As some of you may know, I had the opportunity to attend the National Bike Summit in Washington, DC a few weeks back. There were four participants from Rhode Island. As part of the summit, we spent a day on The Hill talking with our Sentors, Representatives, and their associated staff members. I will follow up with more details about the summit, but wanted to report our first success.
I just learned that Congressman Kennedy has agreed to join the Congressional Bike Caucus. From Wikipedia:
The Congressional Bike Caucus (CBC) is a bipartisan caucus of the United States House of Representatives launched by Oregon representative Earl Blumenauer.[1] It is officially registered with the Committee on House Administration, the house committee responsible for regulating caucuses.[2] The caucus aims to promote cycling by improving infrastructure and increasing awareness of cyclists. As of 2008[update] the caucus claims 182 members from 43 states plus the District of Columbia, including 127 Democrats and 55 Republicans. The caucus lists Democrat Blumenauer as chair.
This does show that Congressman Kennedy is at least willing to keep tabs on bicycle issues and engage with other caucus members. He most likely would not have done this had we not sent a delegation to the National Bike Summit this year.