Washington Weekly Updates (MRF)

[Momz]

Washington Weekly Updates   
June 29, 2015

From Jeff Hennie
Motorcycle Riders Foundation, Vice President Government Relations and Public Affairs

Highway Bill Gets Marked Up
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee mark-up of their portion of the highway bill was the headliner the week. This portion of the highway bill deals with the infrastructure and is the bill’s largest and costliest portion. It passed out of committee 20-0. One unfortunate provision allows for states to spend toll money on other government projects that have nothing to do with the road that tolls were collected on. We did manage to stop the expansion of a troubling program that is supposed to be investigating whether state collection tolls on interstate roads is a good idea. It's not. The program has been around for 17 years and has never gotten a tolling operation off the ground due to massive public outcry.

Ethanol Field Hearing
The EPA held another field hearing on higher blends of ethanol as they did in December of 2013 here in the D.C. area. This year’s field hearing on ethanol production was in the heart of corn country: Kansas City, Kansas. No word if that was intentionally convenient for the corn growers or just a good spot in the middle of the country. The corn growers were adamant about increasing the amount of ethanol in the pipeline, and everyone else was not. It’s likely that the EPA will keep as much ethanol in the fuel supply as possible, but with the hatred of the higher blends by the market place, they will be forced to blend less than the mandate requires.

Jindal Announces
Another week, another GOP presidential candidate announces. This week we saw Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal enter the ring. Jindal is a capable leader and a solid budget hawk. There is just one huge problem with Jindal: he turned his back on the bikers of Louisiana. Piyush "Bobby" Jindal has been seeking higher office ever since he was elected to congress in 2004. He ran for governor prior to that and lost. He was the second Indian American elected to congress. He then ran for governor again in 2007 and won. During that campaign he made a promise to ABATE of Louisiana to repeal the helmet law that had been reinstated just a few years earlier. He told the bikers that, if they got a bill through the state house and senate, he would sign it. So, the bikers worked and got a bill through the house and senate. When the bill was sent to Governor Jindal's desk he did the unthinkable. He went back on his word and refused to sign the bill.