Action Alert: Tell Congress no new transportation money without reform

Let’s tell Congress to make transportation funding smart, clean, and accountable starting TODAY.

A draft of the new transportation bill was introduced in the House late last week. The bill is positive in many respects and goes far beyond a simple reauthorization of the existing federal transportation law.  The committee staff and Chairman Oberstar are to be commended on moving the bill forward, however, the details of the legislation fall short of living up to the promise of delivering a 21st century transportation system.  The bill makes important strides, but fails to outline a comprehensive set of national performance targets as articulated by the National Transportation Objectives Act (H.R. 2724).

We can’t keep pouring our precious tax dollars into the same old flawed transportation system that leaves us stuck without options.

PLEASE READ THE FOLLOWING AND CALL YOUR LEGISLATOR TODAY.

In Pittsburgh:

  • Rep. Mike Doyle (D-PA, 14th District) – 202-225-2135

Around Pittsburgh:

  • Either Rep. Jason Altmire (D-PA,  4th District) – 202-225-2565 or
  • Rep. Tim Murphy (R-PA, 18th District) – 202-225-2301

Elsewhere or not sure who your congressperson is:

Dear Supporter,

We need you to make one call to Congress to make sure transportation spending delivers.

Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121 and tell your representative to co-sponsor the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009.

Then let us know you made the call.

As you read this, Congress is working on the new transportation bill, released just two days ago. It’s a good start, but as the bill stands today, it leaves out something crucial: Clear national priorities.

With Congress moving quickly on transportation, we need you to go the extra mile today to make sure that Congress gets the message.

That’s why we’re inviting you to join our national call-in day by calling your representative’s office right now. It will make a real difference, and it only takes about one minute:

  1. Call the Congressional Switchboard at 202-224-3121, and ask to speak to your representative’s office.
  2. Tell the staff member answering the phone where you’re calling from and that you’d like to urge the representative to co-sponsor the National Transportation Objectives Act of 2009 (H.R. 2724). You can add that:
    • You are a constituent and a supporter of the Transportation for America coalition.
    • You want to make sure the billions spent on transportation help us cut down on emissions, give us real energy security, and provide you with more affordable options for getting from A to B.

  3. After you hang up, please be sure to let T4America know that you made the call. Don’t skip this step! It helps us track how many members of Congress we’ve reached.

Without over-arching goals and targets – such as lower energy consumption, greater affordability, and expanded access – there’s no way to be sure billions of dollars in transportation spending will truly deliver clean, safe and smart transportation. That’s why your call today, as members of Congress are marking up the bill, is so important.

The bill has a lot of what Transportation for America supporters like you have been pushing for, but today, it still falls short.

We can do better. We can’t keep pouring our precious tax dollars into the same old flawed transportation system that leaves us stuck without options. Let’s tell Congress to make transportation funding smart, clean, and accountable starting TODAY.

We need you to pick up the phone – make one simple call – and speak up for transportation reform.

Thank you for your support at this important moment.

Sincerely,

Ilana Preuss
Outreach and Field Director
Transportation for America

Not a member of Bike Pittsburgh?  Join today!  We need you to add your voice!  Bike Pittsburgh works to protect cyclist’s rights and promote the vision of making Pittsburgh a safer and more enjoyable place to live and to ride.  For more info, check out: www.bike-pgh.org/membership

1 Comment

  • Planning, Not Pork, in Transportation Funding « Friends of Jeff Smith says:
    07/12/2009 at 6:24pm

    […] The bill gives attention to needed repairs in our transportation system, as well as a focus on regional-level transportation (as opposed to only state or local-level funding). However, as Transportation for America’s James Corliss notes, an important question about the massive funding is, “What does money get spent on once it gets to your state?” The question is unanswered in this bill. TFA urges that there be no new national transportation funding without spending controls reform. […]

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