AMA Honors Lawmakers for Supporting Pro-Motorcycle Legislation

The American Motorcyclist Association honored 59 U.S. lawmakers for their support of motorcyclists in the recently concluded 112th Congress.

Senator Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Representative James Sensenbrenner (R-Wis.), and former Representatives Roscoe Bartlett (R-Md.) and Denny Rehberg (R-Mont.) in particular were honored with “Hero” awards by the AMA Government Relations Department for their efforts during the congressional session running from Jan. 3, 2011 to Jan. 3, 2013.

Klobuchar and Rehberg played important roles in getting youth dirt bikes and ATVs exempted from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act “lead ban”. Bartlett helped work out a compromise over the expansion of a U.S. Marine base that could have encroached on the popular Johnson Valley off-highway riding area in California. Sensenbrenner introduced legislation banning federal funding for motorcycle-only checkpoints.

“Thanks to the extraordinary efforts of these lawmakers during the 112th Congress, and the efforts of others, motorcyclists are better off now than they were a year or two ago,” says Wayne Allard, AMA vice president for government relations and a former U.S. senator and U.S. representative from Colorado.

The AMA also honored five other current senators with “Champion” awards for their efforts in support of motorcyclists: John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Michael Enzi (R-Wyo.), Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Mike Lee (R-Utah), and Dean Heller (R-Nev.). Another 50 lawmakers were recognized as “Supporters”.

“The constituents of all of these current and former federal legislators should be proud of them for their public service and for their support of the American motorcyclist, and the freedom those Americans enjoy,” says Allard.

The 113th U.S. Congress is just a few months old, and legislators are continuing their efforts in support of motorcycling. Most recently, Sensenbrenner introduced H.R. 875 which would make the Environmental Protection Agency put a halt on the use of E15 ethanol fuel until its potential harmful effects (particularly on motorcycle engines) are investigated.

[Source: AMA; Photo by Schedl R.]