By SEMA Washington, D.C., Staff
The bipartisan Recognizing the Protection of Motorsports (RPM) Act surpassed 100 Congressional co-sponsors this week, bringing the total number of co-sponsors to 103 in the House of Representatives and 18 in the Senate.
Despite this important milestone, the bill to clarify that street vehicles can be converted into race cars for competition needs to continue to gain support in order to move through committee and be approved by the full Congress.
Until the RPM Act is passed and signed into law, the motorsports industry remains at risk. Although the EPA withdrew a proposed racing regulation earlier this year, the agency continues to claim that it has the authority to regulate street cars modified exclusively for the track. The RPM Act is the only solution that would clarify that the law allows emissions-certified street vehicles to be modified and converted for competition use.
Our community and industry have made remarkable progress, but the effort isn’t over yet. Racers, race fans and the entire motorsports industry are urged to rally together and keep up the momentum by contacting their Congressional representatives. The site www.sema.org/rpm makes it quick and easy to contact the appropriate legislators.
Businesses can take further action by inviting Congressional representatives to tour their facilities, especially since lawmakers will be in their home districts during the summer break. RPM Act sponsor Rep. Richard Hudson was recently hosted by SEMA member PRO-FABrication.
To view the entire list of co-sponsors or for more information, visit www.sema.org/epa-news.