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Your Motorcycle Riders Foundation team in Washington, D.C. is pleased to provide our members with the latest information and updates on issues that impact the freedom and safety of American street motorcyclists. Count on your MRF to keep you informed about a range of matters that are critical to the advancement of motorcycling and its associated lifestyle. Published weekly when the U.S. Congress is in session.
NEWS FROM THE HILL – Ethanol, Ethanol and…More Ethanol???!!?
Proponents and opponents of ethanol had a busy week in Washington. On Wednesday, the Environment and Public Works Committee held a legislative hearing on Sen. Deb Fischer’s (R-Neb.) and U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith’s (R-Neb.) legislation: The Consumer and Fuel Retailer Choice Act (S. 517 & H.R. 1311) that would amend the Clean Air Act addressing the ethanol waiver. If passed and signed into law, the legislation would allow the sale of E15 during the summer months. Currently the EPA restricts the use of E15 from June 1 to September 15. The restriction is intended to lower evaporative emissions during the summer months to control the formation of ground-level ozone.
The ethanol community has been looking forward to the hearing with much anticipation as the legislation is one of their most prized policy goals. In preparation, the Renewable Fuels Association released a report this week providing data that the Renewable Fuel Standard or RFS is resulting in positive consequences. The report shows that gas prices and dependence on foreign oil imports are down since the RFS was signed in 2005, while ethanol jobs grew 121 percent over the same period. In addition, dozens of advanced biofuel producers and trade associations sent a letter to the Committee urging support for the legislation.
Not to be silenced, the opposition group “Smarter Fuel Future” pummeled Washington area policy publications and newspapers with ads stating that the RFS was broken. The MRF was one of these signatories.
See the full ad here: http://www.ntu.org/library/doclib/061317-RFS-Broken-Coalition-.pdf
The Coalition also sent communications to Members of the Committee and their staff stating that while they recognized that the RFS was a well-intentioned policy, it is now failing. Its unintended consequences have united conservationists, environmentalists and refiners, livestock farmers, food producers and retailers, boaters and motorcyclists, taxpayer advocates and anti-hunger activists — all around the common goal of reform.
The hearing on Wednesday was a part of an agreement between Senate leadership to win support from corn-state senators for a vote against an Obama-era methane regulation. Because ethanol issues cut across party lines, the usual partisan bickering was absent during the hearing. Instead, there was support from corn-states on both sides of the aisle and skepticism from both the oil and gas industry supporters.
Interestingly, the panel included Mike Lorenz, executive vice president for Sheetz. Sheetz is the largest retailer of 15 percent ethanol fuel in the country. He said in his testimony that after millions of transactions from thousands of customers, “we have not had a single customer complaint or any cases of misfueling.”
While the hearing did examine the legislation, it wasn’t a formal markup of the bill – that may follow in the coming weeks. However, insiders say that if the bill eventually does move, it will have to overcome opposition from committee leadership. So at this juncture the future of the bill is unclear at best.
EXECUTIVE & REGULATORY UPDATES – The President Sued…Again
President Donald Trump is facing yet another lawsuit over the profits his business acquired through dealings with foreign governments. The latest legal suit came from nearly 200 Democratic members of the House and Senate, who filed early Wednesday in federal court in Washington. It's the fourth pending lawsuit alleging that Trump is violating the foreign emoluments clause in the Constitution, a provision that prohibits federal officeholders from accepting financial benefits or other things of value from foreign governments without the permission of Congress. The other three lawsuits have been filed by a government watchdog organization, by individual businesses that compete with Trump properties, and, by the state of Maryland and the District of Columbia. You can read the formal complaint (and see if your elected official signed on) by clicking here: https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/3864735-Democrats-Sue-Trump-Emoluments.html
MRF NEWS & ANNOUNCEMENTS
Lots of things to share from the MRF front this week! Let’s start with profiling…
Earlier this week a communication was sent out to our partners and leaders as well as all of our 4,000+ contacts asking them to send a letter to their Congressman or Senator asking for co-sponsorship of House Resolution 318 and Senate Resolution 154. These are the two pieces of legislation that address the issue of motorcyclist profiling. Many of our contacts quickly jumped into action – as of this writing over 1200 letters have been sent to our elected officials…the states with this most participants? TEXAS, LOUISIANA and MINNESOTA. Thanks, guys! Let’s keep it up. Share the link below on your Facebook page or your SMRO webpage…the more people we get on the better outlook these bills have. And the best part is, the software does the work for you. I’ll update you next week with a hopefully growing list of co-sponsors….
TELL CONGRESS TO WE NEED HELP TO STOP THE PROFILING OF MOTORCYCLISTS!
One other hot topic in Washington this week was the subject of autonomous vehicles. It garnered attention at a legal symposium downtown as well as a Senate hearing. You should have received a press release that your MRF issued on Wednesday. (if you didn’t then talk to Tiffany – you need to get our on general mailing list!) But one thing that should be pointed out is that we found a new friend with Senator Dean Heller – a Republican from Nevada. The relationship with Senator Heller’s office was established at….yep….you guessed it….BIKERS INSIDE THE BELTWAY. We met with his office for the first time and told them about our concerns. The Senator serves on the transportation committee and when the staffer was told about the hearing this week, she promptly reached out to the MRF asking what questions they could ask and how they could help. This just proves the old adage; the squeaky wheel gets the grease. FOLKS. Ya gotta show up and ya gotta ask. And if you don’t hear back…then ask again!
Another little tidbit of good news – I was contacted by Senator Joni Ernst’s office this week about an event scheduled for next week. As many of you know, one of our talking points at Bikers Inside the Beltway was to ask our Senate champions to join the first ever bi-partisan Senate Motorcycle Caucus. Senators Ernst and Peters (D-MI) are co-chairing the caucus and will host a kickoff event next week. Senator Ernst’s staffer invited the MRF to the reception and also asked if I would speak to the crowd highlighting any issues your MRF was working on. Of course, I accepted the offer and am excited that it looks like we are going to have a strong voice via the caucus. I’ll make sure to take some photos and share more in next week’s update….
Until then…
RIDE FREE-
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Megan Ekstrom
Vice-President of Government Affairs & Public Relations
The Motorcycle Riders Foundation