The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, led by Representative James Oberstar (D-Minn), released their long anticipated draft of the Surface Transportation Authorization Act of 2009 yesterday, and it is a far cry from the 18-month patch suggested by the Obama Administration last week.
Included in the bill is $469 million for transportation funding over six years. The highway/transit split is still biased in favor of highways, but the bill seeks to streamline the New Starts application process and provides almost double the amount of funding provided in the last transportation bill. Unfortunately, the bill still lacks the funding framework and rules that take into account greenhouse gas emissions and walkablity. Only in this way can we be sure that federal tax dollars go to transportation alternatives, rather than more road and highway projects.
Together with Transportation for America, we are urging readers to participate in a National Call-In Day, Wednesday June 24, to ask House representatives to address funding rules, and not put off a vote on the bill. This from Transportation for America:
The bill has a lot of what Transportation for America supporters have been pushing for, but without any accountability to measure its success or failure, it still falls short.
Without over-arching goals and targets – such as lower energy consumption, greater affordability, and expanded access – there’s no way to be sure billions of dollars in transportation spending will truly deliver clean, safe and smart transportation. That’s why your call today, as members of Congress are marking up the bill, is so important.
Please call your representative and urge them to co-sponser the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724). Let them know that you want to make sure the billions spent on transportation help us cut down on emissions, give us real energy security, and provide you with more affordable options for getting from A to B.
To find out who your representative is please go to here.
Congressional switchboard number: 202-224-3121
Diaz-Balart, Lincoln, Florida, 21st Diaz-Balart, Mario, Florida, 25th Hastings, Alcee L., Florida, 23rd Klein, Ron , Florida, 22nd Kosmas, Suzanne M., Florida, 24th Meek, Kendrick, Florida, 17th Ros-Lehtinen, Ileana, Florida, 18th Wasserman Schultz, Debbie, Florida, 20th Wexler, Robert, Florida, 19th
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