President Bush signed a comprehensive highway measure into law Wednesday morning in the home district of Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-IL). Flanked by the Secretary of Transportation, Hastert and throngs of Members of Congress, Bush declared that the $286.4 billion dollar package will "improve the safety of and modernize the nation’s highway system". He added "and in a fiscally responsible way, this bill does not raise any federal gas taxes" Bush then signed the legislation into public law.
Bush had been brandishing a veto threat of any proposal that spent more than $284 billion, but in the end, decided the measure was worthy legislation and a good compromise.
The legislation had been running on a series of unprecedented monetary extensions, many observers doubted that the package would ever see public law.
The package known as SAFETEA-LU or Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, if you are not into brevity, marks a monumental victory for motorcyclists. The bill makes available $25 million dollars for motorcycle education and awareness campaigns, and calls for the organization of a motorcycle advisory council to advise the Federal Highway Administrator on road and road furniture design.
All of these provisions are a direct result of the efforts of the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) and the various State Motorcycle Rights Groups and individual motorcyclists that traveled to Washington DC to lobby, contact their Members of Congress, or maintain a healthy relationship with their elected officials. The MRF would like to thank all of those that have worked on the inclusion of the motorcycle language. With out you, the highway bill would have once again ignored the needs of the motorcycle community.
"Now that the highway bill is public law, the individual states will be able to improve upon, or in some cases, implement rider ed programs and awareness campaigns." said Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice President of Government Relations "This groundbreaking legislation has the potential to save thousands of lives, something we should all be very proud of."
<<30>>
To subscribe or unsubscribe from this mailing list, visit
http://www.mrf.org/subscribe.phpRide With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at
http://www.mrf.org/join.php or call 1-202-546-0983
