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Lawmakers file bill to give local transit systems funding 'flexibility'
A bipartisan pair of lawmakers filed legislation Thursday to allow local transit authorities to have more control of the use of federal money in their budgeting processes.
Reps. Russ Carnahan (R-Mo.) and Steve LaTourette (R-Ohio) said Thursday that the "Local Flexibility for Transit Assistance Act" would allow cash-strapped public transportation agencies in cities across the country to better utilize federal assistance.
"In the current tough economy, which has put a significant squeeze on transit agency’s budgets, more than 85 percent of transit systems across the U.S. have either cut vital service or raised fares at the worst possible time," a statement from their offices announcing the measure said. "Thousands of transit workers have lost their jobs, and this legislation would be a significant step in fixing these problems."
The measure is supported by the union for public transit workers, the Amalgamated Transit Union (ATU), which said Thursday the bill was "long overdue.
"Over the last two years, countless transit riders can no longer get to jobs and other daily tasks, and thousands of transit workers have lost jobs, all because of an arcane law that will not allow transit agencies serving areas of over 200,000 people to use their federal funds for critical operating expenses,” ATU President Larry Hanley said in a statement.
"What good are state-of the-art buses to a community if you don’t have enough local money to put them into service,” Hanley asked.
Carnahan and LaTourette said their bill had 89 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives.
