“Because of the prompt and bipartisan action of Congress, we can now ensure for our children a special part of their heritage — a network of highways and mass transit that has enabled our commerce to thrive, our country to grow and our people to roam freely and easily to every corner of our land.”
— President Ronald Reagan, January 6, 1983
President Reagan uttered those words three decades ago after signing a historic surface-transportation funding bill that pledged billions in federal gas tax revenues to sustain and improve the critical infrastructure assets that keep us moving forward.
Today, as our country begins to emerge from the Great Recession, Reagan’s expansive vision is just as relevant as it was back then. That’s why it’s imperative for lawmakers to transcend short-sighted partisanship and remain steadfast in upholding the principles he espoused for our country’s transportation future.
After several years of debate and delay, Congress has only recently begun working in earnest on a long-term federal-surface transportation funding bill. If successful, our nation could regain its economic momentum with solid public-sector transportation investments that promote robust private-sector activity that will put millions of Americans back to work in good-paying jobs.
In addition to funding roads, bridges, highways, harbors and intercity rail, a comprehensive transportation bill also will provide for much-needed capital investments and operating costs that benefit customers who use MARTA, Cobb Community Transit, Gwinnett County Transit and the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority.
Under the existing surface transportation bill, 2.86 cents of the 18.4 cents-per-gallon federal gasoline tax is reserved for transit agencies, totaling about $53 billion over six years. On average, MARTA receives more than $80 million annually in grants from this source; that covers about 10 percent of the system’s operating expenses in this fiscal year and 22 percent of its capital improvement program.
But those federal resources would no longer be available under HR 7, a House bill that would undo decades of progress. A provision in the legislation removes dedicated funding for all transit agencies from the gasoline tax and replaces it with a one-time appropriation that provides no money for public transportation after 2016. If that happens, the effects would be devastating nationally and here at home.
As the 10-county metro region prepares to vote on a potentially game-changing penny sales tax referendum in July that would be used to finance more than $6 billion worth of transportation projects, a dedicated source of federal funding will be essential to leverage and maximize our local contributions.
Fortunately, HR 7 has faced stiff opposition on both sides of the aisle. That’s good news, but it doesn’t mean the danger has passed.
The MARTA board of directors is supporting a broad-based coalition of public and private organizations — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the American Public Transportation Association and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials — which seek to preserve or increase federal funding for transit.
A recent measure introduced in the U.S. Senate would accomplish that goal by ensuring adequate levels of transit funding for the next two years; an amendment to HR 7 also has bipartisan support. A better option would be a six-year transportation bill that significantly raises funding for public transportation.
The bottom line is that our country needs a well-funded, multimodal system so that people have transportation choices, no matter where they live. A failure by Congress to act prudently would not only impact millions of people who use public transportation, but also threaten the economic well-being of communities across the nation.
Frederick L. Daniels Jr. is chairman of the MARTA board of directors
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