Today, thousands of people from across the country are calling their representatives in the House to urge their “NO” vote on HR 7, the House transportation bill that jeopardizes transit service in cities large and small across the country, makes our streets less safe, fails to put people to work, and does far too little to fix our crumbling roads and bridges. We do desperately need an updated transportation bill to lay the groundwork for a prosperous 21st century, but this bill is unfortunately not it.

Can you stop what you’re doing and take just a moment to add your voice and call your representative?

Today, we’re just one part of a massive national call-in day rallying opposition to this bill from an unbelievably broad set of groups. The environment, business, labor, transit riders and transit workers, elected officials…the list keeps growing. All of whom agree that the House bill makes two steps backward for every step forward.

Residents on both U.S. coasts today woke up to strong editorials in their papers of record opposing the bill. The New York Times called it “so uniquely bad” that it defies belief. The Sacramento Bee made it absolutely clear that this bill “gives public transportation the shaft.” From the Times editorial this morning:

Ray LaHood, the transportation secretary, rightly calls this the “worst transportation bill” he has seen in 35 years of public service. Mr. Boehner is even beginning to hear from budget-conscious conservatives who believe that relying on user fees is the most fiscally responsible way to pay for all transportation programs. Perhaps the House speaker will listen to these warnings and send the bill back to the relevant committees for the wholesale revision it needs. If he does not, and it passes, then the Senate must stop it.

The Bee makes it clear that in a time when people are looking for more options for getting around each day, this bill takes away exactly what more Americans are so desperately seeking.

If they have their way, the nation’s transportation network will take a giant step backward to a “roads only” policy for dedicated funding. The full House votes next week on a multi-year transportation bill (House Resolution 7) – and Americans should urge their members of Congress to reject it. The United States needs a transportation system that gives people a variety of options – roads, rail, bus, bicycle paths and walkways. It needs to find ways to reduce emissions and traffic congestion.

From coast to coast, it’s becoming clear that this bill needs to be defeated. We’re looking forward to working with the House on a better bill, but this is not that bill.

Join with others, make a phone call, and then spread the word via email and your social networks today if you’ve already called.

Use the #HouseTranspoFail hashtag today on Twitter

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So get ready, folks.

We’ll be sending out an alert to many of you tomorrow morning, as well as posting all the information right here you’ll need to call your representative and tell them about the destructive impacts H.R. 7 would have on our local communities.

In the meantime today, if you haven’t already, send an email (or another one!) to your representative here.

If you’re just walking into the room, the House transportation bill has been pieced together in committee and is heading for the floor for debate and votes in the coming week. It’s a bill that takes far too many steps in the wrong direction (ie, backwards), failing to help build the 21st Century transportation system America needs. This bill:

• Eliminates all dedicated funding for public transportation, leaving millions of riders already faced with service cuts and fare increases out in the cold.
• Fails to do enough to create jobs and put Americans back to work, also threatening millions of current transit, construction and manufacturing jobs.
• Ends the tiny amount of funding that helps make dangerous streets and roads safer for children, as well as others on foot or bike.
• Does not go far enough ensure that we fix our bridges and roads.

A House committee majority went ahead with their plan to punish everyone who rides public transportation, as well as jeopardizing thousands of jobs in the public transit, construction and manufacturing industries.

In doing this, House leadership and this committee ignored broad, bipartisan opposition from across the country — from governors, state transportation officials, health professionals, business organizations, and from across the political spectrum — as well as thousands of messages from voters in their districts. (Including many of you who sent messages or made phone calls last week.)

With this incredible turn of events, this House transportation bill has passed the tipping point, and unfortunately demands our full opposition. Will you help us defeat it? Let your representative know that this full transportation bill must not pass the House!

Tell your representatives to vote “NO” on H.R. 7, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act.

This bill:

• Eliminates all dedicated funding for public transportation, leaving millions of riders already faced with service cuts and fare increases out in the cold.
• Fails to do enough to create jobs and put Americans back to work, also threatening millions of current transit, construction and manufacturing jobs.
• Ends the tiny amount of funding that helps make dangerous streets and roads safer for children, as well as others on foot or bike.
• Does not go far enough ensure that we fix our bridges and roads.

House leaders are preparing to move this bill to the floor very soon. It could be debated by House members as early as this week, and our representatives need to hear from their voters.

