Western Executive Director Bryan Unger asking if I would represent the Guild in a meeting with Congressman David Dreier of California in an effort to garner his support and secure his leadership role in the introduction of a runaway production bill — "The United States Independent Film and Television Production Incentive Act of 2001."
I met with the Guild's Washington representatives, Bobby Rozen and John Porter from Washington Council Ernst & Young, for dinner the night before our meeting. Congressman Jerry Weller from Illinois stopped by the table to say hello and once again offered his support for our legislative effort as he had when he met with us at a Guild reception.
As we entered the House Rules Committee room, we knew the importance this man's support would give to our cause. As the Chairman of the powerful Rules Committee, he is instrumental in determining which bills — and there are thousands — get priority on the docket of legislation introduced on the House floor.
He hurried in, recognized our lobbyists, who are an integral part of the legislative process for Congressmen, and we began our testimonials. We read from a Canadian newspaper proclaiming that the Canadian industry should take advantage of the September 11 incident to garner more American dollars, specifically from the film industry.
I asked, "When is too much too much!? When will we once again have a choice to film in America as our first option rather than our last? When will we be able to help the best of the best working in our industry from having to retire early, sell their houses, or be away from their families for months at a time chasing jobs because so much production has gone out of this country?"
Congressman Dreier had done his homework. Being a free trader, he realized that for our industry the incentives offered by Canada and other countries were tipping the production scales too far in their favor. Key to his decision to support the bill was his realization that the United States has the "best of the best" workers and that we are losing that important human resource. Even though he knew that the path was not an easy one after our meeting, he threw his complete support behind the bill and introduced it to the House as HR 3131 less than two weeks after our meeting.
It was clear to me that many members of Congress are willing to help if they are aware of the problem. We can all do our part through the mail and e-mails. But the personal touch, the one-on-one meetings, is what is needed when working with Congress. What was the old ABC Sports mantra, "Up front and personal?" It does work! The answer is clear. It makes a difference when Congress hears from us!
