The full House Appropriations Committee voted Sept. 8 to approve the Fiscal Year 2012 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill with discretionary spending at $55.15 billion. This will reduce public transportation investment by more than 30 percent and eliminates funds for high-speed rail.

"These cuts for Fiscal Year 2012 approved by the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation and Housing today run completely counter to our country’s ability to create jobs and provide access to jobs necessary to move the economy forward,” said APTA President William Millar.

He continued: “This budgetary action underscores the urgent need for Congress to pass the long-stalled surface transportation authorization legislation. The current SAFETEA-LU legislation expired on Sept. 30, 2009, and the extension expires on Sept. 30. Now is the time that our country should be increasing investment in transportation infrastructure, not significantly curtailing it.  For every $1 invested in public transportation, $4 are generated in economic returns, and every $1 billion in public transportation investment supports and creates 36,000 jobs.”

Share: