The Safe Routes to School National Partnership said that the federal walk- and bike-to-school program could be the target of efforts by House leaders to reduce spending.

Last year, then House Minority Whip Eric Cantor co-authored a letter to fellow Republicans that mentioned Safe Routes to School as an example of programs that were adversely affecting the federal deficit. With Cantor now the House Majority Leader alongside Speaker of the House John Boehner, the Safe Routes to School National Partnership said in a statement that it "takes these potential threats seriously and we are mobilizing to prevent them."

Efforts are expected to include ramped up messages that communicate how program cuts would impact child safety, busing costs, traffic congestion and physical activity.

"One way to talk about Safe Routes to School is, if you cut it, the unintended consequences and costs to communities," said Margo Pedroso, the deputy director of the Safe Routes to School National Partnership. "If you cut Safe Routes to School, you’re going to really eliminate or significantly hamper local school systems’ abilities to make it safer for kids to walk or bike within that one- to two-mile radius of schools. You’re going to be unable to cut down on those hazard busing costs. Hazard busing, in particular, is something schools really struggle with."

She referred to students who live close enough to school and otherwise would not be eligible for busing but need services because, for example, the children would need to navigate high-traffic areas or roads without sidewalks or crosswalks to reach their campus. Most states only partially fund or reimburse schools for this type of bus service.

"We’re in a difficult economic time here, you have to spend all your dollars wisely," Pedroso commented. "Why not invest your dollars in making it safe for those kids who live close enough to walk and bike, which is going to let you focus your busing expenses on the kids who live too far to get to school any other way."

Any cuts the House might approve must also be passed by the Senate, which retains a Democratic majority, albeit a slimmer one than enjoyed over the past two years. Pedroso said Safe Routes to School lobbyists are likely to employ different strategies when working both sides of Capitol Hill.

Meanwhile, the latest extension of the surface transportation bill until March 4 will include a bump in funding to Safe Routes to School. The partnership said the immediate funding increase will be included in distributed funds that were originally dedicated to earmarked projects that have since been completed. Long term, Safe Routes to School is recommending a funding increase from $183 million a year, the fiscal year 2009 level, to $600 million a year.