Before leaving town for the Christmas break, a House committee passed a bill that would ease tough wilderness area restrictions to give mountain bikes, wheelchairs, strollers and game carts access to a few backcountry trails.
The Republican bill was sponsored by U.S. Rep. Tom McClintock of California, and passed the House Natural Resources Committee by a vote of 22-18, with only one Republican voting against it, according to the Aspen Daily News.
That means the Republican bill was not supported by Democrats. So, it’s curious to us why the article about the Republican bill and Republican support would go on to surmise that the legislation will fail because of Republican opposition, when it’s clearly opposed by Democrats.
The source on this spin is Adam Sarvana, the spokesman for committee Democrats who opposed the bill.
Sarvana predicted it wouldn’t make it to the House floor, because he claims it’s not a priority for Republicans. And even if it did, it “has almost no chance in the Senate.”
Why? Because there’s not enough votes in the Republican-controlled Senate.
Oh, and a Democratic Senator would filibuster it, he adds.
“We don’t believe bicycles belong in wilderness areas. That was the crux of the bill,” Sarvana said.
So there you have it. Democrats don’t want mountain bikes to be considered for limited access to a handful of Wilderness areas, they voted against mountain bikes in Wilderness areas, but if the measure fails in Congress, it will be he fault of Republicans.