FBA SENT THE FOLLOWING MESSAGE-
AMERICA BIKES NEEDS YOUR HELP
The House and Senate are in conference committee,working out the
differences between the two versions of the federal transportation
bill.
H.R. 3. We need your help to ensure that the Fair Share for Safety
provision in the Senate bill makes it into the final law. While it was
adopted by the Senate without much fanfare, now that we
are in conference it's time to come out strongly in support of this
vital provision, educating the House conferees on its importance and
enlisting their support.
The conferees from Florida are Representatives John Mica (R-7th) and
Corrine Brown (D-3rd). It would be great if you are able to get someone
from their districts to help out.
Please read the Fair Share for Safety fact sheet near the top of
www.americabikes.org. Note the statistics for Florida on the second
page
and fill in the blanks below as you deliver your message. Here is a
script for your email:
"I'm writing to ask Representative _________ to support the Fair Share
for Safety language in the Senate version of the transportation bill.
This provision would ensure that states spend a fair share of their
safety funds on bicycle and pedestrian safety, a share in line with the
total bicycle and pedestrians deaths in this state. In the past, only
___ percent of these funds have been used to protect people on foot and
bicycle, while ____ percent of traffic fatalities in our state are
people walking or bicycling. This provision would dedicate a portion of
a state's safety money (proportionate to bicycle and pedestrian deaths)
to bike/ped safety. It does not require any new spending, just that
states use existing funds to address this important traffic safety
problem."
[If you know of a cyclist or pedestrian crash or death in your
community please tell that story and ask that the Representative
support
Fair Share in order to fix that problem so that walking of cycling is
safely accommodated.]
Please email the key transportation staffer [details available at
www.congress.org] or a staffer who you've dealt with previously. In
addition to your email, you can ask other advocates in your community,
from relevant districts, to call the office of this member of Congress,
with the simple message: "I am a member of [group], and I'm calling
from
[town]. Please ask Congressman/woman ________ to support the Fair
Share
for Safety provisions in the Senate version of the Highway bill. It
doesn't require new spending, and it will enhance safety for bicyclists
and pedestrians.
Thank you for your help on this. Please respond to this email with any
questions.
The America Bikes team
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