Take poison pills out of the Transportation, Housing & Urban Development Act

I’m aware that the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act is on a fast track and will be voted on by the full House very soon. As it currently stands, the bill contains several provisions that must be removed. Specifically, the bill prohibits DOT from considering equity in federal grantmaking. Removing equity considerations in federal grantmaking is akin to leaving many Americans behind, and depriving economic prosperity and resiliency not only at a community level, but nationally. Too many of our transportation woes, such as our national roadway fatality crisis, was manufactured by inequitable distribution of federal funding. By allowing Section 192, we preserve, if not supercharge, the status quo already harming our communities. The bill also prohibits DOT from implementing the Greenhouse Gas Emissions Rule, which would require state transportation departments and planning organizations to not only monitor greenhouse gas emissions on our nation’s highways but also create reduction strategies, benchmarks and goals for the years ahead. This rule is absolutely critical in the fight against climate change as transportation accounts for more than 25% of America’s carbon footprint – making it the single largest contributor to pollution nationwide. If the final bill contains these proposals, I’m calling you to support their removal and, if need be, vote against any version of the bill that includes these poison pills.