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National Policy and Advocacy
A key focus of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership is to serve as an advocate for Safe Routes to School and related issues with Congress and the federal government and to monitor federal and state implementation of the $612-million federal Safe Routes to School (SRTS) program. Because Safe Routes to School affects communities in so many ways, our legislative priorities include transportation, education, health, and the environment.
This section of the website includes the latest information and resources on the Partnership’s legislative priorities, calls to action for local supporters, and implementation updates. Please visit frequently to stay current and learn how you can get involved.
You can also explore the links on the left for more detailed information on legislative priorities, implementation, policy background, events, and a toolkit to help you engage Members of Congress.
Featured Item:
New Safe Routes to School Senate Bill Sets Stage for Next Federal Transportation Bill
May 21, 2009
On May 21, 2009, Senators Tom Harkin (D-IA), Richard Burr (R-NC) , Bernard Sanders (I-VT), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Susan Collins (R-ME) joined together to introduce the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act (S. 1156). The new Safe Routes to School bill proposes to build on successes around the country and strengthen and expand the federal Safe Routes to School program. We need assistance from all Safe Routes to School supporters and advocates to ensure that this legislation is ultimately included in the next transportation bill which is up for reauthorization this year. Please follow the links below to learn more and take action.
• Take Action: Contact your Senator
• List of Supporting Organizations
• Press release from the Safe Routes to School National Partnership
• Press release from the Senate bill sponsors
• Summary of the legislation
• Full text of the legislation
• Safe Routes to School National Partnership’s reauthorization recommendations
Latest News and Information:
House Transportation Bill Moves Forward; Strengthens Safe Routes to School
June 24, 2009
On Monday, the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee released its draft of the transportation bill, called the Surface Transportation Authorization Act. Although the overall bill is expected to ultimately include around $450-500 billion over six years, no funding levels are included for any program at this point. The bill is instead meant to outline the new structure for surface transportation programs and policy changes.
The bill was approved unanimously today by the House Transportation Subcommittee on Highways and Transit. The next step will be for the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee to work with the Ways and Means Committee in July to determine the financing for the bill. Once that has been worked out, the bill can continue forward through the legislative process. For for more information on SRTS in the bill, click here.
Update on House Transportation Bill and Safe Routes to School
June 19, 2009
Over the past few days, there has been a lot of movement on the transportation bill in the U.S. House of Representatives. On Thursday, June 18, Reps. Oberstar, Mica, DeFazio, and Duncan, who are the lead Democrats and Republicans on the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, released a Blueprint of the transportation bill. For more information, click here.
House Transportation Bill May Be Unveiled This Month
June 8, 2009
Chairman Oberstar of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee may be releasing a draft of the next transportation bill, or at least white papers outlining his intended approach, this month. To prepare for the transportation bill, Members of Congress spent much of May building support for their priorities. Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR), Lipinski (D-IL), and Edwards (D-MD) each took the lead on letters to the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee in support of SRTS and other bicycle/pedestrian and safety programs. Several dozen Members of Congress signed on to the letters, which help demonstrate that there is broad support for the program’s expansion in the next transportation bill.
House GOP Proposes Eliminating SRTS as Part of Budget-Cutting Effort
June 4, 2009
Today, Reps. Boehner and Cantor, who are part of the House Republican leadership issued a list of dozens of programs they propose eliminating to reduce spending and the deficit. Among many of the items they propose to eliminate is the Safe Routes to School program (along with other bike/ped programs like Transportation Enhancements and the Non-Motorized Pilot Program), arguing it should be handled by local governments. This list of proposed reductions was released to the media today in the form of a letter to President Obama, and is not a part of the regular budget and appropriations process at this point. The Associated Press did an article on the proposed cuts which highlights Safe Routes to School.
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership is continuing to work to ensure the extension and expansion of the Safe Routes to School program. Rep. Oberstar, the Chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, should soon be releasing his draft transportation bill and we hope there will be positive language in there for Safe Routes to School. We also recently worked with a bipartisan group of Senators to secure introduction of S. 1156, the Safe Routes to School Program Reauthorization Act , which would expand funding to $600 million per year and make changes to strengthen the program. We are finding a lot of support for Safe Routes to School on both sides of the aisle.
