MRF Rep Report - July 2025

Jennifer Abraham

Co-Sponsors Needed for Federal Legislation

Coming up this month is the Harley Homecoming on July 10-13. Cathy Dial has secured us a booth at Uke’s Harley Davidson in Kenosha. Based on her established relationship with the owners of Ukes, she was able to get ABATE and the MRF the booth at no cost, saving us about $2,000! Volunteers are needed to cover the booth those four days. Please reach out to Cathy for more information and to volunteer. Her number is 414-552-4026. This is an amazing opportunity to get our name out in front of thousands of motorcycle enthusiasts and bikers. It’s not just a Milwaukee thing; it’s a state and even national coverage!

Our annual pilgrimage to Washington DC for Bikers in the Beltway was a great success! The day before we hit the Congressional offices, we had an MRF board meeting, in which Hardtail stated, “We have more momentum than ever and have bills that are the true heart and soul of our movement.” For the 3rd year in a row, we hit all 535 Congressional offices while we were out there.

For me, it started before I even got to DC. I was at the airport in Milwaukee, waiting for my flight, when my Congressman, Glenn Grothman, saw me and walked over to say Hi. He asked where I was headed and laughed when I said, “I’m flying to DC to talk to you.” He informed me that Senator Ron Johnson was also on our flight as they had a hearing for the budget reconciliation bill that night, Sunday at 10 pm. And here I thought I worked weird hours.

Not willing to miss an opportunity, I sat right next to Congressman Grothman on the plane and had his ear for the 2-hour flight where I briefed him one-on-one about the topics we were coming to talk about and why the opposition was misinformed. For example, one of our MRF Assistants to the Board, Jim Bengston from MN, did some digging and found a release that NADA, the National Automobile Dealers Association, put out stating that “a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report confirms the information and tools necessary to repair vehicles are already available to independent repair shops,” therefore our Right to Repair bills were unnecessary. My experience of over 30 years in the automotive industry says otherwise. IF the technology is available, it is at an unaffordable price for many independent shops. $5,000 scanners don’t cover all makes and models, and they require yearly updates to be current. In the motorcycle world, I’ve taken my Harley to 2 different independent shops who both told me that my Screaming Eagle tuner can only be adjusted by a Harley dealer. So, a GAO report may say one thing, but in the real world, it’s a different story. Which is why it’s so important that we have these conversations with our legislators.

Another example is from Congressman Fitzgerald’s office. He told us that representatives from John Deere are in his office weekly, assuring him that everything is just fine and that Right to Repair isn’t needed. Remember, John Deere is the one who got sued for not allowing farmers and independent implement shops to access the technology to repair their tractors, leaving farmers to hang for months with broken down equipment and no way to work their fields or harvest their crops. We still need more cosponsors for HR1566 and S1379. Both the House and the Senate version of the Right to Repair bills have bi-partisan support, but in Wisconsin, so far only Congressman Grothman and Van Orden have signed on.

Another topic that we discussed was updating the federal definition of a motorcycle. We managed to get this passed in Wisconsin several years ago, creating an autocycle class and getting them out of our crash statistics, but it has yet to be done on a federal level. This bill, HR3385, is sponsored by Congressman Van Orden but has not gained much support.

In our fight to protect the Internal Combustion Engine (ICE), on June 12th, President Trump signed H.J. Res 87, H.J. Res 88 and H.J. Res 89, which revoke waivers granted to the State of California, allowing it to set its own emissions standards.

Other topics that were also discussed include protecting our access to E-10 or less fuel, supporting anti-profiling language in the highway bill, requesting commitment to ensure motorcycles are mention by name in any legislation surrounding automated driving systems, and increasing membership to the House and Senate motorcycle caucuses.

Another cool moment was after our meeting with Senator Ron Johnson, we went out in the hallway to take our picture with him, but he disappeared for a moment. He darted into his office and came back wearing his MRF Legislative Champion leather vest that we awarded him several years ago. He said, “now I’m ready for the picture” with a big smile while his aide told us how proud he is of that vest.

Many legislative accomplishments were completed. Many great memories were made. Many new connections were created, and many old friendships fondly cherished.

Stay vigilant, my friends.

Jen

Jen Abraham

ABATE of WI

Board of Directors

MRF State Rep

(920) 207-4679