December 5, 2007
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The Honorable James Nussle
Director
Office of Management and Budget
1650 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20503
Dear Director Nussle:
On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its 1,500 member organizations, I write regarding the Administration’s reported plan to eliminate the Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP) in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2009 budget. If true, this proposed elimination would have a devastating impact on the nation’s public transportation systems ability to secure their systems, and directly undercut Congress’ efforts to provide resources for this purpose.
On August 3, 2007, in recognition of the serious threat that a terrorist attack on public transportation poses to our nation’s citizens, President Bush signed into law H.R.1 which authorized $3.4 billion in federal funding for transit security grants over the next four fiscal years. Eliminating funding for this program would place tens of millions of transit riders at risk. Our transit agencies are doing their part by committing hundreds of millions of dollars of local funds each year to secure their systems but local resources can’t do the whole job. As bi-partisan majorities in Congress have repeatedly made clear, continued federal investment in this effort is crucial. Transit security is national security, a responsibility of the federal government.
Terrorist acts in Mumbai, London and Madrid make clear the need to strengthen security on U.S. public transit systems. We do not need another wakeup call. We must act to prevent an occurrence of such terrorist attacks in this country. For the sake of the millions of Americans who use transit daily, I urge you to reconsider any proposed cuts to the Transit Security Grant Program. APTA believes the program should be funded at the authorized level of at least $750 million for Fiscal Year (FY) 2009.
I respectfully request the opportunity to meet with you to discuss this urgent matter. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please contact me. I look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
William W. Millar
President
WWM/tjj
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