[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 147 (2001), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 3405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]



   BICYCLE RIDING IS EFFICIENT MEANS OF TRANSPORTATION AND PROMOTES 
                                WELLNESS

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Mr. Speaker, I came to Congress dedicated to making 
the Federal Government a better partner in helping our communities to 
be livable, for our families to be safe, healthy and economically 
secure. One important way of advancing that mission is through the 
intelligent use of the bicycle. As a person who cares about cycling and 
the world environment and energy supply, it was, to say the very least, 
unnerving to read the story about cycling in China in Monday's 
Washington Post.
  China is a huge country with an old and venerated tradition that is 
having trouble modernizing. It has experienced a century-long love 
affair with the bicycle since it was first introduced to China by 
American missionaries. They have more bicycles in China than any place 
in the world, but it is ironic that this country is seeking to ban 
bicycles in some areas. It is especially ironic to ban them from the 
central cities where they can have the greatest impact.
  The bicycle is the most efficient means of transportation that has 
ever been devised. Unlike the horse or automobile, there is no 
pollution generated from cycling. It leaves the cyclist healthier, and 
the cyclist takes up a fraction of the roadway. As somebody who brought 
a bicycle to Washington, D.C. instead of a car when I was elected 5 
years ago, I can testify that for the vast majority of my meetings 
around Washington, D.C., I will beat my colleagues who take cabs or 
their cars.
  The movement from bicycles to cars has serious and wide-spread side 
effects and is a prescription for disaster. It is frightening to 
consider the 1.3 billion Chinese each with their own car living further 
from where they work.
  The increased demand for concrete in the cities and impact on the 
environment resulting from more automobiles in China than any place in 
the world is not going to help our efforts to address global climate 
change.
  The bicycle is not the only answer to problems of livability and it 
is not for everyone; but the facts remain at a time when our roads are 
too congested, the fitness of our children, the skyrocketing levels of 
morbid obesity, an important part of every community's equation for 
being safer, healthier and more economically secure is probably stored 
in the garage or parked in the basement. Over 100 million Americans 
have access to bicycles, but what should Congress do to help people use 
them?
  First, and foremost, Congress should lead by example and provide more 
adequate bike parking, more showers and changing facilities in order to 
encourage bike commuting here in Washington, D.C. Surveys show that if 
offices are so equipped, 45 percent of the employees who live within 5 
miles would choose to bike commute to work.
  Federal employees are allowed, in many cases, free parking or free 
transit. They can be reimbursed for cab fair or auto mileage, but 
cyclists are on their own; and that is rather foolish. Benefits should 
be expanded to include bicycle commuters the same way we treat other 
Federal employees.
  We need to provide funding for safe transportation for our children. 
Over the course of the last 20 years, the number of children who are 
independently able to get to school on their own has decreased 
substantially, in some communities by 70 percent or more.
  Regular cycling can help deal with that access. It can help with the 
epidemic of childhood obesity and promote the wellness of our children. 
Indeed children that ride to school in cars in slow-moving traffic 
experience worse air pollution than those who are walking or cycling.
  I hope that Congress will consider more ways to encourage the 
implementation of the Safe Routes to School program to help provide the 
routes and to teach children about bicycle safety and promoting biking 
as a viable means of transportation.
  Last but not least, Members of Congress should join the Congressional 
Bike Caucus. This is a group of Members of Congress who periodically 
host rides around Washington, D.C. for Members, their families and 
staff, but there is also a serious component to what we do.
  We have worked to help promote sound Federal bicycle policies and 
encourage the construction of thousands of miles of bicycle paths. Our 
rides have served to raise the awareness of the cycling climate here in 
Washington, D.C. and to work with groups in the community to improve 
the cycling conditions in the District.
  At the end of the month of March, there will be hundreds of cycling 
advocates from around the United States here on Capitol Hill to deal 
with the first annual Bicycle Summit. It will be a time to concentrate 
on those areas where the Federal Government can be a better partner in 
providing greater transportation choices so that our communities can be 
safer and our families can be healthier and economically secure.

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