April 30, 2007
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The Honorable Robert C. Byrd
Chairman
Subcommittee on Homeland Security
Senate Committee on Appropriations
135 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Byrd:
I write on behalf of the American Public Transportation Association's (APTA) more than 1,500 member organizations regarding the Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations legislation to seek your support for increased funding for transit, passenger and freight rail security grants when Congress again considers such legislation. We applaud the decision by Congress in H.R.1591, the U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Health and Iraq Accountability Act, 2007, to increase funding for transit security by $325 million. Since it is expected that the bill will be vetoed, we strongly urge you to include no less than this level of funding in any subsequent supplemental appropriations bill. These funds are needed to address transit security needs throughout the country. We also urge Congress to include funding for transit grants to areas affected by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. We support the decision to provide $35 million of funding in H.R. 1591 for this assistance.
Americans use public transportation for more than 10 billion trips each year. People use public transportation 34 million times each weekday, and we believe the federal government can and should do more to protect those citizens and the transit employees who serve them against terrorist acts. Terrorist attacks on transit systems in Mumbai, London, Madrid, as well as in other cities, highlight the need for the federal government to improve security in areas such as communication, surveillance, detection systems, personnel and training. Although an APTA survey has identified $6 billion in transit security needs, only $549 million in federal transit security funding has been provided through FY 2007.
We urge you to support this important funding for transit security in subsequent legislation. If you have any questions about these issues, please have your staff contact Tom Yedinak of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4865 or email tyedinak@apta.com.
Sincerely,
William W. Millar
President
WWM/tjj
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