(Download
in Adobe PDF Format)
November 8, 2005
The Honorable Christopher Bond
Chairman
Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation, Treasury,
the Judiciary, and Housing and Urban Development
SD-133 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Chairman Bond:
On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) and its more than 1,600 member organizations, I write to express our views on the development of a conference agreement on the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (H.R. 3058).
Because the FY 2006 Transportation appropriations bill was largely developed before the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) was completed, it does not reflect new transit programs authorized under SAFETEA-LU, make important policy changes required by the new law, or provide funding for the overall federal transit program at the level authorized and guaranteed under SAFETEA-LU. Accordingly, we strongly urge members of the conference committee to reconcile the FY 2006 Transportation appropriations bill with SAFETEA-LU's guaranteed funding levels and new policy provisions.
SAFETEA-LU was overwhelmingly passed by the House (412-8) and Senate (91-4) less than four months ago. Congress clearly recognized the importance of making our surface transportation system more efficient and effective by making more resources available for our transportation infrastructure. In short, APTA urges conferees to fully fund transit at SAFETEA-LU's FY 2006 guaranteed level of $8.6 billion to address important transit infrastructure needs.
We look forward to working with you as you act on this important appropriations bill, and we appreciate your consideration of our 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 yours,
William
W. Millar
President
WWM/tjj
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
