League Honors Congressional Bike Champions #NBS12

Today the League of American Bicyclists presented Leadership Awards to 13 members of Congress for their strong support of healthy, active transportation options for all Americans.

Over the past year, these champions from both sides of the aisle have worked to preserve popular, cost-effective programs that make bicycling safe and accessible for rural and urban residents across the nation.

“Unlike so many issues on Capitol Hill, bicycling truly transcends political party, bringing Republicans and Democrats together to protect and promote the health and safety of their constituents,” said Andy Clarke, President of the League of American Bicyclists. “We commend our Leadership Award recipients and call on all members of Congress to follow their lead and unite around a federal transportation bill that continues investment in bicycling programs that create jobs, cut healthcare costs and save Americans money.”

Today, during the 2012 National Bike Summit, constituents presented Leadership Awards to the following members of Congress.

U.S. House of Representatives

Representative Earl Blumenauer (D-OR)

• Congressman Blumenauer is a national champion for active transportation and, as Co-Chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus, is a strong voice in Congress for bicycling and walking. He was one of six House members to sponsor the Petri Amendment to H.R. 7 — the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act — to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking programs in the transportation bill.

Representative Peter DeFazio (D-OR)

• Congressman DeFazio is a strong voice for bicycling and walking on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. His fiery leadership has been invaluable. He was a strong supporter of the Petri amendment to H.R. 7 the bi-partisan amendment to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking programs in the transportation bill.

Representative Timothy Johnson (R-IL)

• Congressman Johnson has been a longtime supporter of Safe Routes to Schools and showed courage and leadership in joining Congressman Petri in sponsoring the Petri amendment to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking programs in the transportation bill.

Representative Steven LaTourette (R-OH)

• Congressman LaTourette is a champion for federal complete streets policies and was one of the bi-partisan leaders that joined Congressman Petri in sponsoring the Petri amendment to H.R. 7. Congressman LaTourette’s efforts for bi-partisan solutions to pass the transportation bill are highly regarded by the bicycling community.

Representative Daniel Lipinski (D-IL)

• Congressman Lipinski has been a strong leader on bicycling issues in the House and joined Congressman Petri in sponsoring the Petri amendment to H.R. 7 to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking programs in the transportation bill.

Representative Frank LoBiondo (R-NJ)

• Congressman LoBiondo is a co-sponsor of the Complete Streets bill in the 112th Congress and has been a longtime supporter of active transportation options for people of all abilities. We are thankful for his support of the Petri amendment to H.R. 7 to preserve federal funding for bicycling and walking programs in the transportation bill.

Representative Thomas Petri (R-WI)

• Congressman Petri is co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus and, in the face of adversity, showed great leadership in championing the Petri amendment to preserve federal support for bicycle and pedestrian initiatives in H.R. 7.

Representative Nick RaHall (D-WV)

• As Ranking Member on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Congressman RaHall is a strong voice for Transportation Enhancements and Recreational Trails program. He voted for the Petri amendment to preserve federal support for transportation enhancements and recreational trails in H.R. 7.

U.S. Senate

Senator Benjamin Cardin (D-MD)

• Senator Cardin’s leadership was instrumental in crafting a creative solution to maintain funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to Schools in the Senate’s transportation bill and to ensure that cities and counties continue to have a voice in how federal dollars are spent on these important programs.

Senator Thad Cochran (R-MS)

• Senator Cochran has been a longtime supporter of Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to Schools and joined Senator Cardin to sponsor an amendment in the Senate to maintain funding for those programs and to ensure that cities and counties continue to have a voice in how federal dollars are spent on these important programs.

Senator Scott Brown (R-MA)

• Senator Brown consistently supports bicycling initiatives and was a co-sponsor of the Cardin-Cochran amendment in the Senate to maintain funding for Transportation Enhancements and Safe Routes to Schools in the Senate’s transportation bill and to ensure that cities and counties continue to have a voice in how federal dollars are spent on these important programs.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-MN)

• Senator Klobuchar has consistently supported federal funding for bicycling and walking programs and recently showed her leadership on these issues by sponsoring the Klobuchar amendment to ensure that the Senate transportation bill included funding for the important Recreational Trails Program.

Senator Olympia Snowe (R-ME)

• Over the past several years, Senator Snowe has served as Co-Chair of the Senate Bike Caucus and throughout her career has consistently supported the bicycling community. We are sorry to see her leave the Senate, as we will lose a truly great friend.

For photos of award presentations and to interview Bike Summit participants, contact Carolyn Szczepanski, League Communications Director, at (816) 509-0774 or [email protected]. Learn more about the National Bike Summit at: https://bikeleague.org/