House Republicans have listed the federal Safe Routes to School program as one of five examples of “wasteful spending” as part of their newly-launched “YouCut” campaign. The campaign puts five proposals out each week and asks the American people to vote on which ones they feel should be cut from the federal budget.
House Republican Whip Eric Cantor says the top vote-getter will be put toward a House vote to decide whether or not to cut its funding. Cantor points out in a video on the website, that over 280,000 people had voted in the first week alone.
Cantor’s YouCut website deems the Safe Routes to School program “duplicative” and says the government could save $183 million year by terminating it entirely. Instead, they feel the program should be a “local responsibility.” “Returning these responsibilities to state and local officials and removing federal mandates would generate savings for taxpayers.”
The League of American Bicyclists has responded by sending out an action alert to members. The League is urging Safe Routes supporters to contact their representatives to let them know the program has support.