Curt Dewees
Susan,
Thanks to you, also, for going to NBS and representing the business
community. Sometimes these kinds of policy initiatives you discussed are
criticized as "pie-in-the-sky" dreams by government bureucrats and nonprofit
policy wonks who don't live in the "real world." [I don't agree with that
criticism, btw, but it's out there.] By representing the for-profit business
community, you add a valuable voice and perspective to the discussion and
help demonstrate that bike commuting makes good business sense for real
communities as well.
Thanks for going.
cd
On 3/6/06, Susan Otcenas wrote:
>
> I spent last week in Washington DC attending the 6th annual National Bike
> Summit. http://www.bikeleague.org/events/ The Bike Summit is conducted
> by
> the League of American Bicyclists and is an opportunity for people in the
> bicycling community (advocates from around the country, state
> transportation
> officials, bicycle industry suppliers and retailers) to get together to
> discuss issues in bicycling advocacy and access. Attendees also spend a
> full day on Capitol Hill lobbying members of Congress.
>
> The primary focus of last year's event was to discuss the impending
> reauthorization of TEA-21, and make sure the interests of bicyclists and
> pedestrians were represented. That reathorization, dubbed SAFETEA-LU, was
> successfully passed in mid-2005. SAFETEA-LU contained a number of
> provisions
> that bicycling advocates had been asking for, including a national Safe
> Routes to School Program, and a significant growth in enhancements
> programs
> to fund bicycling and pedestrian facilities around the country.
>
> This year, like last, we spent the first day of the summit learning about
> events since last year's summit. We also attended educational seminars on
> advocacy and the work yet to be done. There were a record # of attendees
> at the summit this year over 370 with many 1st timers!.
>
> On Thursday, we broke into state delegations and spent the day visiting
> our
> congressmen and senators. The League asked the we speak with our elected
> officials on several key items, including:
>
> 1.The Bicycle Commuter Act
> http://www.bikeleague.org/educenter/hr1265.pdf
> , which would allow employers to offer tax advantages to bike commuters
> similar to what is currently available to users of mass transit and for
> parking.
> 2.The Conserve by Bicycle Program. The program was authorized by the
> Energy
> Policy Act of 2005. It authorizes $6.2 MM to study the energy impacts
> shifting from motor vehicles to non-motorized transportation. Now, we
> need
> Congress to appropriate the funds for the program. Yup, you have to fight
> the battle twice.
> 3. The Rivers, Trails and Conservation Assistance Program - This is a
> National Parks Service program that is threated under the proposed 2007
> budget. We asked that the program be restored and that funding be
> increased.
> 4.High Priority Projects - SAFETEA-LU included $1 Billion (with a B) for
> projects that involve bicycle, pedestrian and trail projects. We asked
> that
> members of congress ensure that State DOTs implement these projects (and
> not
> divert funds for motorized projects).
> 5. Although not on the League agenda, the Oregon attendees also made sure
> to
> discuss the critical need to get funding for the Sellwood Bridge. The BTA
> stressed the need to make sure that critical link in the transportation
> system is made bicycle friendly when the bridge is rehabbed or replaced.
>
>
> Here in Oregon, we're fortunate to have a delegation (consisting of
> Senators
> Wyden & Smith, and Congressmen/woman Wu, Blumenaur, Hooley, Walden &
> DeFazio) that are all supportive of bicycling and pedestrian projects. We
> are one of only two states that has every member of Congress signed on as
> members of the congressional Bike Caucus (Maine being the other).
> Nonetheless, we need to continue to make our voices heard so that we can
> continue the work - there's so much yet to be done.
>
> We received a good reception from all the offices. In fact, Congresswoman
> Hooley's office emailed us within two hours of our visit with great news:
>
> "I just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for taking the
> time
> to come to DC to meet with me and discuss issues of concern with the
> Oregon
> bicycle community. I also wanted tomake you aware that I've been in
> contact with Earl's office to let them know that Darlene would like to
> cosign the letter to the appropriators regarding the Bike/Conserve
> authorization and to cosponsor HR 807 (Bike commuter bill). "
>
> Last year, Senator Wyden's office sponsored the Bicycle Commuter Act in
> the
> Senate. We asked that he re-introduce it as a sponsor this year
> (Congressman Blumenaur has already re-introduced it in the House). His
> office was very positive on the possibility of that happening. Senator
> Wyden's office gave us a strong indication that the senator would sign on
> as
> a co-sponsor if Wyden's office introduced it. All good news!
>
> Congressman Wu's office was very positive as well. The staffer there
> asked
> that residents in his district let their opinions be known. PLEASE call
> or
> write to the Congressman's office and let him know that you support these
> programs! Contact information for Wu can be found here:
> http://www.house.gov/wu/
>
> Finally, I'd like to say what a great organization the BTA is. 3 of the 8
> Oregon attendees were from the BTA - Jessica Roberts (Metro Area
> Advocate),
> Evan Manvel (Executive Director) and Scott Bricker (Legislative Director).
> We should all be thankful that we have such dedicated advocates here in
> Oregon working so hard on our behalf. They are tireless in what they
> do. I
> hope you'll support them by making a contribution.
> http://www.bta4bikes.org/ The other Oregonians that gave their time and
> energy to the summit included Jerry Norquist (Cycle Oregon), Jonathan Maus
> (bikeportland.org), Mia Burke (Alta Planning & Design -former bike/ped
> coordinator for the City of Portland) and Jay Graves (Bike Gallery). All
> well-spoken and articulate people, and I was honored to be there with
> them.
>
> Susan
>
> --------------------------------------------
> Susan Otcenas
> TEAM ESTROGEN, INC. __~o
> 2038 NW Aloclek Dr., Suite 220 -\_<,
> Hillsboro, OR 97124 (*)/'(*)
>
> http://www.TeamEstrogen.com
> 1-877-310-4592
> --------------------------------------------
> Cycling Apparel and Accessories for Women
> --------------------------------------------
>
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