Transportation for America, the largest, most diverse coalition working on transportation reform, expressed support for key provisions of the Kerry-Lieberman American Power Act as a major endorsement of clean transportation options to spur energy independence and climate protection.

Exciting news: The climate and clean energy legislation unveiled in the Senate today puts a strong emphasis on planning for and investing in clean transportation options. We applaud the authors of The American Power Act, John Kerry and Joe Lieberman, for advancing this critical piece of legislation that invests in our transportation infrastructure while delivering a win both for energy independence and climate protection. Call your Senator today in support.

The long-awaited allocations in the Senate climate bill were released over the weekend, and the news is good for increasing access to cleaner transportation options. Late Friday evening, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee released the final numbers on where the revenues raised under a cap-and-trade climate bill would be directed. The Senate nearly triples the funding for clean, sustainable transportation over the House climate bill, which only set aside an optional one percent of funding. Take a minute and thank your Senator today.

Our transportation investments and the built environment — what we build and where — have an enormous impact on our health and the cost of our health care. With the debate over health care reform dominating the news daily, Transportation for America and coalition members from across the country took that powerful — yet often ignored or neglected — message to Capitol Hill leaders with a “health fly-in” last Friday.

Last week, Senators Barbara Boxer and John Kerry unveiled a landmark climate bill that could set us on the path toward cleaner, safer and smarter transportation. But one piece still doesn’t quite add up: the funding. To truly address climate change, the Senate has to fix the serious funding gap in the House climate bill: The House bill directs only an optional one percent of the money it will raise toward clean transportation options, even though nearly one-third of our CO² emissions come from transportation. Tell your Senators: You can’t solve 30% of the problem with only 1% of the funding.

With the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee expected to release their version of the climate bill tomorrow, we’re all anxiously waiting to see what the bill will do to reduce emissions from transportation. The U.S. transportation sector produces one-third of our carbon emissions, yet the House’s version of the climate bill allocated only an optional one percent of cap-and-trade revenues to cleaner transportation options that can help us cut transportation emissions. Will the Senate bill be better? We think so, but the Reason Foundation, a free-market think tank, wrote that it should be if we’re going to seriously tackle transportation emissions.

The U.S. transportation sector produces one-third of our carbon emission, yet the House-passed climate bill would direct just one percent of revenues to cleaner transportation options that can help us cut transportation emissions. The Senate has a chance to make a serious investment in greener transportation – up to 10% of funding in the climate bill. Call your Senator today and tell them to support CLEAN-TEA.