Regardless of where you come down on the Democrat-Republican-Whig spectrum, if you're a bike advocate it's hard not to be excited about Jim Oberstar becoming the Transportation Committee chairman.
From airline mergers to bike paths, Oberstar is expected to put an outsized imprint on how Americans get around in the future. If you're a railroad tycoon looking for a federally backed loan, you have to talk to Oberstar; if you're an airline lobbyist looking for a new route or an acquisition, you have to talk Oberstar.
Which is good news, because Oberstar is arguably the House's biggest bike advocate. As the BTA blog puts it...
Oberstar is known to be part of the dynamic bike duo with Congressman Blumenauer (D-OR), and has received many national accolades for his work on bike issues.
Oregon's bike-friendly Congressman Defazio may head an important subcommittee of House T&I.
We hope to work with the 110th Congress to pass the Bicyclist Commuters Benefits Act, among other things.
138 of 148 House Bike Caucus members who ran for reelection were reelected, as were 6 of the 7 Senate Bike Caucus members.
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