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Dear Amy
A key House Committee is threatening to kill three decades of successful investments in mass transit — originally started under President Ronald Reagan — by ending the guarantee for dedicated funding for public transportation, leaving millions of riders already faced with service cuts and fare increases out in the cold.
In a stunning development late last night, House leadership and the Ways and Means committee made a shocking attack on transit that would have huge impacts for the millions of people who depend on public transportation each day.
They proposed putting every public transportation system in immediate peril by eliminating guaranteed funding for the Mass Transit Account and forcing transit to go begging before Congress for general funds each year — all while highway spending continues to be guaranteed with protected funds for half a decade at a time.
We know it’s been a busy week already, but can you take just a moment and tell your representative that this short-sighted idea is intolerable for their voters?
This incredible move would roll back 30+ years of bipartisan federal transportation policy and reverse a decision made by President Reagan in the 1980’s to fund our nation’s transit system out of a small share of gas tax revenues. This change would mean no more guarantee of funding each year and no long-term stability for public transportation. States, cities, communities and their transit systems could lose billions.
Transit is an important component of our nation’s transportation system. More people on transit means less congestion, less pollution, and fewer cars on the road.
Tell your representative that this unprecedented attack on transit won’t stand.
Thanks for your support,
Stephen Lee Davis
Deputy Communications Director
Transportation for America
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