Email your senators NOW to preserve bike funding

Every bicycling group in the country -- from the League of American Bicyclists to People for Bikes to Rails-to-Trails Conservancy -- is mobilizing today to alert bicyclists that federal funding for bicycling is under serious attack.

Today or tomorrow, Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma will introduce an amendment to eliminate dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements, which is the main source of funding for bike projects of all sorts. Take action TODAY by emailing your senators to urge them to oppose and defeat Mr. Coburn's amendment -- click this link to do it all online in just a few minutes, or reference the contact info below for Ohio's senators.

Here's some background:

Yesterday, the U.S. House of Representatives voted on a six-month "clean" extension of the federal transportation bill ("SAFETEA-LU"). There was strong bipartisan support to continue all transportation funding, including trails, walking and bicycling, for six months to give Congress time to agree on a multi-year bill.

The Senate will then vote on this House bill. While there is a report of a transportation deal, Senator Coburn wants to kill funding for biking/walking projects, now around $700 million of transportation funds (still less than 2% of total transportation dollars, but Coburn would make it a big fat ZERO), by killing the Transportation Enhancements program – the primary funding source for the past 20 years for bike lanes, trails, racks on buses, education and the like. Money for bike lanes? Gone! Money for Rails to Trails conversions? Gone!

If it's eliminated, the money will NOT be used to reduce our national deficit! It will simply go to road projects instead of biking and walking programs -- popular, cost-effective programs that research shows generate more jobs per million dollars invested than regular road projects.

Email or call today!

Senator Sherrod Brown:
Washington, DC: (202) 224-2315
http://brown.senate.gov/contact/
Toll Free: 1-888-896-OHIO (6446) or
Cincinnati: (513) 684-1021
Cleveland: (216) 522-7272
Columbus: (614) 469-2083
Lorain: (440) 242-4100

Senator Rob Portman:
Toll-Free: 1-800-205-6446 (OHIO)
Washington, DC: (202) 224-3353
http://portman.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/contact-form
Columbus Office: 614-469-6774
Cincinnati: 513-684-3265
Cleveland Office: 216-522-7095
Toledo Office: 419-259-3895