News Details - Legislature Strongly Opposes Proposed Elimination of Federal Public Transportation Funding

The Legislature, without dissent, registered strong opposition to provisions of proposed federal legislation that would eliminate dedicated federal fuels taxes for public transit. The vote was unanimous among those present, with Legislators Leslyn McBean-Clairborne, Kathy Luz Herrera, and Pam Mackesey excused.

Legislators assert that transit fund provisions of the proposed American Energy and Infrastructure Job Financing Act, now before the House of Representatives, would “create long-term uncertainty for public transportation funding for the first time in three decades.” Under the proposed legislation, public transit funding would receive a one-time appropriation, with no funding for public transportation after 2016.

The measure notes that the current funding system has successfully provided highway and transit programs and has allowed Tompkins Consolidated Area Transit (TCAT) and public transit systems across the country to create jobs, including those for the state’s bus manufacturing industry, and that the change would “have dire consequences for the thousands of people who rely on public transit.

The action asks members of Congress to reject the bill as currently written, unless the dedicated fuel tax funding for public transportation has been restored.

02-21-2012