Leader of Largest Federal Employee Union Praises House Passage of Retroactive Transit Subsidies for Nation's Workers

AFGE president says bill will nearly double maximum transit payments for millions of workers

News provided by

American Federation of Government Employees

Dec 05, 2014, 09:52 ET

WASHINGTON, Dec. 5, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr. today issued the following statement:

"I applaud the House of Representatives for passing a measure that will retroactively provide federal employees and all American workers with a much larger mass transit benefit for 2014. Millions of employees count on these subsidies to offset the cost of commuting to and from work each day, doing so in a way that eases traffic congestion and improves the environment.

"The transit subsidy was cut nearly in half this year, to $130 a month, while the parking subsidy was actually increased slightly to $250 a month – providing a perverse incentive for employees to ditch the subways and buses for cars."

The House legislation restores the transit subsidy to $250 per month, retroactive to the start of the year, as part of larger package of tax provisions that now goes to the Senate for approval.

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) is the largest federal employee union, representing 670,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

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SOURCE American Federation of Government Employees