House Committee Votes to Cut Dedicated Funding for Federal Transit Programs

Over the opposition of state transportation departments, the National Urban League, Transportation for America, the American Public Transportation Association, and a diverse coalition
of other organizations, the House Ways and Means Committee today passed
a bill that would strip dedicated funding for public transportation.
The move cast aside a 30-year history of providing dedicated funding for
federal transit programs.

The Leadership Conference and
transit supporters say gutting a reliable source of funds for mass
transit would hurt millions of people who depend on public
transportation to reach employment, health care, and educational
centers. People of color, low-income people, and people with
disabilities – the communities most dependent on transit – are disproportionately affected by the decisions of both rural and urban transit agencies.

If
the bill is approved by the full House, it would need to be reconciled
with a vastly different Senate bill. Congress is seeking to pass a new
surface transportation bill by the end of March.