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May 16, 2005
The Honorable James M. Inhofe
Chairman
Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works
SD-410 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Inhofe:
On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its more than 1,500 member organizations, I write to express our strong opposition to the amendment Senator Sessions offered - #646 - to H.R. 3. That amendment would sharply reduce funding of a number of programs in H.R. 3 by some $10.7 billion over six years.
It is critically important that H.R. 3 be passed by the Senate at the enhanced level of funding included in the Inhofe substitute amendment. The Inhofe substitute amendment is a balanced and carefully crafted measure that has strong bipartisan support from the leadership of the Senate Banking, Environment and Public Works, and Finance Committees. Transit and highway needs are critical and have been documented by the American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials and Cambridge Systematics, Inc. The Inhofe substitute amendment addresses those needs in a balanced approach supported by a broad range of affected groups and coalitions. In contrast, the amendment offered by Senator Sessions would dramatically cut a number of programs across the board, including the transit formula program by $5 billion, the congestion mitigation and air quality program by $4 billion, and other programs that enjoy broad bipartisan support.
In short, the Sessions amendment would undo the bipartisan and widely supported efforts in the Senate in support of increased and balanced transportation infrastructure investment and should strongly be opposed.
If you have questions on this matter, please have your staff contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.
Sincerely yours,
William
W. Millar
President
WWM/tjj
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