08-07-2003

03LR09 - August 7, 2003

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

#03LR09 - THE LEADERS' REPORT - Ride With The LeadersTM - August 7, 2003

TO: The Leaders of the American Motorcyclists' Rights Movement

FROM: Tom Wyld, VP-Government Relations, Motorcycle Riders Foundation

MAKE MOTORCYCLE SAFETY HISTORY - NOW!.....As Members of Congress depart Washington and return to the states, you have a golden opportunity to make motorcycle safety history. Just before departing Washington, Congressmen Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) and Pete DeFazio (D-Oregon) launched a "Dear Colleague" letter that urges the House to make sure that genuine motorcycle safety is a part of any reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21). This effort brings us one step closer to passing into law the heart and soul of the joint MRF-SMRO agenda for motorcycle safety - from further restrictions on NHTSA lobbying to a Motorcycle Safety Incentive Grant that assists and encourages states to train riders and make motorists aware of motorcycles. The time to call, write and visit your U.S. Representative is now! Please urge your U.S. Representative to sign the LaTourette-DeFazio Safety Letter! The actual letter and the MRF RIDERS' ALERT are posted on the MRF website (www.mrf.org). These two Champions of Motorcyclists' Rights & Safety need your help - and the signature of your Congressman - if we are to continue to make motorcycle safety history!

SAFETY BELONGS, NO MATTER THE AMOUNT OF "TEA" IN THE CUP..... When you talk to your Congressman about the LaTourette-DeFazio Safety Letter, be aware: there is a complication facing the reauthorization of TEA-21, and that complication is the cost of the TEA. For all of us, the preferred option is the full reauthorization - the 6-year plan - complete with the MRF-SMRO joint safety agenda called for by Congressmen LaTourette and DeFazio. We can call that "a full cup of TEA." There are, however, other options circulating. One option is a two-year reauthorization that puts off for a few years some of the contentious money issues. Call that a half-cup of TEA. There's another idea, too - a "multi-month" reauthorization that extends the current TEA-21 (which expires in September) a few months, into January of 2004. Call that a "spot" of TEA.

HOW MUCH TEA DO WE WANT?.....Here's where you and I should stand. Whether Congress moves in favor of a full cup of TEA or just a spot, the LaTourette-DeFazio Motorcycle Safety Initiative belongs in the reauthorization - no matter the amount of TEA in the cup. Why? The answer is simple - and simply tragic: rider fatalities are still up, states are still cutting training and awareness funds, and NHTSA is still lobbying. In short, we are ready for action. Congressmen LaTourette and DeFazio are ready for action. I hope your Congressman is ready for action, too.

BRUSH UP ON THE EPA ISSUE.....In our efforts to enhance the MRF website and help make it more user friendly, we have added a new section simply called, "EPA." The new EPA section of the website (www.mrf.org/epa.php) provides a comprehensive list of links to every document on the site related to the MRF's fight against the EPA's proposed emissions regulations - from Leaders' Reports to position papers. This new section will make it easier for everyone - particularly newcomers - to get a complete overview of this issue in one easy-to-use location. Teri Stobbs, MRF Director of Communications, wants to send a huge "THANK YOU!" to JD DePaolantonio of ABATE of Arizona for his timely and valuable assistance with this new section. Look for other updates and improvements to the MRF website in the near future.

Yours for the right to ride, and your friend,

Tom

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(c)All Information contained in this report 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.


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