WASHINGTON, D.C.— Congressman Earl Blumenauer (D-OR), founder and co-chair of the Congressional Bike Caucus, last week accepted the James L. Oberstar Award for excellence in bicycle advocacy at the PeopleForBikes Bicycle Leadership Conference.
“Receiving a lifetime achievement award in honor of my infrastructure mentor in Congress, the legendary Jim Oberstar, has special meaning for me. Oberstar never stopped working for the bicycle community and neither should we,” said Congressman Earl Blumenauer.
On March 21, Blumenauer accepted the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award in Bike-partisanship at the 2024 National Bike Summit. The award is the first of its kind, celebrating Blumenauer’s relentless advocacy for bike and pedestrian issues throughout his more than 50 years of public service. At the Bike Summit, Congresswoman Ayanna Pressley, former Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood and more, honored Blumenauer with a tribute video.
In 1996, Blumenauer founded the Congressional Bike Caucus to bring members of Congress together to practice bike-partisanship. The Caucus has secured a $2.25 billion increase in federal funding for biking and walking and created a tax benefit for commuters biking to work.
As a local elected official Blumenauer helped develop Portland’s innovative transit system, including building out the city’s bike network. This work helped make Portland internationally recognized as one of the world’s most livable cities. In 2022, the Portland Bureau of Transportation unveiled the Congressman Earl Blumenauer Bicycle and Pedestrian Bridge, a car-free bridge linking two of Portland’s fastest growing neighborhoods together.
In October, Blumenauer announced he would not be seeking re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives, ending a storied career as Congress’ top bike advocate.
