Business and Local Transit Leaders Call on Congress to Reject House Ways and Means Committee Transportation Funding Proposal

Business and Local Transit Leaders Call on Congress to Reject House Ways and Means Committee Transportation Funding Proposal

APTA to release new information on the negative impact the proposal has on bonding and building multi-year projects

Media Conference Call on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 at 11 am EST

WASHINGTON, Feb. 7, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Late last week, the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee voted to divert $25 billion in dedicated fuels tax revenues from the Mass Transit Account, undermining 30 years of bipartisanship for a national multi-modal transportation system. In response, a broad coalition of leaders joined together to call on Congress to reject this short-sighted proposal.  These funding provisions will impact the millions of Americans who rely on public transit systems to get to work, to school, or to the doctor.  Private sector jobs will also be lost and public transit systems will be constrained without a long-term dedicated funding source.

This broad coalition will discuss the dire consequences this proposal will have for the millions of Americans who rely on public transit every day.  APTA will also release new information that discusses the negative impact the House Ways and Means Committee proposal could have on bonding and building multi-year projects.

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public and private member organizations, engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail.  This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.  More than 90 percent of the people using public transportation in the United States and Canada ride APTA member systems.

SOURCE American Public Transportation Association