Meet the Biggest Bike Dork in Congress
Reading Time: 9 minutesRep. Earl Blumenauer bikes to the Capitol. He wants the feds to pay you to bike to work too., Earl Blumenauer interview: The Oregon congressman bikes to Congress, and wants the feds to pay you to bike to work too.
Once seen as an activity mainly for frolicking children, death-defying bike messengers, and lycra-clad MAMILs, cycling has become dramatically more mainstream in the United States over the last decade. E-bikes have outsold electric cars, and a veritable bike boom during the pandemic emptied retailers’ stock rooms. But bike sales have now stalled, and cycling is losing popularity in some parts of the country. Meanwhile, deaths among bicyclists are soaring, recently hitting a 40-year high.
Since joining the House of Representatives in 1996, Rep. Earl Blumenauer of Oregon has been at the center of cycling’s ups and downs. Relying on two-wheelers to navigate D.C. (and sometimes also his home district surrounding Portland), Blumenauer has pushed the federal government to embrace biking as a healthy, green, and equitable way to travel. Soon after arriving at the Capitol, he founded the bipartisan Congressional Bike Caucus to build support.
Blumenauer has had some wins (such as extending commuter benefits to cyclists) as well losses (such as proposed e-bike rebates, which were tantalizingly close to becoming federal law before the Senate dropped them from the Inflation Reduction Act last summer). Along the way he has become Congress’s undisputed leader of bike advocacy.
I recently spoke with Blumenauer about Congress’ evolving attitudes toward cycling, the prospects for future federal support, and why he isn’t about to push the feds to subsidize golf carts, too.
David Zipper: I’ve read that you don’t have a car in D.C. Is that still true?
Earl Blumenauer: That’s right. I didn’t bring a car to Washington, D.C., and I use my bike to go back and forth to the office. It’s worked for me. I’ve been in Washington more than a quarter century without a car, and I’ve never had to look for a parking space. I’ve saved tens of thousands of dollars and lots of time, and it’s helped my blood pressure and state of mind.
What kind of bike do you use in D.C.?
I only have two in D.C. now. I gave away one of my guest bikes to a former congressman, Sam Farr, who needed some exercise. I negotiated with John Burke, the CEO of Trek, to have serial numbers 0001 and 0002 on their Portland model. It’s designed to contend with near-constant rain.
Do you own an e-bike?
Not yet, but it’s the next move. I was with my wife in Europe last year, and we decided to do a little touring in Burgundy. On the first day we rode conventional bikes and it was hard work—I’m getting older, you know. But the next day, we rented e-bikes, and it was just so delightful. I made the decision there that we’re going to bite the bullet and get an e-bike. Even though there’s no space in the garage for more bicycles, we’ll find a way.
What’s your favorite place to bike in D.C.?
Well, my favorite ride is up the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue, on the protected bike lanes between the White House and the Capitol. I think that is something I can claim as part of my legacy. I was biking to a League of American Bicyclists’ Bike Summit 15 years ago, and I was just overwhelmed with the notion that Pennsylvania Avenue was this huge, wide boulevard that you could land a 747 on, and I had to weave around in traffic. So after the summit, I said, ‘Why don’t we put bike lanes in the middle of Pennsylvania Avenue?’
We were able to work with Gabe Klein, when he was director of D.C.’s Department of Transportation [Klein now oversees the distribution of federal funds to support electric vehicle charging] as well as congressman Jim Oberstar and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. It came together in two years. To me, having bike lanes on what is perhaps America’s most famous street is an endless source of pride.
I can appreciate that. I’m curious, who else is an avid cyclist in Congress?
There are many. Mike Quigley, from Chicago, he bikes, and Kim Schrier, from Seattle, does too. The Republican chair of the Bike Caucus, Vern Buchanan from Florida, is a ferocious recreational cyclist. Ben Cardin has been a huge ally on the Senate side. He celebrated his 60th birthday on a bike path. His wife set up a little party on a bike path near Baltimore.
