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Strange Times In Washington, D.C.
As we enter the month of November the news cycle in D.C. continues to rage. The Washington Nationals World Series victory this week was a nice distraction for a city that is on the verge of a historic month.
Two significant issues will face Congress in November; first the House of Representatives will formally begin an impeachment investigation of President Trump. This televised political event will surely consume most of the oxygen and stifle progress on other key legislative initiatives.
The second major issue is another showdown regarding the funding of the government for fiscal year 2020. Currently none of the 12 spending bills required to keep the government open have been enacted. A temporary stopgap funding bill was passed in September, allowing the government to stay open until November 21st. However, if another temporary bill is not passed before then a government shutdown is likely.
Regardless of the political storm surrounding the U.S. Capitol, we at the MRF will continue to “stick to motorcycles” working with our champions on both sides of the political aisle to advocate for the over 8.6 million motorcyclists in this country. As we tell every congressional office we meet with; our riders don’t vote Republican or vote Democrat they, “vote motorcycles.”
Stay tuned. It should be a wild ride…
MRF at the Mid-South M.I.L.E.
Over the weekend, the MRF joined motorcycle advocates in Shreveport, Lousiana to speak at the 28th Annual Mid-South M.I.L.E. (Motorcyclists Improving Legislative Effectiveness). For those who may not now, the M.I.L.E. is a regional conference put on by the six states: Arkansas, Kansas, Louisiana, Missouri, Oklahoma & Texas. The conference kicked off Saturday morning with a general session that welcomed the attendees to the conference, and each state provided a legislative update of the past year's successes and lessons along with a national and international update. After lunch, attendees headed to a jam-packed agenda of breakouts which focused on everything from the MRF’s federal update and how to be an effective lobbyist, Bart Cocquyt with M.A.G. Belgium gave an excellent European update, along with Share the Road, Accident Scene management and host of other fantastic presentations. While I typically do not get to see many presentations at MOTM, I was diligent student taking notes and asking questions during the European motorcycle legislative update. As we all know, the things Europe are working on tend to find their way across the ocean in the coming years. Here is a fun fact: Did you know Europe is banning the sale of all combustion motors by the year 2030? That means Europe will only allow the sale of electric motorcycles and vehicles in just 10 years. We try to share F.E.M.A’s (Europe’s version of a National Motorcycle Rights Organization) updates in the American Biker Journal as space allows but I encourage you to go to their website www.fema-online.eu and subscribe to their updates. The best advocate is an educated one.
The MRF would like to thank ABATE of Louisiana for their southern hospitality and we were excited to celebrate with the riders of Louisiana over their victory this year, becoming the 3rd state in the country to pass a law to address motorcycle profiling. If you would like a representative of the MRF to speak at your conference, please reach out to the MRF staff about how we can present to your membership.
All Members Are Not Created Equal
We added 7 new cosponsors to H. Res 255, the motorcycle profiling resolution which brought our total to 115 cosponsors or 27% of the House of Representatives. While each lawmaker is entitled to just one vote as with any organization, some members of Congress carry more weight than others.
This week we were proud to add Congressman Scalise from Louisiana and Congresswoman Cheney from Wyoming to our resolution. Congressman Scalise is the House Republican Whip, making him #2 in House Republican Leadership. Congresswoman Cheney is Conference Chair making her #3 in House Republican Leadership.
Members of Congressional leadership often refrain from cosponsoring bills and resolutions so as not to step on the toes of their colleagues. Having these two influential members of the House Republican caucus join us is yet another sign that our message is gaining traction.
A special thanks to the folks in Louisiana who TIRELESSLY contacted Congressman Scalise’s office about this issue. We in D.C. had written Congressman Scalise off, but the perseverance of the folks in Louisiana proved that the best advocates for motorcyclists are motorcyclists. Thank you to all that have contacted their members of Congress about motorcycle issues!
The map below shows which states have at least one lawmaker signed on as a cosponsor. Is your state not filled in yet? Check with the D.C. team about how we can work together to secure cosponsors from your state.
<img border="0" data-wawidth="1" id="_x0000_i1026" src="http://MotorcycleRidersFoundation.wildapricot.org/resources/Pictures/nov%201%20hres255%20map.jpg" style="height:auto;line-height:100%;width:auto;" title="" width="570" />
Click HERE to see if your member has signed on to H. Res 255.
Tiffany & Rocky