The National Campaign for Transit Justice and partner organizations sent the following letter to Ranking Member Rick Larsen of the House T&I Committee:
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Dear Ranking Member Larsen,
As rising gas prices continue to strain household budgets, public transit is an essential and affordable lifeline for families. But transit agencies nationwide are facing significant budget shortfalls and are still being denied promised federal transportation funds, putting Americans’ affordable access to jobs and services at risk.
Unfortunately, the Trump administration’s implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act has demonstrated that they will selectively enforce programs under the law – leaving other programs that were negotiated on a bipartisan basis effectively sidelined. The credibility of negotiated programs and funding levels is significantly weakened when implementation is inconsistent.
We urge you to prioritize guardrails on the administration in the surface transportation reauthorization bill to ensure that all of the programs and funding levels you negotiate are implemented as Congress intended – not just the policies that align with the administration’s priorities. Any bill that does not contain these guardrails should be rejected.
Congress’s investments in transit are crucial to help alleviate the rising transportation costs for families. Federal dollars are essential to expanding service, improving reliability, and giving Americans real alternatives to driving. Yet the administration continues to withhold hundreds of federal grants that would expand access to transit while other affordable transportation options remain delayed or withheld, leaving communities without the tools they need to respond to this affordability crisis.
To date, Congress has not met the urgency of this moment, and strong leadership is needed now to deliver economic relief for families.
While we appreciate your efforts to work together with state and local organizations to secure the release of federal transportation grants, the administration continues to freeze over $2.8 billion in competitive grants supporting affordable transportation options. Meanwhile, the Office of Management and Budget has withheld $4.9 billion from the Capital Investment Grants program. Delay in releasing funds–especially amid rising gas prices– has real consequences for families who depend on reliable and affordable transportation. At moments like this, access to public transportation is not a luxury—it is essential economic relief.
Congress has fulfilled part of its responsibility by authorizing and appropriating funds. However, when the executive branch fails to implement the law as intended, it is incumbent upon Congress—particularly the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee—to exercise its oversight responsibility and ensure that funds are delivered as directed.
Every day these funds remain stalled is another day that Americans are left with fewer options and higher costs. Releasing them will not solve the current fuel crisis overnight, but it will put families on the path toward meaningful, tangible relief and signal that Congress is committed to ensuring that taxpayer dollars are used as intended.
And while releasing those grants is critical, it is only part of the solution. While federal capital grants expand and improve transit infrastructure, operations funding is what keeps those systems up and running on a daily basis. Without it, agencies are forced to cut services and increase fares, compounding the affordability crisis families are already facing. To ensure people in your district and communities across the country have access to reliable, dependable, and affordable transportation, Congress must also act to approve funding for transit operations.
Including H.R.3449, the Stronger Communities through Better Transit Act introduced by Representative Hank Johnson, in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill would secure federal funding for transit operations and reaffirm Congress’s commitment to lowering transportation costs for families. Congress has the power to lower transportation costs – the second-highest household expense – for families by ensuring the release of transit grants and securing dedicated operations funding. We urge you to act on both fronts.
Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. We would welcome the opportunity to discuss this further.
