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Senate transportation bill would restore commuter tax benefit
Public transportation supporters could lose a dedicated source of funding for transit agencies if the House's $260 billion transportation bill becomes law, but they could regain a tax benefit for commuters that ended at the beginning of the year if the Senate's $109 billion version of the measure is approved.
The transportation bill that was cleared for a final vote by the Senate on Thursday would restore a tax benefit for commuters that ended at the beginning of the year.
The House version of the transportation bill, the American Energy and Infrastructure Act (H.R. 7), would eliminate a trust fund for mass transit and redirect 2.86 cents of the federal gas tax that traditionally goes toward public transportation to highway spending.
But the Senate's version of the measure, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (S. 1813), includes a provision to renew language that was in the 2009 economic stimulus package that allowed public transit users to set aside $230 per month before taxes for commuting expenses.
A union that represents employees of numerous federal agencies and has been sharply critical of the House GOP transportation bill, the Washington, D.C.-based National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), said the renewal of the commuter tax benefit in the Senate's version of the measure should become law.
"NTEU is a strong advocate for a return to parity in these two components of the transit subsidy since the mass transit portion was permitted by Congress to revert to $125 per month at the end of 2011 while the parking benefit increased to $240 per month," NTEU President Colleen Kelly said in a news release Thursday.
"The mass transit commuter benefit provides much-needed relief in the form of reduced commuting costs for many working people, including tens of thousands of federal employees who rely on public transportation to get to and from work," Kelly continued. "Many of these employees, already subject to a two-year pay freeze, are struggling in the current economic climate, and a reduction in these benefits is imposing a severe financial burden on them."
The American Public Transportation Association, which is also based in Washington, derided the funding cut in the House transportation bill, saying "this proposal seeks to undo nearly 30 years of overwhelming bipartisan support for dedicated federal investment in public transportation."
"It would erode the nation’s multimodal transportation system that provides both jobs and access to jobs for scores of Americans," APTA President Michael Melaniphy said in a statement. "H.R. 3864 proposes to replace a reliable, ongoing funding source for public transportation investment with a one-time appropriation. This would leave public transportation without any federal funding source beyond 2016, truncating transit’s ability to maintain and grow safe, reliable and equitable mobility options for millions of Americans.”
APTA has called on Congress to extend the commuter tax benefit, calling the decrease a tax hike on public transportation users.
