House Ways & Means Committee to Kick Transit Funding to the Curb
Photo by Steven Vance - http://www.flickr.com/photos/jamesbondsv/
If the House Ways and Means Committee’s proposed transportation bill passes as currently drafted, it stands to fundamentally alter transportation policy as we know it and roll back mass transit funding by 30 years.
This unprecedented move kicks transit funding out of the Highway Trust Fund and into the annual appropriations process, which means that every year transit will have to compete against all federal domestic spending. Meanwhile, funding for highways would go back to having all the user fee funding— as it was until the Reagan Administration, despite clear evidence over decades of transit’s contribution to congestion relief, clean air, among other benefits.
This isn’t just bean counters putting money in different pots. The Chicago region, for example, could lose nearly $1.2 billion over the next five years if the legislation passes as currently written.
The Ways and Means Committee will mark up their portions of the reauthorization bill on February 3rd at 9 am EST. Please take 2 minutes to call the committee office (202.225.3625) and voice your opposition to getting rid of transit funding. Make it known that you want the House leadership to craft a funding proposal that maintains the nation’s historic commitment to public transportation.
