Federal Policy & Funding
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News Story: Federal transportation bill delayed... again.
Maximizing Federal Support for Bicycling
The federal transportation law is the largest source of U.S. bicycle facility funding. The main reason Bikes Belong formed in 1999 was to maximize federal funding for bicycling in this law, which is reauthorized every five or six years. Funding for bicycling also comes in other forms, such as through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act or TIGER grants.
In 2011, bicycling received more than $791 million from federal investments, despite the poor economic climate. 2009 was the biggest year yet for federal investments in bicycling—$1.4 billion was invested, or twice as much as 2008. Through our coordinated lobbying efforts, $4.5 billion was secured for bicycling and walking in SAFETEA-LU, the last federal transportation law, passed in 2005 and meant to extend through 2009. This funding authorization is $2 billion more than the previous law—a considerable increase. The money is still funding new bike paths, lanes, trails, and programs throughout the U.S.
To pursue our goal of increasing federal funding for bicycling, we continue to develop our relationships with members of Congress in anticipation of the next federal transportation law, which was due in 2009. While the bill expired in September, 2009, it remains in force at current spending levels until June 2012, thanks to a series of extensions approved by Congress.
Bikes Belong’s clout in Washington, D.C. is steadily increasing. Click on a link below to learn how we maximize federal funding for bicycling.
Lobbying
National Bike Summit
BikesPAC
Overview of the Federal Transportation Bill
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