Schumer says eliminating the 5340 Program, or High Density States program, would cost NY state $94-million dollars, and the Rochester-Finger Lakes region 2.7-million dollars a year. The seven states account for about half of all trips taken on public transit.
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The Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority stands to lose about $3.6 million a year in federal funding – and agencies statewide would lose $100 million – thanks to a little-noticed amendment to a House transportation bill that passed last week.
“This is a large, large cut and it has the transit agencies furious”, Schumer said.
There’s still a chance that the funding will be restored as the House and Senate hammer out a compromise on the $325 billion transportation bill that the House passed on Thursday.
“With a last-minute amendment attached to the House bill, New Jersey and its neighboring states are at risk of losing critical funding that invests in our urban transit systems”, he said in a statement. (D-9th Dist.) and others.
Bowing to tea party Republicans, Ryan has agreed to run a more open House, with more amendments coming to the floor for votes rather than being stopped at the House Rules Committee, the body’s traditional gatekeeper.
Senators from the affected states, including U.S. Sen.
For NJ Transit, the special grant money is earmarked for projects such as the Elizabeth train station renovation, track replacement and bus overhauls.
“This amendment would seriously impact our capital program”, said Jennifer M. Nelson, an NJ Transit spokesman.
NJ Transit would lose $50 million in annual federal aid under a six-year highway and transit bill approved by the House last week. The Senate’s version keeps the program.
Hanna said the top Republicans and Democrats on the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, who were monitoring last week’s floor debate, failed to object to the amendment and call a roll call vote.
The bill paid for just the first three years of the six-year program, and Pascrell said he wanted to look at ways to come up with the rest of the money.
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Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., a member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee and one of the conferees on the highway bill, said Friday he plans to address the issue during the negotiations.
