[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 84 (Thursday, May 18, 2023)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E466]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                INTRODUCTION OF THE BICYCLE COMMUTER ACT

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 18, 2023

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, during Bike to Work Week and in advance 
of Bike to Work Day, today I am introducing the Bicycle Commuter Act of 
2023.
  The bicycle's value on one's physical and mental health, to say 
nothing of the health of our communities, is more apparent than ever 
since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. For years, I've said that 
the bicycle is the most efficient form of urban transportation ever 
devised. Communities across the country are getting on board with this 
sentiment and substantially investing in building better, safer bike 
networks and improving facilities for biking to work. While rates of 
biking to work have increased by more than two-thirds since 2000, only 
0.4 percent of workers biked to work in 2021. Congress has the 
opportunity to increase mode share and, critically, not penalize one 
mode of transportation over another.
  Unfortunately, the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (P.L. 115-97), suspended the 
previously available bicycle commuting reimbursement benefit through 
2025, taking away a valuable financial incentive for people who choose 
to bike to work. The Bicycle Commuter Act reverses the bicycle commuter 
benefit's suspension in Public Law 115-97 and changes the structure of 
the benefit by making the benefit a pre-tax benefit, allowing employees 
to receive a bicycle benefit of up to 30 percent of the parking 
benefit, allowing the bicycle benefit to be used in concert with the 
transit and parking benefits, and adding bikeshare and scootershare as 
eligible for the benefit and clarifying that electric bikes are 
eligible.
  I thank Senator Brown for his leadership on this legislation in the 
Senate. I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House and 
Senate to advance this critical effort for the health and wellbeing of 
the American public, our communities, and our planet.

                          ____________________