Let’s get into bike politics. In April Sen. Mitt Romney said: ‘I’m not going to spend money on buying e-bikes for people like me who have bought them—they’re expensive. Removing automobile lanes to put in bike lanes is, in my opinion, the height of stupidity, it means more cars backing up, creating more emissions.’
How do you respond to people in Congress who hold views like that? Can you win them over?
First of all, somebody who is on a bicycle next to you is not in a car in front of you. Biking is one of the most effective ways to reduce congestion. We use the example in Portland of the Hawthorne Bridge, which was a main pinch point into downtown. The investment to make it more bike-friendly led to significant reduction in congestion.
Also, retrofitting a street to make it more bike-friendly can end up slowing traffic and makes it safer. It actually results in higher property values. The tangible results are pretty compelling—if we can get people’s attention.
Two years ago you sponsored the EBIKE Act, which would have created a federal subsidy for e-bike purchases. You got pretty far with it, passing the House, until the Senate stripped it out of the Inflation Reduction Act at the 11th hour. Why didn’t it pass the Senate?
People felt that it wasn’t a priority. It’s frustrating. E-bike rebates are popular. They make sense. But there was a lot of competition for what was going to be wedged into the final legislation. And frankly, there was competition with people that had a bigger political footprint.
Like who?
There were a whole host of them. Just look at the tax benefits that found their way into the final legislation. They were more impactful economically.
Are you alluding to electric cars without saying electric cars?
No. I met with people who were dealing with renewables. They had a bigger political footprint, along with wind and pump storage and stuff like that.
Understood. I have heard from others that environmental groups a year ago were supportive of the e-bike incentives, but they weren’t providing the muscular support that they could have to keep them in the Inflation Reduction Act. Do you think that there’s validity to that critique, or is it unfair?
Well, there are lots of priorities in terms of how we’re going to save the world and compete for limited resources. I think that many traditional environmental groups do not put as much of a priority on cycling as I would. They like it, and they believe in it. But support for e-bikes doesn’t rise to the level of intensity that they have with certain other elements within the Inflation Reduction Act.
Why do you think that is?
I don’t think environmental groups recognize how central the livability elements are for biking. One of the lines I often say is that I don’t want to declare war on the automobile, I just want to stop socialism for the car.
You’ve reintroduced a bill for e-bike tax credits in the current Congress, with more environmental groups now supporting it—nicely done on that. Still, Kevin McCarthy is the House Speaker now, not Nancy Pelosi. Do you think e-bike rebates can realistically pass Congress?
Bear in mind that this is not a grotesquely expensive initiative. I’ve also proposed a parking cashout bill, which I see as a funding vehicle that can be paired with the e-bike bill. [Parking cashouts provide commuters with money in lieu of car-parking benefits if they opt to bike, walk, or take transit to work.]
Can you walk me through how that would work?
Right now, commuters who drive get the benefit of $280 a month, or whatever it is, being tax-free. But if you choose not to drive, then you would get paid that amount as a benefit that is taxable, bringing in federal revenue. If it’s paired with an e-bike rebate, it might balance out in the federal budget.
Got it. Before we move on, let me pose a few questions I’ve heard as critiques of the e-bike rebate bill. Why doesn’t it cover other climate-friendly car alternatives like pedal bikes, e-scooters, and electric golf carts?
There are lots of other mobility options that would like to have federal support. But if you include them, you lose clarity and focus with the bill. I think there will be an opportunity at some point to have a more comprehensive policy, but right now, I want to get Congress’ momentum behind e-bikes. It’s a building block, and it’s not the final story. But I think the e-bike is easiest lift and the one with the most public support at the moment.
What do you mean by ‘losing clarity and focus’ if you include rebates for other micromobility form factors?
When you start expanding it to other modes, there’s greater complexity in terms of how you how you define it. Where do you draw the line? Are you going to do scooters? Are you going to do these odd little golf cart type-things? Life’s too short to inject too much complexity in something that we haven’t yet been able to get passed.
I’m curious, what do you think of those ‘odd little golf cart things‘ that are popular in places like the Villages, Florida, and in a lot of retirement communities? Do you think they are real transportation options?
