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What Does The Election Mean For Biking?
The parlor games began before all the votes were even counted. Who will be the Secretary of Transportation in President Obama’s second term? Will leadership of Congressional committees that decide the fate of bicycling change hands — and to who? What would these elections mean for transportation and for bicycling and walking specifically?
Well, here’s some of what we’re hearing…
Secretary of Transportation: This one has been simmering for a while. Current Secretary Ray LaHood, an outspoken supporter of bicycling and walking, said back in October 2011 that he wouldn’t serve a second term if the President was reelected. That comment took the president by surprise and LaHood has since backed off a bit, saying he owed it to the president “to sit down and talk after the election and see where it takes us.” We’ll just have to wait and see what he decides. Possible replacements include big city mayors like Los Angeles’ Antonio Villaraigosa and New York City’s Michael Bloomberg, as well as infrastructure champion Ed Rendell, former Governor of Pennsylvania. One also can’t help but notice that Ohio Representative Steven LaTourette’s retirement from Congress makes him available for the job. This would keep a Republican, not to mention a friend to bicycling, in the cabinet as Secretary of Transportation.
UPDATE: Governing Magazine lays outs an extensive list of candidates for Secretary. Streetsblog DC gives you a chance to vote for your choice.
Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chair: As chair of the EPW committee, California Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) has been one of the most influential voices on transportation policy. Many of you in the state probably sent her advocacy alerts over the past two years. As important as that role is, Senator Boxer is next in line for chair of the prestigious Foreign Relations Committee. Will the chairmanship become available? That depends. If Secretary of State Hilary Clinton steps down as expected, Obama will have to appoint a new one. A leading candidate for that position is Senator John Kerry (D-MA), the current chair of Foreign Relations. Kerry’s appointment would allow Boxer to lead the Foreign Relations Committee and open up the EPW chairmanship to Max Baucus of Montana (who leads the Finance Committee), Delaware’s Tom Carper (who could also chair the Homeland Security Committee), or Senator Frank Lautenberg of New Jersey.
Environment and Public Works Committee Ranking Member: The ranking member of EPW is one of the most important voices in shaping policy. According to Republican rules, Republican ranking members must give up their leadership seat when they hit their term limit. As a result, Senator Jim Inhofe (R-OK), the current ranking member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works (EPW), who infamously called bike trails frivolous, may become ranking member of the Armed Services Committee instead. That would likely leave Senator David Vitter (R-LA) to become ranking member. Senator Vitter may be less hostile to bicycling — time will tell. EPW staffing changes could also bring fresh perspectives. For example, the idea for the mandatory sidepath law came from an EPW staffer.
In other news…
- Congress lost several supportive voices. Massachusetts Senator Scott Brown, a Republican co-sponsor of the Cardin-Cochran Amendment, lost his seat. Three Republicans who strongly supported transit funding – Representatives Dold (R-IL), Biggert (R- IL) and Bass (R-NH) – also lost their seats.
- Rep. Chip Cravaak of Minnesota, the Republican who unseated longstanding bike champion James Oberstar, was defeated. Meanwhile, Tim Bishop (D-NY), a member of the important Transportation and Infrastructure Committee T&I and a co-sponsor of Complete Streets legislation, kept his seat in a tight race.
Overall, we shouldn’t see a lot of changes in transportation policy as a result of this election. The majority party remains the same in the Senate and House. The president returns to the White House. Options for raising transportation revenue remain elusive.
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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November 15th, 2012 at 4:45 pm
Nothing Congress or the President do will decide the fate of bicycling. Perhaps the fate of Federal programs, but not of the sturdy and reliable bicycle. Indeed, New Yorkers have been digging out bicycles in the wake of Hurricane Sandy since it is the most resilient form of local transportation in an area where gasoline has been rationed.
Its certainly important for cyclists to travel to D.C. for the upcoming Bike Summit (or simply ride as far as the local office of your Congressman/woman) and remind this next Congress that we exist, but let’s not put our fates entirely into their fickle hands.
Just ride.
November 15th, 2012 at 9:00 pm
It would be nice to have someone bike and pedestrian friendly in there. I’m not partisan, but I do notice that a large majority of the people that yell at me to get off the road on my commute to and from work have Romney stickers on their vehicles (especially the SUV’s and Pick Up Trucks), hope that isn’t a sign.
November 15th, 2012 at 10:47 pm
Sorry, David — it is a sign. The GOP’s movers and shakers have been marginalizing federal bike support AT LEAST since LaHood’s installation as SoT. Does no one remember all the catcalling by the GOP when LaHood publicly announced his pro-bike agenda?
The author here is pretty obviously GOP, as well, something of an oxymoron, IMO. The “drillbabydrill” squad comes almost ENTIRELY from the conservatives, who would take “subdue the earth” literally, ignoring the true meaning of the phrase as originally written: “be responsible for the earth”.
Federal support of bicycling would take a serious change in national attitude to survive; I, for one, am largely indifferent, as long as anything that smacks of John Forester’s philosophy is allowed in the debate. I WILL RIDE IF I HAVE TO TRESPASS IN PEOPLE’S BACK YARDS TO DO SO!
November 16th, 2012 at 5:42 am
Do you know in monetary terms exactly how much it can save, http://www.dieyijie.com if fuel was at an average cost?
November 16th, 2012 at 9:08 am
Look on the bright side. With the Fed moving relentlessly towards the “fiscal cliff”, we should start working harder at the local level, where the immediate benefits of smart bicycling programs can be more tangible.
Examples abound, as LAB proclaims in its contant award of new bicycle friendly cities. Other than its new bikeshare program being literally under water a couple weeks ago (the storage facility flooded), NYC is moving through a major overhaul of its transportation paradigm to include bicycling explicitly and its mayor is the latest convert to the idea that we can’t drill our way out of our problems. Over 50% of the public lives in coastal watersheds. More sea level rise and stronger storms ain’t a good idea.
Where cities lead, the nation will eventually follow.
November 20th, 2012 at 8:47 am
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