About 3 months ago, I contacted Senator Vitter's office to express my support of the Bicycle Commuter Benefits Act and to urge Senator Vitter to support this important legislation. The legislation allows a benefit currently available to public transit commuters to become available to bicycle commuters as well. This morning, I received the following reply from the Senator:

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Dear Mr. Lagarde,

Thank you for contacting me in support of the Bicycle Commuters Benefits Act. I appreciate hearing your thoughts on this issue.

As you may know, this legislation would add bicycle commuting benefits that companies may offer to their employees to the list of transportation benefits that qualify for tax deductions.

According to the U.S. Census, more than 500,000 people ride a bike to and from work every day. Increasing the number of people who ride a bicycle to and from work may relieve traffic congestion and help improve air quality. While there are currently some tax deductions for employee parking and public transit, there is not a deduction for bicycle benefits. Please rest assured I will keep your thoughts in mind as Congress considers tax incentives for bicycle commuting and other ideas to encourage bicycle commuting.

Once again, thank you for contacting me about this important issue. Please don't hesitate to contact me in the future.

Sincerely,
Senator David Vitter
United States Senator
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If you are even thinking about commuting by bike, express your support for this legislation to our elected, federal representatives like Senator Vitter. Acting together, our voices carry far more weight.

To find the contact information for your state's US senator, visit ...
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

Following is the contact information for Louisiana's US senators.

Landrieu, Mary L.- (D - LA)
724 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-5824
Term Expires: 2009

Vitter, David- (R - LA)
516 HART SENATE OFFICE BUILDING WASHINGTON DC 20510
(202) 224-4623
Senator_Vitter@vitter.senate.gov
Term Expires: 2011

Regards,
Larry Lagarde