Contact Your Member of Congress Today to Make Sure Bicycling, Walking, and Safe Routes to School Are a Part of Our Transportation System
May 19, 2009
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership needs five minutes of your time to help make sure that Members of Congress support bicycling and walking in the multi-year federal transportation bill, a draft of which is scheduled to be released in a couple of weeks.
There are two different “Dear Colleague” letters being circulated in the U.S. House of Representatives that call for increased federal funding for bicycle and pedestrian programs in the next transportation bill. With your help as a constituent, we can get a critical mass of Members of Congress to sign on to these letters and show strong, broad support for bicycling, walking, and Safe Routes to School in the next transportation bill. For more information on signing onto these letters, click here.
Transportation Bill Coming Soon; SRTS Making Progress
May 12, 2009
Rep. Oberstar, Chair of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, has indicated he will be releasing his version of the transportation bill in early June. Recently, Congressman Oberstar has said in the media that the overall bill will likely total somewhere around $400-$450 billion, which would be a significant increase over the last transportation bill of $286 billion—but that the financing mechanism will be determined yet this summer. We are working closely with Chairman Oberstar’s staff to ensure that Safe Routes to School is included in the draft. We are also partnering with America Bikes on a support letter that members of the House Transportation Committee can sign to show support for Safe Routes to School, Complete Streets, bicycle/pedestrian funding, and a “fair share for safety.” On the Senate side, we expect Senator Harkin (D-IA) to introduce a Safe Routes to School reauthorization bill, based on the Partnership’s platform, in the coming weeks. As soon as the House support letter and Senate bill are available, we will alert SRTS supporters and ask you to take action.
Draft Climate Bill Includes Transportation Title
May 12, 2009
Rep. Waxman, Chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, released a draft climate bill in late March that would establish a system for capping greenhouse gas emissions and auctioning off emissions allowances. The draft includes a transportation section that would require states and large metropolitan areas to submit goals and plans to reduce their transportation greenhouse gas emissions—including through bike/ped infrastructure. Funding would be provided to implement the plans, although funding levels are not specified in the draft. We are working with Transportation for America and the Smart Growth and Climate Change coalitions to support adequate funding for the transportation section.
Making Schools Green and Kids More Active
May 12, 2009
Last week, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce passed a new Green Schools bill that would provide $6.4 billion for school construction projects to modernize schools and make them more energy-efficient, including through improving bike/ped access to schools. The full House of Representatives passed the bill on May 14. It must now be taken up by the Senate before it can become law. In other related news, the Partnership has endorsed the FIT Kids Act, which would require school districts and states to report on the level and quality of PE they provide to children, and would add physical activity and wellness as eligible uses of funding for a variety of education programs. The FIT Kids campaign is led by the American Heart Association, and it is hoped that Congress will consider these changes as part of a future education reauthorization bill.
Partnership Issues April 2009 State of the States
May 12, 2009
Each quarter, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership issues a “State of the States” to track the movement of each state Department of Transportation (DOT) in awarding and obligating federal Safe Routes to School funds. The April 2009 State of the States chart reveals that over the last quarter (January to March 2009), DOTs have awarded $23 million in Safe Routes to School awards and have obligated $11 million to allow already-awarded projects to move forward. Overall, now that DOTs have the FY2009 funds available to them, approximately 60% of the overall funds have been awarded and 25% obligated. While many states have moved forward expeditiously to ensure that SRTS funds are benefiting local communities, a total of 21 states have more than half of their funds to award out. Take a look at our chart to see how your state is progressing.
Partnership Releases Working Group Report on SRTS Implementation Challenges
May 7, 2009
Last fall, the Partnership has convened a Working Group on Implementation to examine the impact of the title 23 regulations that govern SRTS on project delivery and costs and develop more specific recommendations. Together, Working Group participants convened monthly to discuss implementation challenges and opportunities. The Partnership’s Working Group on Implementation has just released the product of those discussions, a report entitled “Implementation Challenges with the Federal SRTS Program: An Examination of Title 23 Regulations, the Impact on Project Costs and Timing, and Opportunities for More Efficient Project Delivery". The report provides background on the existing regulatory processes, identifies best practices that many state DOTs are already undertaking, and proposes legislative and administrative solutions that could make SRTS projects more efficient, without undermining important environmental and labor projections. We have already begun to share the report with key Congressional offices and the Federal Highway Administration, and hope that state SRTS Coordinators will find it useful in their own implementation. We would like to thank the members of the Working Group, who are identified in the report’s appendix, and all those local SRTS recipients who completed the implementation survey last December.
