MRF E-MAIL NEWS
Motorcycle Riders Foundation
236 Massachusetts Ave. NE
Suite 510
Washington, DC 20002-4980
202-546-0983 (voice)
202-546-0986 (fax)
http://www.mrf.org (website)
For Immediate Release
Contact: Jeff Hennie, Vice
President of Government Relations
Email: jeff@mrf.org
April 11, 2008
WASHINGTON UPDATE
Washington DC has seen some more bikers from all over the country the past few weeks. Accompanied by the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF), ABATEs of Ohio, Colorado and Illinois have all recently been to DC to visit with their legislators. All of the groups have been highly effective briefing Members of the House and Senate on all of the current issues pertaining to motorcycling such as HIPAA (HR 1076 and S616), Mary Peters, and Right to Repair (HR 2694).
The legislation to close the HIPAA loophole is still moving along. Passage of the bills this Congress is unlikely at this point, but it's still important to gather cosponsors for the bills to better their chances in the future. Currently the House bill has 111 cosponsors and the Senate companion bill has just 7. Those numbers are both higher than they have been all year, but much work remains. Keep asking your federal elected officials to cosponsor these important bills.
One of the highlights in every congressional meeting is the response received when US DOT Secretary Mary Peters' proposed change to the 2010 funds is brought up. One hundred percent of the responses from Members of the House and Senate were in favor leaving the 2010 funds unaltered. The negative response to Ms. Peters' proposal is a solid indicator that her agenda for the 2010 funds will not advance any further.
BYE BYE FRANKIE?
Does that sound like the name of a song from the sock hop era? It's not, but if you live in the South Jersey area, you may already singing something along those lines. Senator Frank Lautenberg, the nation's number one helmet law advocate, is facing his first serious contender in his four terms as a US Senator. New Jersey Democrat US Rep. Robert Andrews has announced his bid for the 84-year-old sitting Senator's seat late last week. Andrews' run for higher office has irked many of his democratic colleagues; bad for the party they say. Andrews isn't backing down though; he is digging in and offering New Jersey democrats a choice for the first time in a long time. Andrews is no slouch – the son of a shipyard worker, he made a splendid career for himself as law professor at Rutgers and is currently serving as a nine-term member of the US House of Representatives. He is such an effective Congressman that he ran unopposed in his last election. He is the self described underdog both financially and in name recognition however he is a legitimate political force.
Andrews has sworn to vote against any mandatory helmet legislation and to continue to be as supportive of motorcycling as he can in the US Senate. Not only would Lautenberg be out of power, he would be replaced by a Senator who would support motorcyclists instead of putting up barriers to riding.
The MRF has been working very closely with leadership of ABATE of the Garden State (that's New Jersey's MRO to you west coast guys) regarding Andrews bid for the Senate. Andrews for Senate has a website where you will be able to support his campaign in a variety of ways. It's not completely up and running just yet but should be fully functional in a few days, the campaign tells the MRF. Check out http://robandrews08.com for more info.
MRF BEAST OF THE EAST CONFERENCE
Andrews' bid for Lautenberg's seat should be a hot topic of discussion at the upcoming MRF BEAST of the East Conference, April 18-20 in Peabody, Massachusetts, in addition to all the other sessions and workshops designed to inform and educate motorcyclists on all federal issues affecting motorcycling. Visit the MRF's website at www.mrf.org for more details. Hope to see you there!
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(c)All Information contained
in this release 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.