Sincerely,
National Campaign for Transit Justice, LeeAnn Hall
Transportation for America, Beth Osborne
National Resource Defense Council, Shruti Vaidyanathan
America Walks, Mike McGinn
Union of Concerned Scientists, Molly McKinley
Sierra Club, Katherine Garcia
Institute for Policy Studies, Basav Sen
Climate and Community Institute, Emmett Hopkins
1000 Friends of Oregon, Cassie Wilson
1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Trevor Roark
ACCE (Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment), Amy Schur
Activate St Pete, Max McCann
Active Transportation Alliance, W. Robert Schultz III
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation (BEST), Rob Zako
Bicycle Alliance of Minnesota, Michael Wojcik
Bike Durham, John Tallmadge
BikeLA, Eli Akira Kaufman
Car-Lite Long Beach, Kurt Canfield
Center for Neighborhood Technology, Miriam Savad
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Eric Norton
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Brian O’Malley
Clean Power Lake County, Mayra Mendez
Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, Mark Nowotarski
Coalition for Economic Justice, Anthony Gault
Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Colin Fiske
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Bill Pugh
Community Climate Collaborative (C3), Carolyn Pugh
Conservation Law Foundation, Paulina Muratore
Democracy for America Advocacy Fund, Charles Chamberlain
Denver Streets Partnership, Jill Locantore
East Coast Greenway Alliance, Niles Barnes
East Metro Strong, Will Schroeer
Elmont Cultural Center, Mimi Pierre Johnson
Farm&City, Jay Blazek Crossley
ForeverGreen Trails, Larry Leveen
Genesis, Bay Area Affiliate of the Gamaliel Network, Mary Lim
Georgia Interfaith Power and Light, Codi Norred
Grassroots Alexandria, Jonathan Krall
Greater Greater Washington, Kai Hall
GreenLatinos, Andrea Marpillero-Colomina
Hollywood Democrats, Charles Chamberlain
Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, Quintin E Cross
International Parking & Mobility Institute, Rachel Yoka
Justeconomics, Seimy Mendoza
La Crosse Area Transit Advocates, Cathy Van Maren
League of Conservation Voters (LCV), Darien Davis
Living Streets Alliance, Vanessa Cascio
Madison Area Bus Advocates, Susan De Vos
Metropolitan Planning Council, Audrey Wennink
Mobilify Southwestern Pennsylvania, Breen Masciotra
MountainTrue, Susan Bean
Move California, Eli Lipmen
MOVE Ohio, Akshai Singh
Move Redmond, Kelli Refer
Moving Maine Network, Zoe Miller
New York Communities for Change, Olivia Leirer
New Yorkers for Transportation Equity, Elizabeth Oh
NEXT Chapel Hill-Carrboro, Molly De Marco
Nu V.O.T.E.R.S. Movement, Omari Shakur
Oaks and Spokes, Jared Harber
One Fair Wage, Fekkak Mamdouh
Our Streets, Joe Harrington
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC), L Daglian
Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Laura Chu Wiens
Planning and Conservation League, Matt Baker
Plug In America, Ingrid Malmgren
Property Rights Alliance, Mark Nowotarski
PSOB Bike Committee, Marsha Hanchrow
Quaker Action Mid Atlantic Region, Liz Robinson
RIDE New Orleans, Courtney Jackson
Riders Alliance, Danny Pearlstein
Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group, Jessica Murray
Seamless Bay Area, Kaleo Mark
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Matt Frommer
St. Vincent’s Green Team, Bethany Gregg
Streets For All, Michael Schneider
StreetsPAC, Eric McClure
Sunflower Community Action, David Chiles
Sustain Charlotte, Meg Fencil
TakeItBack.Org, Charles Chamberlain
The Bicycle Coalition of Maine, Andrew Zarro
The Street Trust, Lindsay Huber
The Transit Coalition, Bart Reed
Together for Brothers, Baruch Campos
Transbay Coalition, Carter Lavin
Transform, Abibat Rahman-Davies
Transit Alliance Miami, Cathy Dos Santos
Transit Columbus, Stevie Pasamonte
Transit For All PA, Connor Descheemaker
Transit Forward Philadelphia, Stephen Bronskill
Transit Now Tampa Bay, Dayna Lazarus
Transit Trekker, Kimberly Huntress-Inskeep
TransitMatters, Caitlin Allen-Connelly
Transportation Alternatives, Corey Hannigan
Transportation Choices Coalition, Kirk Hovenkotter
Transportation for Massachusetts, Pete Wilson
Transportation Riders United, Megan Owens
Unite North Metro Denver, Fran Aguirre
Virginia Organizing, Brian Johns
Voices of Community Activists and Leaders-Kentucky (VOCAL-KY), Shameka Parrish-Wright
We Are Revolutionary, Lukee Forbes
West Line Corridor Collaborative, Michael Hughes
Wisconsin Transit Riders Alliance, Cathy Van Maren