If you haven't heard yet: the House released an outline of Rep. John Mica’s proposed transportation bill. The bill would drastically cut out a third of the overall transportation funding and would eliminate the dedicated funds for pedestrian and bike infrastructure.

The economy is tough, and has been tough, so making the budget decisions has become a difficult task. What this bill aims to do is allocate just $230 billion, and not the $566 billion that is sought by President Obama’s administration.

If this is signed into law, the bill would be guiding federal transportation spending for the next six years.

New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand had this to say: "We all agree that we must reduce spending, but the House Republicans are determined to slash all the way to the bone and New York would disproportionally pay the price. Infrastructure investments are vital to New York and America’s economic future. But rather than invest in our future, this misguided House proposal would cut approximately 44,625 jobs in New York State alone, and more than 600,000 nationwide. New Yorkers and organizations from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to the AFL-CIO agree that this proposal is the wrong direction."

As of now, a Senate committee is revising this proposal, and will be turning in their version of it pretty soon. If you are interested in pedestrian or bike safety, you have a chance to let them know that they could do so much better. There is a small window to pass a transportation bill this year. If you’re interested in learning more or in letting your Senators know how they could do better please visit: (http://action.smartgrowthamerica.org/p/dia/action/public/?action_KEY=7536)

Labels: bike safety, pedestrian safety