Join us and send a message to your representative and tell them to vote “NO” on H.R. 7.

We desperately need a new federal transportation bill, but this proposal being advanced by the House is not it. Leaders in the House need to come up with a better bill – one that helps build the 21st Century transportation system America needs.

“For more than three years, our coalition has worked hard for an updated federal transportation program that meets our needs in the 21st century; that creates jobs and lays the foundation for a rejuvenated economy; that balances the need to keep our highway system strong while augmenting it with other options. We still remain urgently committed to that goal.

“It is with deep disappointment, therefore, that we in the Transportation for America coalition find ourselves compelled to oppose the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Act as advanced by House leadership. While we commend Chairman Mica (R-FL) for doing what he can to move a long-term transportation bill forward, the full legislation that is now heading to the floor of the House has significant fatal flaws. The bill:

• Unfairly punishes current and would-be users of public transportation by ending all dedicated funding for public transportation, threatening to degrade further the service and state of repair of our transit systems;
• Leaves Americans with fewer transportation options rather than more, and deeper dependence on oil rather than less;
• Undermines safety and public health and takes resources away from non-motorized forms of transportation;
• Does not go far enough to ensure the state of good repair of our bridges, highways, railways and other systems;
• And undercuts citizens’ ability to raise environmental, health and other concerns about the impact of transportation projects.

“It is our hope that House leaders will hear our concerns, as well as those of the many others across the political spectrum who are as disappointed as we are, and bring forth a dramatically different and improved bill that can create jobs and spur the economy. The time is now for passage of a transportation bill we can all agree on.”

The Ways and Means Committee, which is responsible for writing the funding portion of the bill, approved their financing plan along almost party lines this morning, 20-17. (Two GOP reps voted against the bill.)

This plan attacks three decades of successful investments in mass transit by ending the historic guarantee for dedicated funding for public transportation — originally started under President Ronald Reagan almost 30 years ago — placing every public transportation system in immediate peril and leaving millions of riders already faced with service cuts and fare increases out in the cold.

The proposal would take away the 2.86 cents out of the total 18.4 cent motor fuel tax currently directed into the transit account of the Highway Trust Fund and redirect that 2.86 cents into highway spending. Transit would no longer have a guaranteed and protected funding source, instead becoming subject to yearly appropriations fights and the need to find offsets for funding — all while highway spending continues to be guaranteed with protected funds for half a decade at a time.

In just 12 hours after hearing the initial news, we gathered signatures from more than 600 groups, notable individuals and elected officials.

More than 75 national organizations signed the letter — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AARP, the American Public Transportation Association, the National Rural Assembly, American Society of Civil Engineers, LOCUS (real estate developers), National Association of Counties— and a huge list of other individuals and state & local groups, including the governors of Oregon and Washington, several state DOTs, state and local Chambers of Commerce, and hundreds of state and local organizations nationwide.

Unfortunately, the committee chose to ignore this broad opposition — including opposition from other groups like the conservative Club for Growth and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) — and went ahead with their short-sighted plan.

The markup wasn’t quite as contentious as yesterday’s in the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, though it was about 16 hours shorter. Rep. Earl Blumenauer, with several years of experience on the transportation committee under his belt, took it as his job to educate his fellow members on this finance-focused committee about transportation — many of whom may not have ever taken up the transportation financing portion before due to how rarely it comes up.

Rep. Blumenauer noted that for 30 years, having a Trust Fund in place — a mechanism with some degree of certainty — has been crucial for transit agencies’ “ability to make multiple year commitments that allow them to operate with some degree of certainty.” (For more specific comments, check this Streetsblog Capitol Hill summary of the markup.)

This Ways and Means bill now moves to the House floor, along with the more substantial portion marked up yesterday by the transportation committee. That floor process could begin as early as late next week, but more likely the week of the 13th.

This morning we sent this letter (below) to the Ways and Means Committee and the entire House of Representatives in strong opposition to this House leadership plan to end a 30-year precedent of providing dedicated funding for public transportation from the federal fuel tax.

In less than 12 hours, we gathered signatures from more than 600 groups, notable individuals and elected officials. More than 75 national organizations — including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, AARP, the American Public Transportation Association, the National Rural Assembly, American Society of Civil Engineers, LOCUS (real estate developers), National Association of Counties— and a huge list of other individuals and state & local groups, including the governors of Oregon and Washington, several state DOTs, state and local Chambers of Commerce, and hundreds of state and local organizations nationwide.

