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Rep. Mica’s Proposed Bill Would Kill Guaranteed Bike/Ped Funding
In a press conference this morning, John Mica (R-FL), chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in the House, announced his proposal for the next surface transportation re-authorization bill. He said the proposal would cost $230 billion over six years — a reduction of 33 percent from the last 6 year bill. (Update: 22 page outline now online.) That’s fine — the alarming thing is that the proposal eliminates dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, including Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and the Recreational Trails Program, and discourages states from choosing to spend their dollars on these activities that are “not in the federal interest.”
Meanwhile on the Senate side, James Inhofe (R-OK), the lead Republican negotiator on the transportation bill, declared that one of his TOP THREE priorities for the transportation bill is to eliminate ‘frivolous spending for bike trails.’
The League and the America Bikes Coalition have launched a critical advocacy alert. Please contact your Members of Congress and tell them to reach out to Senators Inhofe, Boxer, and Congressman Mica to urge them to continue funding for Transportation Enhancements, Safe Routes to School and Recreational Trails.
League President Andy Clarke blasted the draft bill in a press release today saying:
Whether the next transportation bill is $200 billion or $400 billion is frankly less important than what is done with that kind of investment. Mica’s ‘New Direction’ proposal in fact turns the clock back on decades of hard-fought progress towards a truly multi-modal transportation system that offers American’s real choices. Even with a ‘small’ bill, returning to a 1950′s highways-only mentality flies in the face of fiscal responsibility by guaranteeing more single occupant vehicle travel on ever more congested and dangerous highways that we can’t even afford to maintain, let alone build.
The League calls on Chairman Mica to reinstate dedicated funding for bicycling and walking in his bill. We also ask that the Senate resist the efforts of Senator Inhofe eliminate dedicated funding for bicycling and walking. In addition to being healthy activities, bicycling and walking are valid transportation options, with more than four billion bike trips made annually for trips to work, school, and tourism. Furthermore bicycling and walking projects have the potential to create 46 percent more jobs per million dollars spent than auto-only projects; and bicycling and walking are critical generators of economic activity in communities across this country. Now is the time to be investing in these modes, not cutting them off just as 20 years of investment is starting to bear fruit.
Please join us in this effort. Contact your Members of Congress today!
Darren Flusche
League Policy Director
Flusche joined the League in April 2009 and has a B.A. in history from Syracuse University and a Masters of Public Administration with a concentration in public policy analysis from New York University.
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July 8th, 2011 at 10:12 am
[...] Rep. Mica’s Proposed Bill Would Kill Guaranteed Bike/Ped Funding [...]
July 8th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
I am writing to ask Chairman Mica to reinstate
funding for bike trails. There is no possible way that biking can be a detriment to society and the progress we make against air pollution, bad health and creates 46% more jobs! In my lifetime I have noticed that the people we
hire to understand our needs and create for our society is getting worse and worse and taking our lives into something less than desirable! I would ask Chairman Mica why he thinks that this should be eliminated and force him to give 5 good reasons or fire him from his job!
When the people that govern us don’t include our needs in their evaluations than why are they there? Please reinstate the funding because it is the correct thing to do!
July 12th, 2011 at 12:02 pm
I have contacted my congressman from South Mississippi and asked him to step up and take the lead on this endeavor. With the problems that plague our society, i.e. obesity, healthcare, alternative fuel use, this should be a no-brainer for all public servants to embrace. This issue transcends party lines and is the step needed to move our country to a better lifestyle overall.
July 19th, 2011 at 2:03 pm
[...] This bill represents the Republican House view that, since the federal gas tax funds this appropriation, it should only fund highways. The Democrats view, generally speaking, is that the spending should be balanced and should include getting folks out of their cars and trucks. To see more [...]
September 12th, 2011 at 4:30 pm
[...] Rep. John Mica, our new Republican transportation appropriations overlord. Yes, our tea party Congress has [...]
September 12th, 2011 at 5:59 pm
[...] Rep. John Mica, our new Republican transportation appropriations overlord. Yes, our tea party Congress has [...]
September 21st, 2011 at 12:14 am
[...] Enter Rep. John Mica, our new Republican transportation appropriations overlord. Yes, our tea party Congress has proposed killing all guaranteed funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Back in July, when the House was busily carving out all sorts of little green projects from the budget, Mica and his crew decided bicycle paths and walkways for pedestrians were just extras we don’t need. Luckily, the Senate had our backs and passed a clean funding extension, but the two bills have not been reconciled yet. [...]