Well, I think they probably are real options in some of those retirement communities. But I think people there have the financing, and they can go ahead and get can get their golf carts. I don’t think we need federal policy for the Villages. There may come a time at some point that may change with the aging population, which as a geezer baby boomer I identify with. But in the meantime, I’d just as soon settle for this step with the e-bike.
Let’s talk about safety. Biking deaths in the U.S. are now at a 40-year high. There is a critique of e-bike rebates that says, ‘The biggest obstacle to getting more people to ride isn’t the cost, its safety. So, by focusing on cost rather than safety, we’re focusing on the wrong issue.’ What would you say in response?
I’m not just focusing on the cost of e-bikes. I’ve been the champion of Vision Zero, where we’ve got a billion dollars in the budget. I’ve got legislation pending that would make a difference in terms of being able to have federal policies connecting disconnected biking infrastructure, the Sarah Langenkamp Act. So it’s not an either/or.
We want more people out on bikes and e-bikes. There is safety in numbers, and more people riding builds support for safer infrastructure. There’s a whole range of things that we should do. It’s slow going, because for so long we’ve invested the wrong way, building roadways for speed, rather than safety. But I think that battleship is shifting,
If you talk to the auto industry about bike safety, you’ll likely hear about V2X, which is new technology that would use sensors to communicate between a bike and a car and, supposedly, prevent crashes. The U.S. Department of Transportation has been very interested in V2X development as a safety measure. What do you think about that idea?
I’m not going to dismiss anything that has the prospect of being able to heighten safety. But if the automobile industry wants to do something, they ought to make their cars safer. They shouldn’t be these huge tanks that obscure vision. I’m concerned about the SUV explosion, with these vehicles that are grotesquely unsafe because their drivers can’t see pedestrians or cyclists. I’d rather see car companies revise their designs than build huge battleships that are buzzing with technology.
I’d like to take a step back and ask you about broader cycling trends. At the moment, the pandemic bike boom is tapering off. In some cities, including Portland, biking is declining. You may remember the bike boom of the early 1970s, which petered out. Perhaps with that historical lens, how can we avoid losing the cycling momentum that we’ve built up in recent years?
For one thing, the bike boom in the ’70s was a fad and not a movement. It was not supported by policy and investment, such as the recent spending in bike trails, Safe Routes to School, and so on.
But now we have seen a reduction in biking in my community. We had the highest mode split in the country, but we’ve lost several percentage points of cycling mode share. I believe part of it is due to reckless behavior by some people who are motorists. The increasing carnage on the roadway makes a difference, in terms of people’s willingness to bike. People are a little more hesitant. I’m hopeful that the work that we have done with Vision Zero, with these very significant investments, will help offset that. And again, there is safety in numbers. The more we can get people back on their bikes, the more we can have a little more investment in safety.
Beyond calling their representatives, what can Americans do to prod Congress to provide more cycling support?
I would strongly urge that people start local. Start with the local school district. Start with the city council, with the county commission. Because these people are making decisions every week that impact the utilization of cycling, that encourage young people to cycle, that provide more facilities for bike parking or employer showers.
I also would suggest looking at state transportation commissions which, let’s just say, are not the most progressive in a lot of places. Encourage them to be very aggressive in taking advantage of the federal legislation. We have billions of dollars that have been put into the pipeline for transportation and infrastructure, including a billion dollars implementing Vision Zero. Push those state officials to be serious about developing proposals and claiming a piece of the action.
Ref: slate
MediaDownloader.net -> Free Online Video Downloader, Download Any Video From YouTube, VK, Vimeo, Twitter, Twitch, Tumblr, Tiktok, Telegram, TED, Streamable, Soundcloud, Snapchat, Share, Rumble, Reddit, PuhuTV, Pinterest, Periscope, Ok.ru, MxTakatak, Mixcloud, Mashable, LinkedIn, Likee, Kwai, Izlesene, Instagram, Imgur, IMDB, Ifunny, Gaana, Flickr, Febspot, Facebook, ESPN, Douyin, Dailymotion, Buzzfeed, BluTV, Blogger, Bitchute, Bilibili, Bandcamp, Akıllı, 9GAG