Tau Kappa Epsilon Phone March Challenge

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - Tau Kappa Epsilon has been recognized as the largest social fraternity in the world since 1959 and we now have the opportunity to PROVE IT! On Wednesday, September 19, the entire Greek world is conducting a "Phone March" on Capitol Hill to bolster Congressional support for the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 643/S. 638).

Summary of the Bill: The Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act would allow tax-deductible charitable contributions given to educational foundations (such as the TKE Educational Foundation) to be used to make improvements to housing owned and operated for the benefit of college students. This bill would make it substantially easier for Greeks nationwide to raise the money needed to install critical life-safety improvements in our chapter housing, expand housing capacity, and otherwise modernize the housing we provide to our student members.

When: From 9:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Eastern Time on September 19, we are asking Fraters across the country to call their legislators and to ask them to co-sponsor the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act, important legislation that will help preserve and enhance not-for-profit student housing options.

Why: We need as many Members of Congress as possible to co-sponsor this legislative initiative, and your phone call will help show lawmakers how important this legislation is to their constituents and to the Greek community nationwide. The results will be published following the effort. Let's show the fraternal world we truly are the biggest and the best! This takes no money, just a few minutes of your time.

What to do: GREEK LEGISLATIVE CALL SHEET

1. Call the U.S. Capitol Switchboard at 202-224-3121 on Wednesday, September 19 and ask to be connected with your U.S. Representative and both of your Senators. If you don't know who they are, check these links first: www.house.gov and www.senate.gov .
2. When connected with the appropriate office, ask to speak with the staff member who handles tax issues. If the person is not available, ask to speak with the education staffer. If neither staff member is available, leave a voice mail or speak with the person answering the phone.
3. Try to make some of the following key points in your phone call, but be sure to personalize the call as much as possible to discuss how passage of the bill will benefit you or the collegiate members of your fraternal organization. If possible, reference the bill's impact on colleges and universities in your immediate area.
• I live in your district/State and I am calling to ask your boss to become a co-sponsor of the Collegiate Housing and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 643 in the House or S. 638 in the Senate) and to push for its passage. I am also a member of ____ fraternity/sorority.
• I am concerned that many not-for-profit student housing facilities, including fraternity and sorority housing, are unable to use certain charitable contributions to fund safety upgrades and other necessary infrastructure improvements.
• Rising enrollment is creating severe housing shortages on college campuses nationwide and not-for-profit housing is becoming more and more crucial to ensuring that students have access to safe and affordable housing options.
• Fraternities and sororities provide housing for over 250,000 students each year at no cost to the host institution, but much of this housing is in dire need of costly life safety upgrades and infrastructure improvements.
• Currently, tax-deductible contributions to fraternity and sorority foundations cannot be used for most infrastructure improvements to housing they own and operate, but contributions to colleges and universities can. The result is we lack the funding needed to make fire and life safety improvements or other infrastructure changes that would modernize our housing.
• The bill would eliminate this restriction and allow fraternities and sororities, as well as other not-for-profit housing operations, to install modern life safety equipment, such as fire sprinklers, smoke detectors, and alarm systems.
• The bill has been endorsed by the American Council on Education (ACE) and the American Association of State Colleges and Universities (AASCU), two of the leading associations of higher education institutions.
• In the last Congress, this bill had 151 bipartisan sponsors in the House and 28 sponsors in the Senate. Already this year, we have 154 House sponsors and 32 Senate sponsors. There is no known opposition to the bill.
• I strongly urge you to become a co-sponsor of this important legislation.
4. KEY STEP: Visit www.fraternalcaucus.org and click on "2007 Greek Phone March Contact Form." Complete the form summarizing your conversations with Congressional offices so that our national Greek leaders can track your involvement and plan appropriate follow-up steps. While on the website, please register as a member under the "Get Involved" tab if you have not already done so.

For more information, call or email the Offices of the Grand Chapter .