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Download the updated Recreational Trails Program Talking Points (pdf 98 kb)

February 3, 2012: BIG VICTORY for RTP: the House transportation bill just passed by the Transportation Committee includes the Recreational Trails Program as a discrete program with $85 million in annual funding. Rep. John L. Mica, Chairman, House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee was thanked in a letter from the Coalition for Recreational Trails for including RTP in the American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act. Hundreds of local and national trail organizations joined in efforts led by CRT to support funding and authorization for RTP.

HOWEVER, the Senate bill passed last November does NOT include any authorization of RTP. Stay tuned for the next effort to convince key Senators to include Recreational Trails in the final transportation legislation.

February 2, 2012: The Petri amendment FAILED on a committee vote. It would have restored dedicated funding for Transportation Enhancements, state bike coordinators, and Safe Routes to School programs, as well as restoring eligibility for rail corridor preservation. Read more and keep up to date on future strategies...

February 1, 2012: The House transportation bill markup will be webcast live on February 2. The bill is H.R. 7, "The American Energy & Infrastructure Jobs Act."

Advocates in Washington, DC are working to propose an amendment that would protect funding for TE and other bike/ped programs. They urge you contact your Representative and stress the importance of dedicated funding for these essential programs that make trails and active transportation possible. See the Safe Routes to School National Parnership site for an easy way to contact your Representative. See the list of House T & I Committee members...

January 31, 2012: National bicycling and walking organizations are urging advocates to contact your Representative and ask them to vote to preserve bicycling and walking programs. Read more and learn how you can support funding for these vital programs...

January 27, 2012: The House of Representatives released a preview of its version of the federal transportation funding bill. Like the Senate bill announced in November, the House version eliminates the requirement for states to spend highway funds on such programs as Trails, Safe Routes to School, and Enhancements. Advocates in Washington, DC urge you contact your Representative and stress the importance of dedicated funding for these essential programs that make trails and active transportation possible. See the list of House T & I Committee members...

January 17, 2012: Your support is needed! The Coalition for Recreational Trails believes that "now is the time for all organizations and individuals who support RTP to tell their Senators to protect dedicated funding for this absolutely essential program." Read more and learn how to make your voice heard...

December 29, 2011: TheHill.com reported that the Senate is eager to pass a two-year transportation funding bill soon after Congress returns in mid-January. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee had put forth a proposed bill in November that essentially eliminated dedicated funding for any trail, bicycle, or pedestrian programs. With the fuel tax shortfall causing disagreements between the two political parties, the Senate Finance Committee has been looking at proposals to offset the $12 billion shortfall in Senator Barbara Boxer's (D-CA) original bill. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told reporters last week that the surface transportation and aviation funding bills would be among his top priorities for action in the new year.

December 1, 2011: The long-awaited House version of the transportation funding bill will apparently be delayed until after Congress returns January 17. Rep. John Mica, chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee announced that details of the bill would not be released as planned. An E&E News reporter quoted Rep. Mica as "saying that he would not eliminate the Transportation Enhancements program and that the bill would maintain funding for bike and pedestrian programs." That casts still more uncertainty on the details, and whether Recreational Trails would be included in any actual funding.

A Washington trails advocate speculated that it really means there won't be a bill after all, but yet another proposal to extend the current transportation programs beyond the current cut-off of March 31, 2012. With the increasing focus on the 2012 national elections, and no leadership willing to address the fuel tax funding shortfall, an extension could be the politically expedient solution.

November 25, 2011: The Senate may be voting early in December on on the MAP-21 bill. So far neither the Senate nor the House transportation funding bills have provided much hope for continuing funding for trails and enhancements programs. In the meantime, Coalition for Recreational Trails supporters as well as bike/ped activists are looking at options for support. One strategy is to convince individual Senators to offer amendments to support funding for these programs.

November 9, 2011: The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed its rewrite of the federal transportation bill, "Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century" (MAP-21). The bill consolidates 70 former programs and allows states to choose their own priorities, but eliminates dedicated funding for trails and bike/ped projects. A new "transportation mobility program" includes eligibilty for Recreational Trails, Enhancements, Scenic Byways, and Safe Routes to School, among many other bridge, highway, and environmental programs. Section 149 of USC title 23 would cover "congestion mitigation and air quality improvement" and also includes Recreational Trails eligibility. According to the committee, it also "Reforms the Transportation Enhancements program with more flexibility granted to the states on the use of the funds within the program." See more on the bill and links to the full text...

