(PartiallyPolitics.com) – Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) argued that the federal efforts to have car lanes replaced by bike lanes are “the height of stupidity.” He also joined many other GOP lawmakers who have been skeptical about the proposal to incentivize e-bike purchases.
He added that he was not going to be spending “money on buying e-bikes for people like me who have bought them — they’re expensive,” he further added that replacing car lanes with bike lanes would only lead to more cars backing up and thus, creating more emissions.
These comments were in response to Reps. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) and Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) introduced the Sarah Debbink Langenkamp Active Transportation Safety Act last month, which was going to help support state and local governments’ efforts to create safer road conditions and networks for bicycle riders and walkers.
The legislation is named after a U.S. diplomat who passed away last August after being hit by a flatbed truck driver. The legislation would allow the Highway Safety Improvement Program funding to be used for safer cycling infrastructure and to create roads for pedestrians with federal funding.
In a statement, Raskin noted that the federal government needed to do more to support a transportation system that would provide safe options for all “types of road users.”
A group of Democratic lawmakers also introduced the Electric Bicycle Incentive Kickstart for the Environment (E-BIKE) Act last month which would encourage the usage of e-bikes through the consumer tax credit.
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