Read the full letter here, where you can see the full list of all groups that signed.

Although Ways and Means markup is about to begin this morning, there’s still time to contact your House rep and let them know that you stand against this raid on transit funding.

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Dear Chairman Camp and Ranking Member Levin:

For the past thirty years, Congress has provided dedicated funding for highway and transit programs through an excise tax on gasoline dedicated to the Highway Trust Fund. This funding structure has successfully provided highway and transit programs with secure, dedicated revenues and budgetary firewalls dating back to the Reagan administration. The success of this approach is without question: The Trust Fund has been critical to our nation’s ability to build an efficient and multimodal transportation system. With record transit ridership, now is not the time to eliminate guaranteed funding for our nation’s public transportation systems, which saved Americans close to $19 billion in congestion costs in 2009. For the first time in thirty years, the pending legislation H.R. 3864, the American Energy and Infrastructure Jobs Financing Act, removes the certainty of a continued revenue source for our transit systems as well as the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program.

Specifically, we are deeply concerned about the provision in H.R. 3864 that would terminate funding from the excise tax on gasoline and replace it with the Alternative Transportation Account. In place of gasoline tax revenues, the legislation would provide a one-time $40 billion transfer of General Fund revenues to the Alternative Transportation Account. Not only is this level of funding insufficient to fully fund the proposed authorized levels for the Alternative Transportation Account, but it would subject transit and CMAQ funding to the annual appropriations process. This change will make it impossible for public transit systems across the country to plan for the future. It will also make it impossible for the FTA to honor grant agreements.

In addition, this legislation does not make clear how the $40 billion in General Fund revenues will be offset in the U.S. budget. As a result of this funding gap, we are concerned that the $40 billion general revenue transfer may not occur leaving transit programs out in the cold.

We strongly encourage the Committee to reject H.R. 3864 and work to continue to fund highway and transit programs through dedicated funding.

Stop the House’s unprecedented assault on public transportation. There are just a few hours left before their vote Friday morning.

Send an urgent message to your representative today.

Will we be stuck waiting for the bus, or just tossed underneath it?

A key House Committee is threatening to kill three decades of successful investments in mass transit — originally started under President Ronald Reagan — by ending the guarantee for dedicated funding for public transportation, leaving millions of riders already faced with service cuts and fare increases out in the cold.

In a stunning development late last night, House leadership and the Ways and Means committee made a shocking attack on transit that would have huge impacts for the millions of people who depend on public transportation each day.

They proposed putting every public transportation system in immediate peril by eliminating guaranteed funding for the Mass Transit Account and forcing transit to go begging before Congress for general funds each year — all while highway spending continues to be guaranteed with protected funds for half a decade at a time.

Get involved. Can you take just a moment and tell your representative that this short-sighted idea is intolerable for their voters?

This incredible move would roll back 30+ years of bipartisan federal transportation policy and reverse a decision made by President Reagan in the 1980’s to fund our nation’s transit system out of a small share of gas tax revenues. This change would mean no more guarantee of funding each year and no long-term stability for public transportation. States, cities, communities and their transit systems could lose billions.

We released a statement earlier today decrying this unprecedented attack on transit.

“We are deeply concerned that if this measure passes, Americans who use public transportation, or who would like that option in the future, will be thrown under the bus,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. “This couldn’t come at a worse time for people who need an affordable, reliable way to get to work, or for employers who need workers.” Corless noted the demand for transit has been rising as the economy slowly recovers and people are using public transportation to get to jobs and to avoid volatile gas prices. Over the course of the five-year transportation program, America’s population will continue to age rapidly, and a growing number of seniors will be looking to transit services maintain their independence.

It’s not just us, though. Even the association of state DOT heads submitted a letter to the committee urging them to reconsider their ill-advised plan.

The Mass Transit Account has been in existence since 1982 and AASHTO has continuously supported this account as a critical component of the Highway Trust Fund. AASHTO has long supported the principle that 20 percent of the gas tax revenues that have been put in place since 1982 be allocated to a dedicated mass transit account. We believe that the two complementary accounts need to be maintained in order to support a well-funded, multimodal transportation system.

We respectfully request that the current Highway Trust Fund structure with its two accounts and respective revenue allocations be retained.

