[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 15 (Tuesday, January 24, 2023)]
[House]
[Page H268]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




               OPPOSING NEW YORK'S CONGESTION PRICING TAX

  (Mr. LAWLER asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. LAWLER. Mr. Speaker, today, I rise to oppose New York State's 
disastrous congestion pricing tax, which is nothing more than a tax 
grab hurting middle-class and working-class families in my district, 
especially those first responders who are forced to commute into New 
York City by car. It would cost them an additional $5,000 a year to 
commute to work, $23 a day, just to get into Midtown Manhattan.
  Rockland County, where I live, faces a $40 million value gap. We pay 
$40 million more in taxes to the MTA system than services we receive. 
We have no one-seat ride option from Rockland County, and express rail 
service has been cut. In Westchester, Putnam, and Dutchess Counties, 
commuters have received a 10 percent cut in express rail service.
  Many folks choose not to take the subway anymore because of the rise 
in crime. Violent felonies are up over 40 percent on the subways in New 
York City.
  That is why I joined Congressman Gottheimer from New Jersey in 
cosponsoring the Anti-Congestion Tax Act. We will hold the MTA 
accountable and end this program, stopping it dead in its tracks.

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