ABATE of Michigan Goes to DC

By Fiz

ABATE of Michigan sponsored an MRF lobbying trip to Washington D.C. the week of March 15, 2010. Ed Steinkampf and I began driving to DC on Monday and arrived late that evening to the Phoenix Park Hotel. We use this hotel because it is within walking distance of the hill. ABATE also receives a corporate rate there but it isn’t cheep, we have been using it for the past 10 years. For the next 3 days there were meetings starting at 9:30 AM and ending around 5:00 PM. While in Washington, D.C. we met with 17 legislators, and or there Chef of Staff that cover transportation issues. The meetings usually take 3 to 4 weeks to set up before leaving and we were receiving calls while driving on Monday to schedule or reschedule some of the meetings. For those thinking of going to DC the best days to schedule meetings are Tuesday through Thursday. Jeff Hennie sat in on most of our meetings and provided us with the talking points for our meetings prior to leaving for the trip. Jeff also knows the best way to explain our points to the legislators and staff. in a way they understand, and he has the knowledge of the background of the different bill’s.

As ABATE of Michigan’s first MRF STATE Representative I have always understood the importance of meeting with our Federal Legislators in Washington. The first trip I planned was back in the mid 80’s and it had to be funded by myself. ABATE could not afford to finance the trip. I did fund raisers, 50 /50 raffles, anything I could think of to fund the trip to Washington. The last $100.00 needed came from an anomies donor at our annual meeting held in January. I was purity green then and once in DC I attempted to set the meetings up from the MRF office or should I say Wayne Curtin’s apartment. Our trips have sure changed since those days, but the feeling of accomplishment is still there. To top off this trip, when I arrived home I had a call on my answering service that Representative Hoekstra had cosigned on HR1577 a bill to remove youth motorcycles from the Consumer Product Safety Commissions lead ban.

Fiz, Mark Schauer, Ed Steink

Fiz, Mike Rogers, Ed Steink

Fiz, Peter Hoekstra, Ed Steink

03-09-10

Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education

501 3 C/Young Activist Scholarship

SUPPORT REQUEST

Considering the economic times the MARFA&E and the YAS both need financial support in order to continue on with each of their goals. The MARFA&E as we all know is about Motorcycle Awareness and Education. The Young Activist Scholarship is the future of motorcycling if we are to protect our hard earned rights.

SMRO’s we’d like to ask you to request your members look into having a benefit
(consider a Poker Run, a Sunday rummage sale) and put that money towards this years Young Activist Scholarship. You see the Young Activist Scholarship committee is limited to how many recipients it can send due to the amount of money that is collected prior to that years picks (July 15). As you know the force of young riders can only be built as we continue to build that number year by year. Our goal each year is to bring more and more youth to our table. We need each of our SMRO’s across America to help build the motorcycle force out of our youth that will protect all the years of work that have already been invested.

The Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education also exists currently by donations. SMRO'S now is the time to plan a benefit to help the MARFA&E. Soon it will be past the winter season and many riding times will be drawing you out of the cold and into the warm spring and summer breezes.
Combine your passion with your brother and sisters and put that into a benefit run to support the future of the MARFA&E.

This if you’ve checked out the web site is the place where you can go to download Motorcycle Awareness and Education information to benefit you, your SMRO and anyone who rides.

Information regarding the Young Activist Scholarship (YAS) and the Motorcycle Riders Foundation Awareness and Education (MARFA&E) can be found at the www.mrfae.org web site.

Make this year the year you work to help the MARFA&E continue to grow and educate motorcycle riders all across our country with your tax deductible donation.

		It’s Monday -- which means the start of a workweek, but not for 2,000 federal employees. The U.S. Department of Transportation had to furloughed workers without pay. Several projects are temporarily shut down, such as highway reimbursements to states worth hundreds of millions of dollars, national anti-drunk driving efforts, and multi-million dollar construction projects across the country.
Sen. Jim Bunning (R-KY.) is holding up a $10 billion measure to extend short-term funding for a series of measures that expired Sunday night. One measure included a short-term extension for the Highway Trust Fund. “As American families are struggling in tough economic times, I am keenly disappointed that political games are putting a stop to important construction projects around the country,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood in a press release. “This means that construction workers will be sent home from job sites because federal inspectors must be furloughed.” Two major construction projects in the Washington area are affected; the $50 million replacement of the 9th Street Bridge, and the $36 million replacement of the Humpback Bridge on the George Washington Parkway in Virginia. Employees at the Department of Transported are following their normal schedule. The furloughs are affecting employees funded by the Highway Trust Fund at the following agencies: the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Research and Innovating Technology Administration.

Motorcycle Riders Foundation
Call to Action

WASHINGTON UPDATE - Although Washington DC is under almost three feet of snow and the Federal government is shuttered, the Motorcycle Riders Foundation (MRF) would like to remind you that issues facing Congress are definitely not hibernating. Health care reform has dominated the legislative and political debate, and just because it’s not front-page news right now does not mean that a reform bill is dead; quite the opposite actually. The President mentioned his desire to sign a bill into law at any point in the future in his first State of the Union address. Vague and shifting requirements coming from the White House on provisions in a perfect bill, coupled with Congress ramming bills through both Chambers under the cloak of early morning darkness, should give everyone pause on this issue.
Neither of the bills passed by the House or Senate outlines anything with respect to motorcycles such as required helmet use in order to participate in a government-run health insurance program. And when you look at the political details, it does seem unlikely that either of the current Senate or House bills will make it into law. With the election of Republican Senator Scott Brown from Massachusetts and the death of long-time House Democrat John Murtha from Pennsylvania, it is becoming increasingly clear that the Democratic leadership just doesn’t have the votes in either Chamber to pass either of the current proposals.
However, if we look to past actions by the Congress and the final rulemaking process, it becomes apparent that the rulemaking process is not always good for the American motorcyclist. After all, this is the same process that brought the current loophole in the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) that allows insurance providers to discriminate against motorcyclists, and the legislative intent on that bill was to end discrimination. The point is that we, as active motorcyclists, owe it to ourselves to stay involved in the legislative process as much as possible. As always, the MRF will keep you updated on this important issue.
ANOTHER SCOOTER IN THE SENATE - That’s right. Another motorcyclist has been elected to the United States Senate. Republican Scott Brown pulled off what will be known as one of the most bizarre outcomes in a state-wide election in history. You see, Brown wasn’t supposed to win. He didn’t have the money or name recognition, and he was in the wrong party to win statewide in the uber-liberal state of Massachusetts. So when he handily won the election, the pundits were stunned.
Brown has committed to riding his motorcycle to DC at some point with his biker brethren from Massachusetts. The Motorcycle Riders Foundation Political Action Committee made a donation to Brown’s campaign at the request of the Massachusetts Motorcycle Association. Have a federal candidate that needs some help? Submit a request to Jeff@mrf.org.
SPRING LOBBYING - Spring is just around the corner which means A) you are fantasizing of warmer weather and longer days to ride, and B) your State Motorcyclists’ Rights Organization (SMRO) should be considering a trip to DC. It’s lobbying season, and the time of year when our grassroots efforts shine brightest, so make some time to come to DC.
BIKERS IN THE BELTWAY - The successful event held last year known as Bikers in the Beltway will occur again. Dates are likely to be mid-May 2010. The MRF will get exact dates and details out to you as soon as possible.

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A.B.A.T.E. of Michigan Inc.
P.O. Box 309
Milford, Michigan
48381-0309