South Carolina Motorcycle Rights Association

Bikers Inside the Beltway 2011

Thursday, May 12th, 2011 was the 3rd Annual Michael "Boz" Kerr Bikers Inside the Beltway event in Washington, DC. The event is a national lobby day, sponsored by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation, for motorcyclists to come to Capitol Hill to meet with their elected officials and brief them on all issues affecting motorcyclists at the federal level.

This year's event drew hundreds of motorcyclists from 20 States and met with almost 250 elected officials. Some folks rode in from as far away as Arizona, California, and Oklahoma.

One of the top issues the attendees were lobbying for was asking their members of the US House of Representatives to sign onto a "dear colleague" letter sponsored by Wisconsin Representative James Sensenbrenner. The "dear colleague" being circulated by Sensenbrenner asks his fellow Members of Congress to sign onto a letter that will go to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The letter asks that the language of H.R. 904 and House Resolution 239 be included in the large Highway Bill that the committee will be drafting later this year. H.R. 904 is a bill that would prohibit future funding of mandatory motorcycle-only roadside checkpoints and H. Res. 239 supports the NHTSA lobby ban and asks the agency to focus on crash prevention rather than injury reduction when addressing motorcycle safety.

During the Congressional Panel portion of the day, the group of riders gathered in a Ways and Means Committee room to hear from a select group of Members of Congress. Addressing the group was Congressman Burgess, the Motorcycle safety caucus co-chair, Mr. Walberg, an avid rider from Michigan, Mr Pallone, a strong supporter of motorcyclists and a 13 term congressman from New Jersey. Wrapping up the day was Congresswoman Michelle Bachman, a presidential hopeful in 2012 and an outstanding advocate for motorcyclists. Thanks to all of these Members of Congress for helping make the day even better.

Another highlight of the day was the news that Congressmen Reid Ribble (R-WI) was added to the powerful House Transportation Committee. Congressman Ribble is an avid rider, so he will be a strong advocate and a real asset to the motorcycle community. We look forward to continuing to work with Congressmen Ribble in his new role. Thanks to all who attended and to those who helped support those who attended. This year was a tremendous success.

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