The
American Motorcyclist Association honored U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) for
her support of motorcyclists and ATV riders during the just-completed 112th
Congress.
Klobuchar
was singled out for the AMA Government Relations Department "Hero" award for
her extraordinary efforts to support motorcycling and ATV riding. She was
presented the award in March.
Klobuchar
was particularly praised for her successful efforts to save the Recreational
Trails Program (RTP) from extinction, as well as to exempt kids' dirtbikes and
ATVs from the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act, which had banned the
sale of those vehicles.
"Thanks to
the extraordinary efforts of Sen. Klobuchar during the 112th Congress and the
efforts of others, the future of motorcycling was assured," said Wayne Allard,
AMA vice president for government relations and a former U.S. senator and U.S.
representative from Colorado.
"Hikers,
bicyclists, horse riders, cross-country skiers, snowmobilers, off-highway
motorcyclists and ATV riders and others can continue to enjoy recreational
trails created and maintained through RTP funding," Allard said. "And if the
ban on the sale of kids' off-highway vehicles remained, it's unlikely that
motorcycling in America
would have survived."
Funds for
the RTP come from the federal Highway Trust Fund and represent a portion of the
federal motor fuel excise tax collected from non-highway recreational fuel use.
In other words, taxes generated by fuel used for off-highway vehicle
recreation-by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles and
off-highway light trucks-fund the RTP.
The RTP is
an assistance program of the U.S. Transportation Department's Federal Highway
Administration. The RTP program benefits hiking, bicycling, in-line skating,
equestrian use, cross-country skiing, snowmobiling, off-road motorcycling, ATV
riding, four-wheel driving, or using other off-road motorized vehicles.
The
Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 banned the making, importing,
distributing or selling of any product intended for children 12 and under that
contained more than a specified amount of lead in any accessible part. On Aug.
12, 2011, President Obama signed into law H.R. 2715 to exempt kids' off-highway
vehicles from the law.
