Speaking Truth to Power

You never know what a visit to Capitol Hill is going to bring. I was up on the Hill yesterday to deliver our testimony on the role bicycling can play in combating climate change – read all about it here – with Walter Finch, the League’s advocacy director.

I got up to the Hill first (cos I was riding….!) and found myself standing in the security line next to the guy from the Discovery Communications empire that does Lance Armstrong’s website. Evidently it was Livestrong Day on Capitol Hill and Lance was in town with other cancer survivors to raise awareness for their issues.

The hearing itself was a long-drawn out affair – not because of the witnesses or even the statements from Members of Congress, but because of frequent lengthy interruptions for a series of quorum votes on the House floor. My five minutes of fame took about four and half hours to complete – like the last few minutes of a basketball game, I guess – but I did get a couple of questions from Members who were in attendance.

The nicest surprise was that Congressman Dan Lipinski (D-IL) from Chicago introduced himself as a League member, and then asked a couple of good questions about the Federal government’s potential role as a model employer for bicyclists.

And then before we’d even gotten back to the office we were contacted by the Association for Commuter Transportation – the ridesharing, vanpooling, commuter services people – to follow up our testimony and see if there are ways we can work together.