H.R. 1 Transportation Budget: Fewer Jobs, Greater Costs, More Pollution, Worse Commutes

Americans agree that we need to tighten our fiscal belt to deal with rising budget deficits. However, they also believe that cuts must be made strategically to ensure that we continue to invest in the future of our country. In fact, in a recent nationwide survey by Hart Associates, 4 in 5 agreed that transportation investments to improve and modernize roads, rails, and runways in America would spur local economic growth and create jobs. This is exactly the strategy that the Treasury Secretary outlined last week. 

Unfortunately, the Republican spending plan unveiled in the House of Representatives on Friday doesn't reflect this value. Instead, the transportation-focused portion of the bill includes deeper cuts than nearly every other area of federal spending.

Not only would the Republican plan would cut transportation investments that Americans support, it targets programs that create the most jobs, lower transportation costs for families, reduce traffic to make commutes more bearable, and reduce harmful air pollution.

For example, the House Republican budget would cut the program that funds new transit construction by $430 million. But we know that, historically, investments in public transportation have generated 31 percent more jobs per dollar than new construction of roads and bridges. The cuts to key public transportation and passenger rail programs could put more than 198,000 jobs at risk, according to the American Public Transportation Association. 

By cutting transportation investments, the Republican plan would also likely increase congestion and make it harder for many Americans to get to work. An annual analysis by the Texas Transportation Institute showed that investments in public transportation service also reduce congestion, saving 646 million hours of delay in 2007, equal to $13.7 billion. 

And a Federal Transit Administration report shows that the majority of those savings accrue to drivers travelling similar routes, rather then to the riders themselves. Eliminating tranit investment means more cars, more traffic, and as a result, higher costs for drivers. Transit riders, who can save an average of $9,656 annually, would also likely see costs go up.

Our transportation system is critical to our economic success at home and around the world. Cutting investments in the engine of our economy will only serve to undermine the future of American growth and success. 

Header image by nateOne, used under a Creative Commons license.