Public transit advocates push back against proposed cuts

Lawmakers extended the bill that extends surface transportation spending for six months last week, but advocates for public transit will resume the fight over a larger spending bill Tuesday.

The American Public Transportation Association will hold a "Don't X Out Public Transit" day to argue against proposed cuts to the highway and transit reauthorization, which is expected to be considered by Congress this fall.

The chambers have produced vastly different proposals for the bill, with the Senate suggesting a two-year, $109 billion measure that adjusts current transportation spending levels for inflation. The House has proposed a six-year, $235 billion bill that, among other reductions, cuts public transit funding by a third.

"If these cuts are implemented, transit riders can expect service delays, and service cutbacks, as transit systems will be forced to reduce service and forgo critical service improvement and maintenance projects," APTA said last week in a statement announcing the rallies.

The agency plans to hold rallies on public transit systems across the country, and has scheduled a conference call with Transportation for America and the Amalgamated Transit Union.

Elsewhere this week, the House Transportation Committee's subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment will hold a hearing Wednesday about "recapitalizing" the national inland water system, and the panel's subcommittee on the Coast Guard will look Friday at a relocation proposal from the Homeland Security Department it says affects the Coast Guard.

The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee will take a look Wednesday at a bill to improve marine debris research.

---