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Dear Chairman Murray:

On behalf of the more than 1,500 member organizations of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), I write to express our deep disappointment in the level of funding for public transportation in the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Transportation-HUD Appropriations bill as reported out of subcommittee. Based on our information, we understand that the bill fails to provide $134 million for public transportation that was authorized and guaranteed by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, P.L. 109-59). It would freeze funding for new rail and fixed guideway transit projects under the New Starts/Small Starts program at the FY 2007 level, $134 million short of the authorized amount. The continued development of rail and fixed guideway projects is crucial to attracting new riders.

APTA strongly urges you to fund the federal transit program at the authorized level. Investment in public transportation reduces congestion by making roads flow more freely and provides mobility to millions of Americans. Transit use also reduces energy consumption and pollution and makes our entire transportation system more efficient. We believe that transit programs should be funded at their authorized levels just as federal highway programs are funded in the reported bill. New Starts and Small Starts projects, which face a funding freeze, are long-term investments which take years to develop, but they are an extremely effective alternative to commuting by car. We urge the committee to recognize the long-term value of such investments and provide funding at the authorized level.

We also note that the bill fails to provide full funding mainly for programs funded from the General Fund, as opposed to those funded from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund. SAFETEA-LU provided funding for the New Starts program and other programs like transit research from the General Fund to improve balances in the Highway Trust Fund. The law was not meant to make it harder to fund General Fund transit programs.

We thank you for your consideration of APTA's views. If you have questions about these issues, please have your staff contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.

Sincerely,

William W. Millar
President

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