Now’s the Time to Save Federal Transit Funding

It's been clear since Donald Trump was elected and Republicans hung on to majorities in Congress that federal transit funding is at risk. But a phone call to your representative could protect transit in the current round of budget negotiations.

Eliminating federal transit funding was part of the Republicans' 2016 platform, and Trump followed up with a similar proposal in his budget outline.

Now it's up to the legislators in Congress to set real spending policy, and Stephen Lee Davis at Transportation for America reports that a push to preserve transit funding in the House could make a real difference this month:

Here's the T4A breakdown of where the House spending bill currently stands, without amendments:

A number of amendments that could restore transit and TIGER funding in the House budget have been introduced. Transportation for America is urging people to contact their House reps and tell them to support transit funding.

If transit funding is not restored to baseline levels, projects like Indianapolis's Red Line bus rapid transit and Atlanta's MARTA expansion would likely have to be scaled back.

More recommended reading today: Urban Milwaukee reports that Wisconsin's Republican lawmakers hate the city's streetcar plans, but there's not much they can do to stop it. And City Observatory critiques D.C.'s designation as a "LEED Platinum" city.