Transit is unquestionably a critical component of our nation’s transportation system, and one that millions of people (or voters, if you’re reading, committee members) depend on each day to get around. More people on transit means less congestion, less pollution, and fewer cars on the road.

Tell your representative that this unprecedented attack on transit won’t stand.

Reversing policy begun under President Ronald Reagan, House Ways and Means Committee – at the direction of House leadership — could move Friday to end guaranteed funding for public transportation, and leave even today’s inadequate funding levels in doubt.

The proposal to bar public transit from receiving funds from the federal motor fuels tax is part of a bill coming before the House Ways and Means Committee Friday morning. That bill sets the revenue levels for the five-year surface transportation bill making its way through the House Transportation and Infrastructure committee today.

“We are deeply concerned that if this measure passes, Americans who use public transportation, or who would like that option in the future, will be thrown under the bus,” said James Corless, director of Transportation for America. “This couldn’t come at a worse time for people who need an affordable, reliable way to get to work, or for employers who need workers.” Corless noted the demand for transit has been rising as the economy slowly recovers and people are using public transportation to get to jobs and to avoid volatile gas prices. Over the course of the five-year transportation program, America’s population will continue to age rapidly, and a growing number of seniors will be looking to transit services maintain their independence.

Since Ronald Reagan was president, Congress has supported dedicated funding for both highways and transit. For the last 30 years, transit riders and the services they use have been able to depend on guaranteed funding from a mass transit trust fund replenished by a share of federal gasoline taxes. As congestion rose in urban areas, and rural areas saw their share of car-less, low-income families rise, bipartisan support grew for providing transit as a dependable relief valve. Removing the guaranteed funding would mean that transit would have to compete each year for general fund revenues that are in line for deep cuts in coming years.

“American workers and their employers already are dealing with deep uncertainties in these times of fiscal crisis,” said John Robert Smith, co-chair of Transportation for America and President of Reconnecting America. “As local tax revenues have dropped, transit service is being cut, fares raised, and maintenance is being deferred. Seniors in rural areas are waiting hours for a ride to the doctor, veterans have very few transportation options to get them to VA centers, and workers in cities don’t know when the next bus is coming. Putting these services in jeopardy would be a cruel blow to these Americans.”

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3:31 That may be it for most of the live-blogging for today, unless the amendment on bridge repair comes up soon. We’ll likely be back at the end of the day or tomorrow to wrap things up and summarize. You can follow our tweets from the markup @t4americaand you can see others tweeting and discussing with the hashtag #TranspoMarkup

Also, don’t miss what happened in Ways and Means last night, which is proposing a serious attack on dedicated public transportation funding.

10:44 - Amendment to restore the funding for Safe Routes to School, Transportation Enhancements.
Rep. Petri introduces the amendment restoring transportaiton enhancements. He says, “there might be an impression that these programs are 10% of a state’s highway funding. It’s really not the case.  These activities would account for about 2% of highway funds. It gives a lot of bang for the buck. There have been 17,000 enhancement projects completed since 1992. The National Association of Realtors support the amendment because these amenities add value to our neighborhoods. …Ensuring the safety of our children is in the national interest. More than half of all enhancement funds have gone toward bike and pedestrian projects, which provides a balance to our national transportation program. The National Heart Association is here campaigning for this amendment…because it helps us lead healthier lives.”

After Petri’s comments, there was a lot of debate on the amendment. Rep. Mica said, “let me just say that we have grown to a huge number of programs. We have significant mandates. This entire bill has tried to head in a different direction and devolved to the states to be able to do these programs that we’ve spoken of.  …While I favor may of the items that have been mentioned, I do not view this in any way detrimental to those states that want to do this. But we believe that it’s time to get away from the mandates and the set aisdes that we do and this is one of them. I will oppose this amendment.

Rep. Rahall signals his strong support for this amendment as a “quality of life amendment” and offers a strong rebuke to the last few years of TE-bashing, adding that “I’m sick and tired of this program being used by idealogues as a whipping boy…”

Rep. Shuster explains what could be summed up as the basic majority opinion on the amendment. “This is fundamental for what we’re trying to do in reform this program. We’re faced with declining balances in the trust fund. We have close to 5,000 bridges that need to be rebuilt [in Pennsylvania.]  …Spending money on bike paths is nice, but it’s a community based function. It’s not for the federal government up here in Washington to tell states that they must spend these monies. Also, these dollars going into these are people that use the highways and are paying for them. I rise in strong opposition.”

