[Congressional Record Volume 166, Number 209 (Thursday, December 10, 2020)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1132-E1133]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




    INTRODUCTION OF A RESOLUTION DECLARING THAT PUBLIC TRANSIT IS A 
NATIONAL PRIORITY WHICH REQUIRES FUNDING EQUAL TO THE LEVEL OF HIGHWAY 
                                FUNDING

                                 ______
                                 

                     HON. JESUS G. ``CHUY'' GARCIA

                              of illinois

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, December 10, 2020

  Mr. GARCIA of Illinois. Madam Speaker, I rise today to introduce a 
resolution declaring that public transit is a national priority which 
requires funding equal to the level of highway funding along with my 
colleagues Hakeem Jeffries from New York and Ayanna Pressley from 
Massachusetts.
  Joining us in this introduction are 30 other members from across the 
country and dozens of organizations invested in ensuring we build a 
more just, equitable, and sustainable transportation system in America.
  The near 40-year precedent of an ``80-20'' split between highway and 
transit funding does not reflect our citizens, businesses, and 
communities' needs for safe, reliable, and convenient public 
transportation. The split underfunds transit needs leaving too many 
reliant on deteriorating transit systems with infrequent, inconvenient, 
and unreliable service.
  The 80-20 split was agreed to in 1982, when 1 cent of a 5 cent gas 
tax increase was dedicated to transit. But since 2008, over $144 
billion in taxpayer dollars have supplemented gas tax revenues for 
highway and transit spending. The user fee is not working as intended, 
yet the 80-20 funding split persists.
  Transit is an essential lifeline for the over one million rural 
households without a car and millions of Americans of color 
disproportionately reliant on public transit. 2.8 million essential 
workers and millions more rely on transit to access their jobs, food, 
and health care.
  In Chicago, CTA trains and Pace Buses are the arteries of our city 
and they've kept our

[[Page E1133]]

people moving--especially frontline workers who keep our country moving 
despite the raging pandemic.
  Rebuilding a stronger, sustainable economy will require robust, 
reliable, and frequent transit and we must fund transit equitably like 
the vital public good and toll for economic empowerment that it is.

                          ____________________