SRTS Supporters Host Sen. Bond (R-MO) and Rep. Johnson (R-IL) for Site Visits
May 1, 2009
Local SRTS supporters have an important role to play in building support for the program and ensuring that Congress will strengthen and expand funding for the program as part of the upcoming transportation bill. The easiest way to do this is to ask your Senator or House Member to come to an upcoming SRTS event to see the positive impact these federal dollars are having on children and families in your community—like two recent events:
• In April, the PedNet Coalition of Columbia, Missouri invited Sen. Christopher Bond (R-MO) to walk to school as part of their Walking School Bus program. The Senator had a chance to interact with local kids and get some exercise. Afterwards, he addressed the children, encouraging them to develop healthy habits through the Walking School Bus. Local media covered the event, resulting in positive articles in local papers, including one headlined “Senator Bond Gets on the Health Bus.”
• Also in April, the Champaign-Urbana SRTS Project hosted an event with Mark Fenton that included a walking audit and Safe Routes to School planning workshop. Rep. Tim Johnson (R-IL) walked with the group during the audit, shared his own stories of walking and biking around the Urbana area as a child, and saw the new school zone signs that were installed with SRTS grant funds. Rep. Johnson told the group of his support for increasing funding for SRTS in the next transportation bill.
These two events are examples of how you can connect Members of Congress with the impact of SRTS—through events you may already be planning for your families, communities and schools. All it takes is a little planning—and we have a Toolkit for Building Congressional Champions with step-by-step instructions, templates and tools to help you plan and carry out your event. Please also don’t hesitate to contact Margo Pedroso, Policy Manager for the Partnership, if you need any help during the process or would like to share your site visit story.
Bike/Ped Infrastructure Dollars Available To States, Cities and Counties through ARRA Energy Efficiency Grants
April 1, 2009
This week, the U.S. Department of Energy released guidelines for the billions of stimulus dollars available through the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant Program (EECBG). A total of $2.7 billion will be distributed to states and eligible cities and counties to improve energy efficiency in a number of ways, including through development of bicycle and pedestrian networks. Applications from states are due May 25, 2009 and city/county applications are due June 26, 2009.
In addition to the EECBG funding, advocates should continue to focus on the Transportation Enhancements (TE) funding within their states. States have access to approximately $800 million in stimulus funds for the TE program, and many states are making decisions now about how to program this funding. This is a primary source of funding for bicycle, pedestrian, and Safe Routes to School projects.
For additional information on either of these programs, please review our newly updated Frequently Asked Questions document.
Complete Streets Legislation Introduced
March 24, 2009
Both the House and Senate have introduced the Complete Streets Act of 2009 (H.R. 1443 and S. 584). The leads for the legislation are Rep. Matsui (D-CA) in the House and Sen. Harkin (D-IA) in the Senate. The bills would require that states and Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) adopt ‘complete streets’ policies that ensure that future road improvements also take into account the needs of pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and people of all ages and abilities. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership included Complete Streets in our transportation reauthorization platform and supports the bills. To ask your Senators and Representative to co-sponsor the Complete Streets legislation, please use the National Complete Streets Coalition’s sample letter.
CLEAN-TEA Bill Introduced to Direct Climate Revenues to Transportation
March 24, 2009
Legislation to address climate change and greenhouse gases is likely this session of Congress. Senators Carper (D-DE) and Specter (R-PA) and Reps. Blumenauer (D-OR), Tauscher (D-CA), and LaTourette (R-OH) are the lead sponsors of new legislation called CLEAN-TEA (H.R. 1329 and S. 575). The Clean Low-Emissions Affordable New Transportation Equity Act would target ten percent of any revenues from future climate bill cap and trade revenues for lowering greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector. States and local communities could tap into this funding to create safe, convenient, and environmentally-friendly transportation alternatives such as building bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has submitted a letter of support for CLEAN-TEA.