“This is just mean spirited,” says Rep. DeFazio.”To just say ‘no more regards for bikes, let’s just turn back the clock to pre-1980s.” He asks the committee members to look the kids, the cops and the parents in these communities in the eye and tell them, “I’m sorry, we can’t afford to buy your child a safe way to ride their bicycle to shool and live a healthy lifestyle.”

Rep. Lipinski reminds the committee that walking and cycling are valid forms of transportation. “The more people we have doing that, the less wear and tear, the less congestion on our roads. This is not just throwing something out for recretaion. This is truly transportation. We have to recognize that we’re never going to build enough roads to accomondate everyone. We need to encourage people to be taking other forms of transportation. We need to understand and recognize that this is transportation.

The amendment fails by a close vote, but with bipartisan support, at 29-27.

9:25 Rep. Nick Rahall, the ranking Democrat on the committee, opens with kind remarks for the Chairman, but quickly pivots into a fairly scathing critique of the bill and the process, including the Speaker of the House, whom he says has voted against every transportation bill while in Congress.

Rep. Rahall is clearly bothered by the fact that a 845-page bill was introduced only a few short days before the markup, making it difficult for members to fully read and digest the bill. He asks to see a show of hands of people who have read the full bill. Chairman Mica is overheard saying, “I’ve read most of it,” and Rep. DeFazio is asked how many hands he sees and he says “I can’t count that low.” Rep. Rahall suggests he and the minority are prepared to move to postpone the markup to Wednesday, February 8th to provide more time to analyze the bill.

“Flatlines funding when we need to provide greater investment in our infrastructure…Slashes and burns the federal role in safety oversight. Democrats are prepared to offer many amendments of the shortcomings in this bill.”

Chairman Mica notes that there will be no rolling votes during the day, which means that members will have to be present for votes throughout the day. This likely means that the markup could go on all day and well into the evening, with a few recesses throughout the day for votes on the House floor.

9:07: Chairman Mica opens by thanking and acknowledges the “bipartisan effort that went into this day.” Obviously, it’ll be interesting to see how the committee vote shakes out, because it could be a very partisan vote. He draws a contrast with Rep. Oberstar’s bill, that was well formed in his colleague’s mind before he ever took leadership of the committee, and pointed out how much time the committee spent in hearings on the road to hear what “the American People” want in a transportation bill before drafting this one.

He notes the importance of having a long-term bill, which the House has drafted, and says that “we also pay for that, which is different than in the past…We have to live within our means…It’s important to keep the [Highway] Trust Fund solvent for the forseeable future.” Along these lines, Rep. Mica takes a little shot at the Senate bill, which he says falls short by relying on “short term funding, short-term planning, short-term stability…”

He then ran through what he feels are the highlights of the bill. It consolidates 70 federal programs. “States end up with more net money…We eliminiate mandatory set-asides and allow states to set their own priorities.” We heard over and over again that they need to speed up the process.

“I think the American people after 8 extensions deserve the best from Congress and our Committee.”

Locate your Representative on the transportation committee below in the list below. Also note the key statistics on the number and percentage of deficient bridges in your district from the table!

Then call the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to speak to your Representative. When a staffer picks up, you can share this message below with him or her, or first ask to speak to a legislative associate that handles transportation and share this message with them. (Don’t know what district you’re in? Use this tool.)

And then say something along these lines:

My name is [NAME] and I live in [PLACE]. I’m calling to ask Representative [NAME] to please vote for two amendments in Thursday’s transportation committee markup. Please vote for the amendment from Reps. Petri and Johnson to restore the dedicated funding that helps make streets safer for people on foot or bike, and secondly, please vote for a possible amendment requiring states to first repair their deficient bridges, unless their bridges are in good condition.

We need to require states to put a priority on fixing the country’s 69,000 bridges before spending money on new highways. There are [NUMBER] deficient bridges in the Representative’s Congressional district, according to a Taxpayers for Common Sense report. The House transportation bill must address this backlog.

Last year pedestrian deaths increased while vehicle deaths dropped. It makes no sense to cut the tiny slice of dedicated funding that helps make streets safer for everyone on foot or bike.

Thank you so much for your time.

Want to report your call? Leave us a note in the comments or just send us a short email.