Important bill that could threaten future bike/pedestrian infrastructure

[PotomacCyclist]

Here’s a post from the League of American Bicyclists:

House Bill Reverses Decades of Progress on Bike/Ped
It’s so much worse than we thought

Today, the House released its transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act. We expected the bill to be bad news for biking and walking, but we didn’t think it would go so far as to reverse all the progress we have made in the past twenty years.

Take action now—tell your representative to preserve biking and walking in the Transportation Committee.

House leadership is exerting pressure to completely cut bicycling and walking out of transportation. Lawmakers seem to have gone through line-by-line to gut programs that make streets safer. The outrageous American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act:

Destroys Transportation Enhancements by making the program optional
Repeals the Safe Routes to School program, reversing years of progress in creating safe ways for kids to walk and ride bicycles to school
Allows states to build bridges without safe access for pedestrians and bicycles
Eliminates bicycle and pedestrian coordinators in state DOTs
But there’s still a chance to save biking and walking. This week, Representatives Petri (R-WI) and Johnson (R-IL) plan to stand up to leadership by offering an amendment that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School. Representative Petri and Johnson can only be successful if everyone with a stake in safe sidewalks, crosswalks, and bikeways contacts their Congressional Member today.

This is as urgent as it gets. If members of the Transportation Committee are going to stand up to House leadership by supporting biking and walking, they will need to know their constituents are behind them. Please contact Congress today and ask them to preserve dedicated funding for biking and walking.

Thank you for all you’re doing to preserve biking and walking.

(Click on the link to view the original post. The form at the bottom of that page allows you to send an email to your local representative, to support continued funding of bike and pedestrian infrastructure projects.)

http://www.capwiz.com/lab/issues/alert/?alertid=60929976&type=TA

Topic

[OneEighth]

My two cents—contact your Senators. The Senate hasn’t marked it up yet.

[WillStewart]

I urge you to support an amendment by Representatives Petri (R-WI) and Johnson (R-IL) that restores dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to School.

With our excessive dependence on foreign oil, any measures we can take to further enable cycling as transportation will help reduce “America’s addiction to oil” as President Bush had stated in his 2006 SOTUS.

[DaveK]

As a DC resident I will immediately contact nobody. I’d email Eleanor but what’s the point?

Don’t mistake this for a lack of outrage, it’s all there, I’m just resigned to Taxation without Representation.

[KLizotte]

@DaveK 14088 wrote:

As a DC resident I will immediately contact nobody. I’d email Eleanor but what’s the point?

Don’t mistake this for a lack of outrage, it’s all there, I’m just resigned to Taxation without Representation.

Write to the White House?

[creadinger]

It sounds like an important bill, however I need to ask the question because I just don’t know:

Is this like some other bills that have come out of the house lately that have absolutely zero chance of passing? Where the teapartyers are just trying to make a point and then it gets quickly shot down by the Senate and is considered a complete waste of time?

[eminva]

@DaveK 14088 wrote:

As a DC resident I will immediately contact nobody. I’d email Eleanor but what’s the point?

Don’t mistake this for a lack of outrage, it’s all there, I’m just resigned to Taxation without Representation.

Dave, Eleanor is on the Transportation Committee and she can vote in committee, so by all means, please do contact her.

Liz

[DaveK]

@eminva 14094 wrote:

Dave, Eleanor is on the Transportation Committee and she can vote in committee, so by all means, please do contact her.

Liz

!!

The more you know…

Thanks for bringing that to my attention, she’ll get an email when I get home tonight.

[OneEighth]

Both chambers are working on this legislation.

[PotomacCyclist]

@creadinger 14092 wrote:

It sounds like an important bill, however I need to ask the question because I just don’t know:

Is this like some other bills that have come out of the house lately that have absolutely zero chance of passing? Where the teapartyers are just trying to make a point and then it gets quickly shot down by the Senate and is considered a complete waste of time?

Like most bills, this one will probably change along the way. But I think it’s still useful to demonstrate support for bike/pedestrian infrastructure. It’s easy enough to do. The online form makes it very easy. Plug in your zip code and electronically sign the form letter/email. (Edit it if you want.) Then click Send. The email goes to your local representative, based on your zip code.

[creadinger]

@PotomacCyclist 14110 wrote:

Like most bills, this one will probably change along the way. But I think it’s still useful to demonstrate support for bike/pedestrian infrastructure. It’s easy enough to do. The online form makes it very easy. Plug in your zip code and electronically sign the form letter/email. (Edit it if you want.) Then click Send. The email goes to your local representative, based on your zip code.

Thanks. Yeah, I did that after your initial comment. I got my wife too as well. Thanks for the post. I would not have seen it otherwise. We haven’t been in VA for a full year yet, but our Arlington reps seem to be very environment/cycling friendly so far.

I was just curious as to what the story behind the bill was and where it is on the scale of likelihood of passing.

[eminva]

@creadinger 14167 wrote:

I was just curious as to what the story behind the bill was and where it is on the scale of likelihood of passing.

The Transportation Committee today voted down the amendment that would have saved Transportation Enhancements (including Safe Routes to Schools, bike and pedestrian projects, state and local bicycle coordinator positions), 29-27. Eleanor Holmes Norton voted in favor of the amendment (e.g., pro TE).

Unclear where it goes from here — hopefully there will be another opportunity to salvage something as the legislation advances.

Liz

[PotomacCyclist]

The Senate bill is different although it still changes the current guidelines for bike infrastructure financing. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood (a former congressman and a Republican, even though he is a member of Obama’s Cabinet) blasted the bill. Interestingly, even AAA doesn’t seem pleased with the House bill because it increases truck weight limits. AAA thinks heavier trucks could pose a threat to car drivers.

The Senate bill was passed with both Democratic and Republican support. LaHood called the House bill a one-man show on the part of Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-Fla.). Obviously since Mica got enough votes, it wasn’t a one-man show, but he is the driving force behind the House bill. I read another statement where LaHood said that the House bill had very little chance of becoming law in its current form. There is going to be opposition from the Senate, from the Administration and many in the House.

The bill also cuts Amtrak subsidies, which will upset transit/train advocates.

[PotomacCyclist]

An unrelated but possibly relevant item: President Obama announced the creation of a Veteran Jobs Corps program at an appearance in Pentagon City. The new Corps would employ 20,000 military veterans to work on conservation projects as well as on the repair and rehabilitation of trails, roads, levees, recreation facilities and other assets.

Maybe the VJC could spend some of their time and money working on bike trails across the country. This could help to offset some of the damage done if bike funding is gutted by particular states. Even if VJC doesn’t build new trails, they could rescue neglected trails, bringing some of those back into use.

[PotomacCyclist]

An update on the House transportation bill: The bill has largely stalled because of bipartisan objections to the removal of transit funding and objections from fiscal conservatives about the $260 billion in total spending. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is helping to lead a charge for a bipartisan Senate bill.

Ray LaHood gives Senate transportation bill a boost

[Author]

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