Transportation Bill Due for Release Today -- Take Action Below

From: Ilana Preuss, Transportation for America
Date: June 22, 2009
Subject Line: Breaking news: Transportation bill released


Big decisions about transportation funding must be made soon - before funding runs out.
Make sure the money spent goes to projects that are clean, safe and smart.
Tell your representative to make a stand: no more money without real reform!

Big decisions about transportation funding must be made soon - before funding runs out.
Make sure the money spent goes to projects that are clean, safe and smart.
Tell your representative to make a stand: no more money without real reform!
Capitol Hill is buzzing with the news: a new transportation bill is likely being introduced TODAY. And the Obama administration is pushing Congress to pass a funding plan quickly. Why the rush?

Transportation funding is running out.

But we can’t afford to keep throwing money at transportation agencies unable to show progress on the issues that matter to us all: Affordable ways to get around; alternatives to congestion; reducing our oil dependency; protecting the climate; safe and vibrant communities and access to jobs.

Tell Congress: No new money without a real, sustainable plan.

The National Highway Trust Fund – which pays for road work, bike and pedestrian facilities and transit projects – will run out of money in August.

With funds drying up, the pressure to throw more money at our problems is growing. Some in Congress are poised to take money from other needs to prop up the trust fund, which comes from gas taxes. They would prefer to go on spending our tax dollars without a real plan. But more money with no strings attached is not the answer.

The U.S. hasn't had a vision for transportation policy in decades. We've been trying to build our way out of a congested and inefficient system with no accountability and no actual plan to link our roads, trains, buses, bikeways and pedestrian-friendly streets.

The result? Longer, more frustrating, less safe and increasingly expensive commutes for all of us.

But now we have an opportunity for change. We must ensure that our country's transportation investments strengthen our economy, our environment and our health.

Tell your representative we need real reform before we throw more money at our problems.

Don't let Congress make the same mistakes it's made in the past. We must fund transportation, and we must do it right this time.
Thank you for your support at this crucial moment.
Sincerely,

Ilana Preuss
Outreach and Field Director
Transportation for America



ONLINE ADVOCACY PAGE
http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/t/3224/campaign.jsp?campaign_KEY=1730

Take Action: Transportation bill moving fast!

Congress is about to pour billions of dollars into transportation. But we can't just throw money at the problem the same way we have been - we need smart investments.

The U.S. hasn't had a vision for transportation policy in decades. We've been trying to build our way out of a congested and inefficient system with no accountability and no actual plan to link our roads, trains, busses, bikeways and pedestrian-friendly streets. But the new transportation bill released this week needs to change all that.

Fill out the fields below to tell your member of Congress to ensure that our country's transportation investments strengthen our economy, our environment and our health.


Tell-A-Friend
http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/t/3224/tellafriend.jsp?tell_a_friend_KEY=854