Connolly, PRTC say Bills Will Hurt Transit Funding

Prince William County, Va. — Democratic leaders in congress have urged Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell to get on board and oppose a series of new transportation bills they say will hurt the commonwealth.

Representatives Gerry Connolly, Jim Moran, and Bobby Scott of Virginia penned a letter to McDonnell on Wednesday stating three bills advancing in the U.S. House of Representatives, H.R. 3408, H.R. 3813, and H.R. 7, would all work to funnel away federal highway funds, funds for mass transit, as well as money to mitigate and improve air quality, according to the congressmen.

According to the congressmen, money that would have gone to fund transit would instead go to fund highways under the new measures. Additionally, the measures would shift congestion mitigation and air quality (CMAQ) funding from the Federal Highway Trust Fund to an account set up for transit, effectively shrinking funds that in the past have brought $50 million in improvements to the state, according to the congressmen.

“This legislation would cut seven percent of all federal transportation money coming to Virginia over the next 5 years,” said Connolly (D-Fairfax, Prince William). “Frankly, given the General Assembly’s unwillingness to fund any kind of serious transportation proposal, these cuts would be absolutely devastating and would threaten our continued economic competitiveness.”

The congressmen also said Metro would also be affected by the transportation funding bills – the only mass transit system in the nation without a dedicated funding source.

Officials at the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission, which operates commuter and local bus services in Prince William County, said another bill in congress would create a large transportation funding uncertainty for the first time since Ronald Regan was president.

H.R. 3864 would divert money way from transit, taking the nearly three cents collected on every 18 cents of the motor fuels tax now used for transportation and diverting it to fund highways, PRTC states. Ridership on PRTC’s OmniRide buses are up, and the measure would have “dire consequences for the thousands of people who rely on public transportation as well as those who choose to use transit in order to avoid Metropolitan Washington, D.C.’s congested roads,” PRTC officials stated.