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September 18, 2015 - Washington Weekly Update
Motorcycle Riders Foundation http://motorcycleridersfoundation.wildapricot.org/
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Washington Weekly Updates
September 18, 2015
From Jeff Hennie
Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Vice President Government Relations and Public Affairs
Highway Bill Holds Potential Wins for Motorcyclists
This week the House began to do some substantial work on the highway bill. If you have been playing along at home you already know that elimination of motorcycle-only checkpoints and tougher new rules for NHTSA are already in the bill under its Science Committee portion. The checkpoint language even got an upgrade, as it now contains an additional provision that calls for a study from the National Academies to determine the most successful tactics for avoiding a motorcycle crash. This is all from the good work of the honorable James Sensenbrenner and his fellow committee member Randy Hultgren.
There’s even more good news: the lobby ban also got an improvement in the bill. Currently, the Department of Transportation is prohibited by law from lobbying state governments. The new ban would include federal and local governments as well, effectively cutting off the DOT at the knees!
Additionally, an amendment is at the ready to reinstate the federal motorcycle advisory council. It is way too early to determine if it will be address in full committee or perhaps on the House floor. If my crystal ball were not so cloudy, I would know the answer. So we wait.
Possible Government Shutdown on the Horizon
Another month, another serious threat of a Federal Government shutdown. The beginning of the fiscal year—October 1—is rapidly approaching, and there is little agreement on how to set funding levels for next year. A raucous faction within the Republican Party on the House side of Capitol Hill has vowed to vote against any spending measure that keeps Planned Parenthood’s funding intact. Planned Parenthood, a healthcare provider for women, has been embroiled in controversy ever since video surfaced reportedly showing Planned Parenthood leadership negotiating the sale price for body parts harvested from fetal tissue. The abortion issue is a top-tier issue for many conservative Republicans, and often just as important to Democrats is the issue of keeping as much availability to the procedure as possible. All that’s to say that we could be marching into a government shutdown, again.
Hope to see you at Meeting of the Minds next weekend September 24 – 26 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction permitted with attribution. Motorcycle Riders Foundation. All rights reserved. Ride With The LeadersTM by joining the MRF at
http://motorcycleridersfoundation.wildapricot.org/page-1654836 or call (202) 546-0983
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