Civil and Human Rights Coalition Responds to Pending Mark-Up of Transportation Reauthorization Bill

WASHINGTON – Nancy Zirkin, executive vice president for policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, issued the following statement in advance of a House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee mark-up of H.R. 3763, the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act of 2015:

“We appreciate the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s bipartisan work to address the crucial issue of transportation funding by introducing the Surface Transportation Reauthorization and Reform Act. While we applaud the House’s effort to pass much needed long-term transportation legislation, this bill lacks the robust transit funding that our nation desperately needs.

Transportation is a vital link to opportunity—connecting people to jobs, schools, housing, health care, child care, and grocery stores. However, for millions of Americans – particularly low-income people, people of color and people with disabilities – that link is broken. We have grave concerns that—as it stands now—this bill does not include the level of funding for transit needed to repair this link. To ensure that transit is fully and fairly funded, this bill must be amended to include the robust levels of transit investment that are found in the Senate’s DRIVE Act. 

Our nation’s success, both economically and socially, depends on having a transportation system that works for everyone, not just a select few. We urge the House to fix this bill and work with the Senate to pass long-term legislation aligned with that vision.”

Nancy Zirkin is executive vice president for policy at The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, a coalition charged by its diverse membership of more than 200 national organizations to promote and protect the rights of all persons in the United States. The Leadership Conference works toward an America as good as its ideals. For more information on The Leadership Conference and its 200-plus member organizations, visit www.civilrights.org.