Partnership Unveils 2009 Policy Report
March 10, 2009
The Safe Routes to School 2009 Policy Report - Moving to the Future: Building on Early Achievements examines the first three years of the federal Safe Routes to school program and identifies ways in which the program could be strengthened through policy changes at the national and local levels. It also identifies discusses a number of "big-picture" policies and practices that can help build a supportive environment for Safe Routes to School programs.
Learn More and Take Action on the Economic Stimulus
February 18, 2009
The economic stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, has now been signed into law. The law provides $789 billion in spending and tax cuts to stimulate the economy, and is an important opportunity for states, cities, counties, and schools to create healthier communities. Funding is available to build sidewalks, bike lanes, pathways, and to create complete streets. This infrastructure can help to create an interconnected bicycle and pedestrian network, improving safety and providing opportunities for increased physical activity for both children and adults. Please review our Frequently Asked Questions for additional information about potential funding sources and then take action to secure funding for bicycle, pedestrian, Safe Routes to School, and Complete Streets projects in your community.
President-Elect Obama Selects Ray LaHood Transportation Secretary
January 10, 2009
President-Elect Obama announced recently that former Congressman Ray LaHood, a Republican from Illinois, is his selection to serve as the new Secretary of Transportation. Congressman LaHood is a moderate that is known to have worked well across party lines. He most recently served on the House Appropriations Committee for several years, and previously served on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The League of Illinois Bicyclists shares that Congressman LaHood is an active supporter of bicycling and trails, and stood up against his party leadership to support the Transportation Enhancements program, which provides a great deal of funding to bicycle and pedestrian projects. In floor remarks supporting the restoration of funding to Transportation Enhancements in 2003, Congressman LaHood spoke about the importance of trails and facilities that encourage Americans to exercise and get healthy. We look forward to translating his support for trails into support for the Safe Routes to School program.
Partnership Sends Letter to State Governors Regarding SRTS Implementation
December 3, 2008
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership has sent a letter to each state’s Governor plus the Mayor of the District of Columbia regarding state implementation of the federal Safe Routes to School program. The letter congratulates states for their work in implementing SRTS, and asks them to award the remainder of available funding to help schools and communities struggling with traffic safety, childhood obesity, poor air quality and school bus route cuts. The letter also encourages states to mitigate where possible the delays in implementing SRTS projects due to federal regulations and state procedures. Finally, the letter encourages Governors to share best practices or challenges they face in implementing SRTS with the Partnership so that we can work with states and Congress to implement best practices to urge implementation challenges.
Organizations Work Together in Support of Linking Health and Transportation
November 7, 2008
The Safe Routes to School National Partnership took the lead in circulating an organizational sign-on letter that asks Congress to include health performance outcomes in the next transportation bill. A total of 170 organizations signed on in support of a transportation bill that encourages projects that are safe, allow for active transportation, and not detrimental to the environment.
President-Elect Obama Supports Safe Routes to School
November 5, 2008
Earlier this year, Senator Barack Obama met in Chicago with board and staff members of Bikes Belong, the Partnership’s parent organization. Mr. Obama told the bike group’s leaders that if elected president, he would support funding for bicycling, walking and Safe Routes to School in the next federal transportation bill. That same week, Mr. Obama celebrated his consolidation of the Democratic Presidential nomination by riding bikes with his two young daughters in a Chicago park. The Safe Routes to School National Partnership will work closely with Bikes Belong and the America Bikes coalition to ensure that the new Obama administration is fully briefed on the tangible benefits and significant progress of Safe Routes to School programs as they prepare their legislative agenda.
Partnership Releases Reauthorization Recommendations
September 2, 2008
Congress will be taking up the next transportation bill in 2009. In collaboration with our partners and SRTS supporters, we have developed a platform outlining changes that are critical to the continued growth and success of Safe Routes to School. We will be working to educate Members of Congress about the benefits of SRTS and build support for our recommendations over the coming months. You can help advance these recommendations by inviting your Member of Congress to a local SRTS event. To learn how, please review our Toolkit for Building Congressional Champions.
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