Bailout Bill Includes Bike Commuting Benefit

Remember Oregon Congressman Earl Blumenauer’s
long-sought $20 per month tax credit for bike commuters, intended to
extend a benefit to cyclists that motorists have received for decades?
The measure ridiculed by North Carolina Rep. Patrick “Give Me Fossil Fuels or Give Me Death” McHenry?
It didn’t make it into law last year, but it seems the bike commuting
credit has found its way into the latest version of the financial
bailout package.

Section 211 of the
“Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008” allows for a “qualified
bicycle commuting reimbursement” for “reasonable expenses incurred by
the employee during such calendar year for the purchase of a bicycle
and bicycle improvements, repair, and storage, if such bicycle is
regularly used for travel between the employee’s residence and place of
employment.”

Other transpo-related items in the bill include
credits for biofuels and other “alternative” mixtures, plug-in electric
vehicles, and what looks like a few goodies for oil and natural gas
producers. Another section includes incentives for green construction
and renewable energy production.

The full text of the 451-page bill, expected to be taken up by the House of Representatives on Friday, is available here. Tell us if you find other items of interest.