[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 5]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 6251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCING A BILL TO EXTEND THE TRANSPORTATION BENEFIT TO BIKE 
                               COMMUTERS

                                 ______
                                 

                          HON. EARL BLUMENAUER

                               of oregon

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, March 13, 2007

  Mr. BLUMENAUER. Madam Speaker, today I am introducing a bill to 
extend the Transportation Fringe Benefit to bicycle commuters. 
Currently employers may offer a Transportation benefit to employees for 
certain costs incurred while commuting to work. Employees may receive 
up to $215/mth for parking expenses or $110/mth for transit or 
vanpooling costs. The Bike Commuter act aims to balance the incentive 
structure by extending the benefit to include bicycling.
  Communities across the Nation are seeking to reduce traffic 
congestion, improve air quality, save energy and enhance neighborhood 
safety. The Federal Government can assist in those efforts by promoting 
bicycle use through a small change to the tax code's existing 
Transportation Fringe Benefit. There is great potential to increase the 
number of bicycle commuters in the U.S., which would help reduce the 
number of trips made by automobile. These changes will benefit all 
Americans whether they ride their bikes or not.

                          ____________________