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Biking/walking and the Economic Recovery Bill

The League of American Bicyclists, in conjunction with the America Bikes coalition, is calling of people to tell their lawmakers to support bicycling and pedestrian projects in the Economic Recovery Bill. On Tuesday, the Senate passed its version of the bill, which is considerably different from the House version. Here's what LAB has to say:

The House and the Senate have each passed their own version of the Economic Recovery Bill, aimed at creating jobs and stimulating the economy. Both bills include billions for transportation infrastructure, but only the House bill includes funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects in the Transportation Enhancements program.

The House Bill includes approximately $1.35 billion for Transportation Enhancements of which 50-60% is traditionally spent on bicycle and pedestrian projects. The Senate Bill does not explicitly include Transportation Enhancements, so its unclear whether this funding will be in the final bill.

This week there will be a conference committee where several members of the House and several members of the Senate will work together to reconcile the two bills. Conferees need to hear that Transportation Enhancements are important to stimulating the economy, creating green jobs, and moving us towards a sustainable future.

Please call your Senators and Representative and urge them to tell the Conferees to support Transportation Enhancements in the Economic Recovery bill.

The LAB alert also includes a box in which you can get the phone numbers for the representative and senators who represent you and ask them to support the projects.

Roger 0 comments 11:50 AM