National Bike Summit 2012: Congressional visits liveblog, Part 1

We're liveblogging updates from today's congressional visits of our Missouri delegation to the National Bike Summit.  Reload the page and and new updates will appear at the bottom.  Part 1 (see Part 2 here).

What you can do to help: Call, email, tweet, Facebook, blog your members of Congress and ask them to support bicycling and walking in the federal transportation bill.  Congress contact info and suggested messages are here.

Missouri delegation to the national Bike Summit 2012
Missouri delegation to the national Bike Summit 2012

  • We have a great delegation at the National Bike Summit this year--a group full of committed, passionate, and knowledgeable people.  One reason we have such a great group of individuals is we have great organizations helping to support the National Bike Summit. Thanks to Trailnet, PedNet, BikeWalkKC, Bicycle Friendly SpringfieldA&B Cycle (Springfield), Kansas City, Missouri and Active Living KC, Southeast Missouri State University, and the (new!) Kansas City Metro Bike Club for sending some of your best!
     
  • CONGRESSMAN BILLY LONG, SOUTHWEST MISSOURI
    Christopher McNeese of Bicycle Friendly Springfield and A&B Cycles in Springfield, had a great meeting with Congressman Billy Long this morning.  They had planned for a brief two-minute chat in between the House votes on appropriations this week, but ended up having a twenty minute very cordial and wide ranging conversation.  Long is a very financially conservative Congressman, who comes from a very conservative part of the state.  Nevertheless he is open to the good things that are happening with bicycling, walking, and trails all around his district.  Like all members of Congress, he is interested in getting the transportation bill moving and even indicated that he might support the Senate transportation bill, MAP-21, if it came for a straight up-or-down vote in the House.
    Congressman Billy Long
    Congressman Billy Long


    McNeese summed up the meeting:

    I met with Congressman Long today, asked him to become the champion of The Link, and to support HR14, which is the House version of a transportation bill that the Senate has already passed. This would maintain funding for bicycle projects. Please call or email his office and let the Congressman know that The Link, and federal funding for bicycle projects, are important to you.

    He is on the House Transportation Committee and his support really matters.


    McNeese and other members of the Missouri delegation are meeting again with Congressman Long's staff at 5pm.

    Contact info for Congressman Billy Long is here.

     
  • SENATOR ROY BLUNT
    A few members of the Missouri delegation met with Senator Blunt at 9am Wednesday, when he has a weekly "Missouri Mornings" event with any Missourians visiting Washington, DC.  If you happen to be visiting Washington, DC, be sure to take advantage of the chance to meet with Senator Blunt and have a photo taken.  Senator McCaskill has a similar event, "Coffee with Claire" every Thursday morning at 9am.
    Senator Roy Blunt
    Senator Roy Blunt


    A larger delegation met with Senator Blunt and his Transportation LA, Peter Henry, today.  They had a very cordial conversation about health, transportation, and Kansas City's new bikesharing problem, BikeShareKC.

    Senator Blunt's predecessor, Senator Kit Bond, was one of the architects of the federal transportation policy that has reigned over the past 20 years and includes a small percentage of dedicated funding for bicycling, walking, and trails--as well as transit,  rail, highway safety, and other "small" programs that make our transportation system well rounded and able to meet the needs of all our citizens.

    The good news is that since taking office in Senator Bond's seat, Senator Blunt has so far taken on the mantle of a Senator representing the entire state and working for a transportation system that meets the needs of everyone, much as Senator Bond did. In developing support for the Cardin-Cochran Amendment in MAP-21, which preserved the dedicated funding for bicycling and walking in the Senate's version of the transportation bill, both Missouri Senators were swing votes.  

    Senator Blunt supported that amendment, and his support was absolutely key in the negotiations that allowed the amendment to move forward, be accepted in a bipartisan way by Senate Transportation Committee leadership, and become part of the "manager's amendment" of MAP-21 that was passed by the Senate recently.

    Contact Senator Blunt's office here.
     
  • The Missouri delegation had good meetings with transportation staff from the offices of Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer (northeast and central Missouri) and Congresswoman Vicki Hartzler (central-west Missouri).    
     
  • Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
    Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
    The meeting with Congressman Emanuel Cleaver, representing the southern portion of the Kansas City region, went very well.  Congressman Cleaver is a huge supporter of bicycling and walking and has played a key role in moving projects forward in the KC metro area, like the Brush Creek bike path--20 years overdue but now finally (almost) finished--and the Missouri River bridges.  BikeShareKC is the next big thing in the Kansas City area, and Congressman Cleaver is on board.

    Congressman Cleaver gets HUGE kudos for co-sponsoring HR 14, the bi-partisan transportation bill that pass with a huge supermajority in the Senate--and which protects a balanced approach to transportation funding in America, including highways (of course!) but also transit, bicycling, and walking in fair proportions.  So far, all transportation bill proposals by House leadership totally eliminate any dedicated funding for bicycling and walking, so passage of the Senate's bill is likely the only chance for including funding for bicycling and walking in a bill that passes the House--and also, almost certainly, the only way the House will be able to pass a bill that will also pass the Senate and be signed into law.

    Contact Congressman Cleaver here or call (202) 225-4535.
     
  • Dr. Mark Langenfeld of Southeast Missouri State University and Eric Bunch of MoBikeFed met with Adam Kingree, the Transportation LA for Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson.

    Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson
    Congresswoman Jo Ann Emerson


    They had a cordial meeting.  One of Congresswoman Emerson's staffers has a daughter who participates in the Walking Schiool Bus program in Cape Girardeau (a  program that was started in Cape Girardeau by Dr. Langenfeld some years ago.)

    Emerson is still undecided on where she will go or what she will support on specific aspects of the House Transportation Bill--meaning that it is more important than usual for her constituents to continue to let her know how you feel about including bicycling and walking in the Transportation Bill!

    Contact Rep. Emerson here, (202) 225-4404, @JoAnnEmerson, or Facebook.

  • National Bike Summit Lobby Day summaries are continued in the following article!

What you can do to help: Call, email, tweet, Facebook, blog your members of Congress and ask them to support bicycling and walking in the federal transportation bill.  Congress contact info and suggested messages are here.

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