The federal House Ways and Means Committee voted Friday in support of a bill that, if passed by the rest of Congress, could mark the end of a decades-long federal commitment.@@http://waysandmeans.house.gov/About/Jurisdiction.htm@@
The bill, called the American Energy and Infrastructure Act,@@http://www.govtrack.us/congress/bill.xpd?bill=h112-7@@ proposes eliminating the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund and the 2.86-cent gas tax that feeds it,@@http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/safetealu/factsheets/htft.htm@@ opting to redirect the revenue from that tax into the Highway Trust Fund.@@horrible@@ According to representatives from the Lane Transit District, the decision would force it and thousands of other districts to compete for funding in the Highway Trust Fund,@@http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/reports/fifahiwy/fifahi05.htm@@ even as it prepares for likely budget cuts in the coming months.
“What’s unfortunate is that transportation has been a bipartisan issue for many years,” LTD spokesperson Andy Vobora said. “To see the House come out with such a dramatic change in the funding for public transportation is pretty disappointing.”@@republicans…so surprise@@
Republicans are pushing for the bill as a way to drastically reduce the federal deficit, and some argue that local transit districts can rely on alternative sources of funding, such as from the city or the state. But many transit districts are arguing otherwise.
“We’re already hanging on in this economic environment to the service we have now, and at times that’s not even adequate,” Vobora said. “We’re running full buses, so there’s certainly demand out there … but with the local economy the way it is, we just don’t have the funds to do that right now.”@@kill the emx expansions, dude@@ @@<<

The Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund has existed for the last 30 years, and last year provided $25 billion to transit districts across the country. The Committee’s decision on Friday — which was opposed by dozens of officials across the country, including Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber — has put public transportation into an area of uncertainty.
The bill will head to the floor of the House later this month and is expected to be a hotly debated topic.
Anjee Lee,@@http://directory.uoregon.edu/telecom/directory.jsp?p=findpeople%2Ffind_results&m=student&d=person&b=name&s=Eunjee@@ a University junior who lives in Duck’s Village and utilizes the public transit system daily, said that any reduction in LTD funding would be a problem for students like herself.
“I think a lot of people take the bus for granted; it’s a privilege,” Lee said. “I go to school, and if the bus were to no longer be there, it would force students to use a lot of funds we don’t really have.”