Interview with Congressman Earl Blumenauer

Two Wheeled Act
Bike-friendly Congressman Earl Blumenauer talks to Outside’s Matthew Fishbane.

Tucked deep down behind the new leases for off-shore drilling in the Comprehensive American Energy Security and Consumer Protection Act, a broad energy bill that the House passed last week , were the tiny remains of something called the Bicycle Commuter Act. Congressman Earl Blumenauer, of Oregon's Third District, originally sponsored the bill last session in hopes of bringing bicycles into the commuting mainstream by offering reimbursements and subsidies to the calorie-powered. We caught up with the Congressman, who regularly bikes to his DC offices, to talk about bike safety, infrastructure, and how the Portland model might spread.

What's the basic idea of the Bike Commuter Act?

The concept is to provide equity for people who burn calories instead of fossil fuel.

READ the rest of the Q&A at Outside

Photo: BikePortland.org