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Congress to bikers: Get a car |
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Written by Administrator
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Tuesday, 22 July 2003 |
That's the headline on this article at Salon. The issue here is the elimination of two federal transportation programs that have been the primary vehicle of funding for non-motorized transportation: STEP (Statewide Transportation Enhancement Program) and CMAQ (Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality).
Read more about what's going on, as written by America Bikes, and what you can do. The local player in the appropriations committee is Rep John Culberson.
The primary source of federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian facilities, Transportation Enhancements, was eliminated from the 2004 budget by a House Appropriations Subcommittee on July 11. The committee redirected the money to highways instead.
Call your Representative by July 22nd and ask them to save the Enhancements program. If your Representative serves on the House Appropriations Committee (list below), ask them to support an amendment to strike Section 114 of the 2004 transportation budget.
Funding for the popular Transportation Enhancements program was zeroed out in the 2004 federal budget by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Treasury. The bill increases highway funding to $34.1 billion, an increase of $2.5 billion over 2003 levels, in part by entirely cutting funding for Enhancements, and severely reducing money available for new transit projects and Amtrak.
A vote by the full Appropriations Committee is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, July 22 or Wednesday, July 23. America Bikes and its partners are mobilizing cyclists to ask Congress to restore full funding for this important program.
Since its inception in 1991, the Transportation Enhancements program has built 8,000 bicycle and pedestrian projects across the country. It is responsible for three quarters of the $2.2 billion in federal funds invested in bicycle and pedestrian facilities since 1991. It is a tremendously popular program, building projects initiated and embraced by communities.
America Bikes is particularly concerned because not only does this move eliminate the most important source of federal funding for bike facilities in 2004, it also sets a bad precedent for the next 6 year transportation bill, jeopardizing the bicycle community's efforts to strengthen existing programs, build safer roads, and create a strong national Safe Routes to School program.
CALL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TODAY!
Call your Representative's Washington DC office. Reach any Rep by calling 202-224-3121. If you don’ t know who your Rep is, find them using the League’s new service by clicking the 'elected officials' tab, entering your zip code, then clicking 'biography' for phone numbers.
If your Representative sits on the House Appropriations Committee (list below), ask them to support an amendment to restore funding in the 2004 budget for Enhancements and other programs that help build a balanced transportation system.
If your Representative does not sit on the Appropriations Committee, simply ask them to save the Transportation Enhancements program. |
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Advocacy