James Oberstar served in the US House of Representatives from 1975 until 2011. He was on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee during his entire time in office and served as chairperson from 2007 to 2011. Oberstar, who enjoyed cycling, brought much needed support to the funding and creation of trails. He saw outdoor activities such as hiking and cycling, aside from the enjoyment aspects, as a way to promote and improve the health of the nation. He played a pivotal role in many important pieces of legislation that had an active transportation component, including the creation of the Safe Routes to Schools program. In a statement released shortly after his death, Eleanor Norton Holmes had the following to say about him: “Jim was a brilliant scholar of the nation’s transportation and infrastructure, and a devoted practitioner who spent 36 years contributing to the work of building and rebuilding the nation’s transportation systems – its road and bridge networks, and, as a cyclist himself, bike and running trails.” His contributions to active transportation live on.