Dear Representative:
On behalf of the Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO (TTD), I’m writing to express our serious concerns about the drastic cuts to transportation programs in the House Appropriations Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Subcommittee’s FY24 bill.
Although TTD commends the inclusion of much-needed investments in FAA’s operations and maintenance budget to support the hiring and training of new air traffic controllers and Congress’ continued support of the Maritime and Tanker Security Programs, we cannot ignore the disastrous funding cuts for transit, passenger rail, construction grants, and other critical infrastructure projects.
House Republicans have not only reneged on their commitment to their colleagues across the aisle by abandoning funding levels agreed upon through the Fiscal Responsibility Act; they have also abandoned Congress’ commitment to transform our transportation infrastructure through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The funding cuts proposed in this bill would significantly hamstring the progress of the historic, bipartisan investments in infrastructure made under the leadership of President Biden, undermining the commitment Congress made to creating good jobs and improving the lives of all Americans.
If this bill as written became law, thousands of jobs in the building, operation, and maintenance sectors of our transportation systems would be at risk. Moreover, local economies would lose out on the economic growth generated by high-quality transportation service.
TTD is committed to working with appropriators to make sure that appropriations bills pass in a timely manner and provide our transportation systems with the funding necessary to deliver reliable service, grow our economy, and improve the lives of working people across the country.
Sincerely,
Greg Regan
President