[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 107 (Tuesday, June 25, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H5089]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             SPLIT TOLLING ON THE VERRAZZANO-NARROWS BRIDGE

  (Mr. ROSE of New York asked and was given permission to address the 
House for 1 minute.)
  Mr. ROSE of New York. Madam Speaker, I rise today to support the 
appropriations bill on the floor this week that would implement split 
tolling on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
  This legislation is common sense. It is nonpartisan, and it 
represents a massive win for all New Yorkers. It addresses the 
unintended consequences of an archaic 30-year-old piece of legislation 
that singled out Staten Island and South Brooklyn with the only bridge 
in the country whose technology is controlled by Congress.
  Split tolling removes an obsolete mandate that cars on the 
Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge only be tolled as they arrive in Staten 
Island, meaning that eastbound drivers across the bridge move across 
toll-free. Thousands of cars each day take advantage of this free ride 
and cause unnecessary congestion on Staten Island, in Brooklyn, and in 
Manhattan.
  Split tolling cuts the toll in half and collects it in both 
directions, closing the loophole, and at no cost to commuters in 
Brooklyn or on Staten Island.
  Cutting down on out-of-State toll shopping will also generate 
revenues for New York to invest in mass transit projects on Staten 
Island and in South Brooklyn, two places that all levels of government 
have consistently ignored or ripped off for a generation now.
  Finally, my constituents are starting to see a new day after a long 
commuting nightmare: fewer cars on our streets, better buses, more mass 
transit options, and credible alternatives to reach the other boroughs.
  This is commonsense legislation, and we are going to get it done.

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