October 26, 2011: From the Coalition for Recreational Trails: We have learned that Rep. Larry Bucshon (R-IN), a freshman Member of Congress from Indiana’s 8th Congressional District, is circulating a “Dear Colleague” letter (pdf 82 mb) and proposed amendment (pdf 37 kb) to the transportation bill to the Republican members of the House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The amendment would allow the use of all Title 23 funds for emergency repairs to transportation facilities if a state governor determines that such an emergency exists. Rep. Bucshon’s intent is clear: Take funding away from programs like RTP in the case of emergencies that are defined as pretty much anything a state governor decides is an emergency.

The “Dear Colleague” letter incorrectly asserts, “Title 23 dollars were appropriated only for programs such as bike paths, trail programs and highway beautification projects.” Title 23 funds are actually almost the entire Federal-Aid Highway Program, i.e., Interstate Maintenance, National Highway System, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Surface Transportation Program (including Transportation Enhancements), Highway Safety Improvement Program, Highway Bridge Program, Recreational Trails Program, Appalachian Highway Development Program, High Priority Projects, State Planning and Research, Metropolitan Planning, Federal Lands Highway Program, Scenic Byways and all the other discretionary programs, and transfers of Highway funds to Transit programs. The Recreational Trails Program (RTP) represents about 0.2% of total Title 23 funding.

Regardless of the incorrect understanding of what Title 23 actually encompasses, we need to protect the RTP from these types of raids. The amount of money that would be made available for an “emergency” is very small, yet the negative impact on state trail programs would be very severe. CRT members are asked to contact Republican supporters of RTP who are members of the T&I Committee and ask them not to co-sponsor this amendment and not to support it once it is introduced. Those members are: Rep. Don Young (R-AK) Tom Petri (R-WI) Howard Coble (R-NC) Candice Miller (R-MI) Jaime Herrera Beutler (R-WA) Randy Hultgren (R-IL) Reid Ribble (R-WI)

September 16, 2011: Sen. Tom Coburn agreed to Senate approval of the highways and FAA funding bill. He had been holding up the bill because he objects to Transportation Enhancements, which he called a "beautification mandate," and stated that ithe program is "an indefensible threat against public safety that forces states to prioritize bike paths over bridge repair.”

The bad news, however, is that there appears to be a bipartisan deal in the Senate to eliminate the requirement that states spend money on Enhancements, bike paths, etc. They MAY do so, but apparently there is no set-aside. Acording to thehill.com: "Senators Boxer and Inhofe explained that so-called transportation enhancement funding accounted for only 2 percent of the pending two-year transportation authorization bill. They emphasized reforms in the legislation that would give states more flexibility over how to use those funds. "Now that we have overcome this hurdle it's time to get to work on passing a two-year highway bill,” Inhofe said in a statement. “Senator Coburn is absolutely correct to say that states should not be required to fund highway beautification projects. I am pleased that we have reached an agreement with Senator Boxer on this issue.”

September 13, 2011: The House passed legislation to extend the authority to appropriate funds from the Highway Trust Fund for transportation, trails, and bike/ped programs through March 31, 2012 (half of FY 2012). H.R. 2887 maintains current policy and funding at FY 2011 levels and also also includes a four-month of Federal Aviation Administration funding, which expires Friday.

Both Republican and Democratic members agreed that extending the gas tax and related spending programs was essential. This was the eighth extension of SAFETEA-LU, which expired in 2009, and allocates about $41 billion per year on transportation projects.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates the shortfall in transportation revenue will reach $14 billion in FY 2012. The House bill would limit spending to about $35 billion, or the actual federal gas tax annual revenue, while the Senate proposal would raise spending to $54 billion a year. Neither body has addressed the politically hot issue of paying for roads while gas tax revenues decline as vehicles become more efficient.

September 8, 2011: Investing in Transportation Infrastructure for All: a statement from America Bikes Coalition

September 4, 2011: House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-VA) has singled out Transportation Enhancements as funding that could go to more pressing infrastructure needs. Rep. Cantor cited the House proposal to reauthorize Federal transportation programs, noting that States “will not be required to spend a specific amount of funding on specific types of projects, such as transportation museums or landscaping.” The actual bill has not been released but it is expected to be made public in the next week before action in Congress.

