Saving Energy Through Public Transportation Act of 2008
Floor Speech
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Madam Chairman, as the gas prices continue to rise, the most effective and immediate way to offer relief is to provide incentives for mass transit use. According to a study published by the American Public Transportation Association, public transportation use saves an annual 1.4 billion gallons of gasoline, almost 4 million gallons per day. Factoring in the national average of gas at $4 a gallon, it saves consumers nearly $16 million a day in gas costs.
Now, I support our public transportation system, and I'm pleased to support an extensive grant program to help expand transit use across the country. But I am disappointed in this bill because it only requires that Federal employees be offered transit benefits. While I support expanding the current transit benefit program, all Americans should have this benefit.
Now, more than a month ago, Congressmen Lipinski and Biggert and I introduced bipartisan legislation, the Creating Opportunities to Motivate Mass-transit Utilization to Encourage Ridership Act, the Commuter Act of 2008. Our legislation offers employers a 50 percent tax credit for all transit benefits provided to employees. And under its provisions, employees would receive up to $1,380 in free mass-transit funds this year, with the employer receiving a $690 tax credit.
According to Forbes, the average gasoline costs in the ten worst commuter cities is $6.35 per day. Should businesses take advantage of this incentive, they would save their employees $1,600 per year. As family budgets tighten, an extra $1,600, or if there's two commuters, $3,200 would really ease burdens of health care and education. Such a benefit should also include Americans who are not lucky enough to have a Federal job.
I support H.R. 6052, but I'm surprised that this bill stands for the principle that if the taxpayer already pays your salary, we will help you more. But what if you're not lucky enough to have a government-paid position? Under this bill, you're out of luck. But under our bipartisan Commuter Act, you would have this benefit, too.
To help commuters, we should pass the bipartisan Commute Act to help all communities to really lower the gas bill of the United States and not just offer assistance to people already paid by the Feds.
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