An ACT update from DC
On April 19, Zach Calderón made his inaugural visit to DC as ACT’s new Government Affairs & Policy Manager. While there, he and Ben Odendahl from SDA met with staff from Congressman Mike Thompson (D – CA) and Congressman Jake Auchincloss’ (D – MA) offices, both offices crucial to ACT’s policy goals as Congressman Thompson is the incoming chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus and Congressman Auchincloss is ACT’s Representative and member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. While ACT has worked with Congressman Auchincloss since his election to Congress in 2020, we have not had much formal contact with Congressman Thompson’s office specifically in the past.
The meeting with the Congressman’s Legislative Assistant who handles the Congressman’s Bike Caucus portfolio was an extremely promising introductory meeting as Zach and Ben shared ACT’s policy priorities. ACT looks forward to collaborating with the Congressman’s office on all things bike policy moving forward.
During the meeting with Congressman Auschincloss’ office, we learned that there is now a Republican co-sponsor on the Congressman’s Commuter Benefits bill, a small but crucial step in the passage of a Democrat-sponsored bill in a Republican-controlled house. With Congressman Marc Molinaro (R – NY) on board, both Congressman Auchincloss' team and ACT are hopeful this will lead to more cosponsoring the bill. Outreach to your Members of Congress will go a long way in building additional support. Should the bill be introduced this late in the 119th Congress it will serve as a marker bill – a bill introduced with the purpose of circulating, socializing, and reviewing it so that it can hit the ground running in the next Congress.
Zach and Ben also continued discussions of the formation of a Commuter Caucus in Congress with Congressman Auschincloss’ team, a body separate from the Bike Caucus and the Future of Transportation Caucus. Both caucuses do incredibly important and crucial work, but as of now there is not a caucus dedicated solely to the immediate needs of the 130 million people who commute to and from their jobs every day. In searching for Republicans to create the caucus with Congressman Auchincloss, the Congressman’s team will follow a similar strategy of targeting Republicans from swing districts as well as districts with one or more major TDM constituencies.
As you can see, meeting with Members of Congress and their staff is crucial to enact real change with real effects. Your Representative wants to hear from you, and their staff rely on your input to make decisions. It is important to remember that you do not need to travel all the way to DC just to meet with your Member of Congress, you can also meet with them while they are home in their district. If you would like to schedule a meeting with your Member of Congress and their team, ACT can help! Feel free to reach out to Zach Calderón, who can help coordinate a time with your Representative’s team to sit down with them and discuss your TDM concerns, ideas, and hopes.