According to TheHill.com, "Infrastructure investments are expected to be at the center of the major jobs speech that Obama is set to deliver to a joint session of Congress on Thursday." The President on Sept. 3 expressed his support for another extension of the current transportation programs: "So I’m calling on Congress, as soon as they come back, to pass a clean extension of the transportation bill to keep workers on the job, keep critical projects moving forward, and to give folks a sense of security."

September 1, 2011: Rep. John Mica (R-FL) has stated his support for a possible four-month extension of the Federal transportation funding bill (SAFETEA-LU). The bill would continue trails and bike/ped programs as well as allow the federal gas tax to be collected. Otherwise all surface transportation programs would come to a halt September 30, Rep. Mica stated in a news release, "As chairman of the House Transportation Committee, I will agree to one additional highway program extension, this being the eighth of the overdue transportation reauthorization.” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) had previously indicated her willingness to support an eighth extension. The idea is to allow the congressional debt supercommittee time to address the persistent problem of funding transportation as fuel tax revenue declines.

July 19, 2011: Senate releases outline of Transportation funding bill: MAP-21 - The outline provides only a broad philosophy, which emphasizes consolidation and allows States to set their own performance targets. According to the outline, "MAP-21 consolidates 87 programs under SAFETEA-LU to less than 30 programs. The activities for which dedicated funding has been removed have been consolidated into the very broad core programs, leaving States with the flexibility to fund these activities as they see fit." A hearing is scheduled for July 21at 10 a.m with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, and a markup of the legislation is tentatively scheduled for July 27. The Committee rules state that the actual text of a bill scheduled for markup must be released at least 72 hours before the markup, which means we may see the legislation on Friday, July 22.

July 8, 2011: House, led by Rep. Mica, releases proposal for Federal Transportation funding reauthorization

July 1, 2011: Larry E. Smith, Executive Director, Americans for Responsible Recreational Access writes: "The fate of the Recreational Trails Program still hangs in the balance as the bigger issue of how to find adequate resources to fund the nation's highway and transportation programs is resolved. We keep hearing that any day now House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Mica will unveil his draft legislation. When that happens, we will have a better handle on how the RTP is being treated. We are also hearing that Senator Boxer, the Chairman of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is close to releasing her draft bill, but like with Chairman Mica, we all wait. "

May 6, 2011: Seventy-four Members of Congress from both parties agreed to support the Recreational Trails Program in a lettert to the leadership of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The bi-partisan "Dear Colleague" letter asking Members of the House of Representatives to include funding for the Recreational Trails Program is being circulated by Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI) and Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME) in the Transportation Reauthorization Bill. Legislation expected to be produced by both House and Senate in May.

May 5, 2011: A draft of President Obama’s full transportation bill had been expected this month. However, an apparently leaked copy of proposed text has been making the rounds in Washington. A legislative analyst for one of the federal land management agencies shared the new direction from USDOT: "At this time, the Administration is not releasing a formal bill for the public and/or Congress. Rather, the Department has shared policy proposals with the Hill that are relevant to the issues under consideration. We are at liberty to discuss policy proposals at a high level with our partners but no written materials can be exchanged. Draft legislation and section analyses shared with our partners months ago are no longer valid or accurate." See some of the language from the previous draft legislation...

Add your voice to the 499 groups and communities supporting the Recreational Trails Program. Invite your Members of Congress and other elected officials to visit a trail, see volunteers at work, or celebrate a trail opening. Tell the media, and send news clips to your Congressional offices. Download the sign-on form to join the Recreational Trails Council of Advisors.

April 15, 2011: Congress passes Continuing Appropriations Act with two major recissions of funding for transportation-funded projects (H.R. 1473)

April 8, 2011: now being written by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Action is needed by April 14, 2011: ask your Member of the House of Representatives to sign on to Rep. Petri’s and Michaud’s letter supporting continuation of RTP. And, please join 492 groups and agencies who are supporting RTP at this crucial time.

March 7, 2011: Both the House and Senate passed the Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2011 to extend federal transportation programs to September 30, 2011. H.R. 662 was introduced in the House by the Republican and Democrat leaders of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The legislation freezes funding at fiscal year 2010 levels for highway, transit and highways safety programs.

