MRF LEADERS REPORT
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
P.O. Box 1808
Washington, DC 20013-1808
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)

#05LR02 - MRF LEADERS' REPORT - Ride With The LeadersTM - February 14, 2005
TO: The Leaders of the American Motorcyclists' Rights Movement

FROM: Jeff Hennie, MRF Vice President - Government Relations

SUBJECT: Surface Transportation Bill Introduced in U. S. House

The highway bill, H.R 3, was introduced Wednesday, February 9th. H.R. 3 picks up where the House and Senate conferees left off last Congress. The Senate has not introduced their version of the legislation; however it will likely do so later this month.

H.R. 3 looks similar to the bill that was introduced by the House Transportation Committee last Congress with one major difference, this version contains the language offered by the MRF that will improve the landscape of motorcycling safety and awareness. Last Congress the MRF and many SMRO’s lobbied to get the language in through the committee mark up process. The MRF language contained in H.R. 3 is identical to last year’s language. The MRF language contained in H.R. 3 is available to be viewed on the MRF website at www.mrf.org

The MRF would like to thank every SMRO and individual rider who helped lobby the United States Congress last year on these important issues. Diligence is the price for every motorcyclist’s freedom.

The bill would authorize funding equivalent to the $299 billion, six-year authorization that was discussed among conferees last year, said Don Young, (R-AK), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee in a meeting with the MRF.

Last years conference committee failed to reach an agreement between the White House on the overall price tag of the bill. The committee was pushing for a spending level closer to the $375 billion originally floated by the House Transportation Committee. The White House was threatening to veto any package over $256 billion.

President Bush called for a $299 billion bill in his fiscal 2006 budget. The conference committee, with the exception of some Senate democrats, was largely in support of that number when the conference committee adjourned last year.

The MRF will continue to fight for your freedoms and update you on the status of the surface transportation bill and how it will affect motorcyclists.

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(c)All Information contained in this release is copyrighted. Reproduction permitted with attribution. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation, incorporated in 1987, is a membership-based, national motorcyclists' rights organization headquartered in Washington, DC. The first motorcyclists' rights organization to establish a full-time presence in Washington, DC, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation is the only Washington voice devoted exclusively to the street rider. The MRF established MRFPAC in the early 1990s to advocate the election of candidates who would champion the cause of rider safety and rider freedom.

The MRF proudly claims state motorcyclists' rights organizations and the very founders of the American riders' rights movement among its leading members. The MRF is involved in federal and state legislation and regulations, motorcycling safety education, training, and public awareness. The MRF provides members and state motorcyclists' rights organizations with direction and information, and sponsors annual regional and national educational seminars for motorcyclists rights activists, as well as publishing a bi-monthly newsletter, THE MRF REPORTS.