The idea for federal involvement is that for a few generations now, we have been building our cities with just about 0 consideration for walking or biking as a means of getting around. We suddenly woke up and realized how stupid that was. The problem is, a lot of cities don't have the money to start redesigning infrastructure. The idea is for federal funds to help fill the gap for the transition and then for cities to start building smarter going forward on their own. Its kind of like when we decided that we needed interstate freeways and federal funds kicked in to get it going. The money they are wanting to set aside for bike infrastructure is a very tiny slice of what the fed is already spending on freeways and no one really ever complains about that.

The other side of the argument is to look at the interstate freeways act and the fact that it was the cause for a lot of what we are trying to correct now. There are times when federal funds do good things and times when the really can powerfully screw things up. Also, the federal government doesn't really have any more money than the cities.

Personally, I dont have a problem with a tiny sliver of the federal transportation budget going to cycling infrastructure. Why should it all be devoted to roads and freeways - those arent the only ways to get around. If you tell me this is about saving money, then lets cut the big piece of the pie, not the little one.