February 28, 2011: National field hearings and listening sessions on future surface transportation needs were held in February by the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The CRT letters had almost 500 signatories and documented the results of the program nationally and in each Member’s state.

As a member of the Coalition for Recreational Trails (CRT), American Trails urges organizations of every size and interest to become a Supporter of the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). Every state and every trail activity benefits from the Recreational Trails Program, and we need your support!

It is urgent to expand the voices supporting trails and greenways. What will happen in your state if RTP disappears? It is essential to get the thousands of trail advocates and project sponsors to think about that very real possibility.

To that effect, CRT has created a Recreational Trails Council of Advisors comprised of organizations that support the continuation and expansion of the RTP in the next national surface transportation program. The responsibility of Advisors is to lend their name to support letters to Congress members, to the Administration, and to others. In addition, Advisors will be asked to reach out to other organizations to ask them to sign-on and to help in a variety of ways. View the 492 organizations that have signed on as Supporters to date.

One thing we are learning as we meet with key staffers is that they are very impressed at the number and the diversity of trail user groups that support the program. Please help us continue to add more groups to the list!

Here are six crucial ways you can help secure the future of RTP funding for trails:

1. Sign on as a member of the Recreational Trails Council of Advisors.

2. Ask any organization you know to sign on as a member of the RTP Council of Advisors.

3. Tell your Congressmembers! Invite them to an RTP-funded trail ground-breaking, to a volunteer work day, or to an opening celebration. Tell the media, and send news clips to your Congressional offices. Tell them about your success stories and about the myriad of people of all ages and abilities that love and use these trails!

4. Ask other friends of trails to contact their Members of Congress about the importance of the RTP. Encourage them to stay up to date by visiting this site often. See an effective message sent by Alaska Trails urging grassroots support for the Recreational Trails Program

5. We need RTP champions in the Senate and the House -- but critically in the Senate. Please let us know if you have a good connection with a Member of Congress and are willing to make contacts-- especially on these key Committees:

the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee...
and its Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure
the House Transportation & Infrastructure...
and its Subcommittee on Highways and Transit

6. CRT would like to have over 500 organizations sign-on as supporters. Please pass the word on through your networks!

Thank you for your ongoing support for the Recreational Trails Program. This is the most important year ever to get Members of Congress to understand why RTP is important to the health and well-being of our citizens, as well as to the nation’s campaign to attack inactivity and obesity.

Coalition for Recreational Trails asks House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to support RTP

February 11, 2011

The letter asks Representatives Mica, Representatives Rahall, Duncan, and DeFazio of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee "to support the reauthorization of the RTP as a discrete program in new surface transportation legislation." The letter includes support from 492 trail and recreation organizations and emphasizes that "Our thousands of members and allies believe that reauthorizing the Recreational Trails Program will achieve both important economic stimulation and strategic investments that will help transform American communities and lifestyles for long-term success." (Download letter in pdf format, 147 kb).

Coalition for Recreational Trails asks Secretary of Transportation to support RTP

July 14, 2010

The letter includes support from 348 trail and recreation organizations and asks Secretary LaHood to "join Americans across the country in supporting the Recreational Trails Program as part of the new federal transportation bill." The letter emphasizes that "trails are an investment in the future of our communities and our public lands, while connecting people of all ages and backgrounds to the environment." (Download letter in pdf format, 168 kb).

See Archives of earlier news, opinions, and legislative actions concerning the Recreational Trails Program and federal transportation funding

Support the Recreational Trails Program! Join our efforts with the Coalition for Recreational Trails to get RTP funding included in the next transportation bill and sign on as a member of the Recreational Trails Council of Advisors. Will your state's trails program survive? See Concerns about the future of the Recreational Trails Program.

Click here to view the funding levels and modifications CRT is requesting be included in reauthorization. Please feel free to use it as you talk to your leaders.

You can stay up to date on all of these efforts, as well as news about trails and transportation funding by visiting the American Trails Supporting Trails page.

Read more about Reauthorization of federal transportation funds and programs like RTP and see a description of the RTP program

Nationwide trails community works for reauthorization of the Recreational Trails Program

Index to articles and resources on federal funding