SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The U.S. Senate joined the House of Representatives in reintroducing the Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports Act of 2017 (RPM Act) earlier this week. The bipartisan bill (S.203), introduced by Senator Richard Burr (R-NC) and co-sponsored by 14 Senators, ensures that transforming street cars into race cars used exclusively in competition does not violate the Clean Air Act.
2017 marks a new session of Congress. Bills that did not become law at the end of 2016, like the RPM Act, must be reintroduced for consideration. Now that both the House and Senate have reintroduced the RPM Act, SEMA is calling on the entire enthusiast community and industry to take action and contact their legislators. Even if you have already sent a letter, the new Congress means that new letters are needed. It’s easy and only takes a minute. Use the form at www.sema.org/rpm.
“SEMA extends its thanks to Senator Burr and the other co-sponsors, and looks forward to working with Congress and the Trump administration to enact the RPM Act into law this year,” said SEMA President and CEO Chris Kersting. “We call on the entire enthusiast community to again reach out to their federal lawmakers to request support for the bill. The RPM Act is the only solution that will ensure that this time-honored tradition and livelihood for millions of Americans will be preserved for generations to come.”
When the RPM Act was first introduced in 2016, racing enthusiasts and Americans working in the motorsports parts industry flooded Congress with nearly 200,000 letters in support of the bill. The overwhelming response prompted more than 140 members of Congress to join as bill co-sponsors. However, the shortened election year schedule did not permit sufficient time for passage of the bill by the previous Congress.
You may be one of the thousands of supporters who contacted your legislators about the RPM Act in 2016. We appreciate your efforts and are in need of your support once again.
Tell Congress to pass the RPM Act of 2017, and save racing from government threat!