Transportation For America » T4 America: Prioritize Transportation Investments that Keep More People Working in Meeting President’s Call for New Jobs Measure

T4 America: Prioritize Transportation Investments that Keep More People Working in Meeting President’s Call for New Jobs Measure

January 28, 2010
By Transportation for America

Comments to Administration praise high-speed rail initiative, offer key principles for success in preserving, creating infrastructure jobs

Responding to his call for a jobs bill aimed at easing the unemployment crisis, the Transportation for America coalition today wrote to President Obama and cabinet members outlining the transportation investments can put the most Americans back to work, quickly.

The coalition, now with more than 400 members, also applauded the President for moving ahead on his vision for a world-class network of intercity rail. “Our coalition members have worked hard to make the case for just such an investment,” said John Robert Smith, co-chair of T4 America, “so the President’s announcement today of progress on 13 corridors is welcome news, indeed.”

The letter outlines key principles for targeting transportation funding to have the most impact in putting Americans back to work while also laying the groundwork for long-term economic prosperity.

First, Congress can save jobs right now and put laid-off public transit workers back on the job by offering emergency assistance to the hundreds of transit agencies across the country that are facing deep cuts in jobs and service in this economic crisis. This will not only keep bus and train operators working, it also will ensure that other Americans can make it to their jobs. Meanwhile, investments should be made in workforce development training opportunities targeted to workers in greatest need, as well as increases in funding for highway and road programs with the highest job growth potential.

Congress also must recognize that repair, maintenance and upgrades of existing roads and transit systems puts more people to work, faster than building new projects.

“It’s a no-brainer that funding needs to be dedicated to those transportation programs already in place – both to reinstate access to jobs, and provide transit workers with employment,” said James Corless, campaign director for T4 America. “It takes zero time and no red-tape for a transit system to rehire workers or find new employees if given the flexibility to spend funding to reopen cut service lines or repair already existing infrastructure.”

T4 America’s proposal also emphasizes the need to distribute investments towards forward-thinking programs that will begin to advance our nation’s transportation network, including high-speed rail and clean public transportation, both of which can also help to reduce dependence on oil. Crucial to truly revolutionizing the national system is to make sure that this jobs bill is short-term for 2010 only, with a commitment to creating a strong, long-term transportation authorization bill that meets our larger transportation needs.

“If President Obama is serious about another jobs bill that will truly impact job creation and spur economic growth, he and Congress need to allocate investments towards maintenance and operating costs for transit agencies across the country, giving them the ability to decide how best to put the money to use,” said Corless.

Andy Singer

While I totally agree with T4America that subsidizing existing transit and repairing existing roads is a much better way to spend stimulus money than building new highway projects, I disagree with the line of argument. It is true that new highway projects create almost no long-term jobs …but new fixed rail transit projects DO create a lot of jobs and force cities and states to commit themselves to particular transit routes and corridors in a way that’s not possible with buses.

More importantly, T4American needs to take a “No new roads” (or “pavement moratorium”) stance, not so much because of the jobs issue but because the nation needs to reduce Vehicle Miles Travelled if it is going to tackle climate change and Peak Oil. There is simply no way to reduce America’s carbon emissions and oil consumption if we continue to build new highways and new highway lanes, and this point needs to be impressed upon state and federal politicians and the public.

Also, mechanisms need to be forced on states to make sure that Federal highway funds don’t end up funding new construction projects (by freeing up state highway money that would otherwise have to be spent on maintenance). Despite their claims to the contrary, many states and especially midwestern states are rolling in state gas tax and tab fee money and have lots of new highway construction projects under way or in the planning stages. They should be forced to spend this money on maintenance or transit. So how about a stipulation that, if a state has lots of new highway projects or lane-widening/new lane projects, they can’t qualify (or have a reduced ability to qualify) for Federal highway money?
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