Transit: Bill would 'hit the MTA hard'

Democratic members of Congress and the MTA's chairman Monday criticized a Republican bill they said could take $1 billion a year from the agency and jeopardize major projects, including the Long Island Rail Road's plan to connect to Manhattan's East Side.

The bill, proposed last week, would cut off mass transit systems, such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, from dedicated gas taxes on which they have heavily relied for almost 30 years.

It would divert those funds to highway and bridge projects, and mass transit agencies would receive allocations from the general fund -- forcing those agencies to compete with defense, education and other priorities for federal dollars.

"This bill will hit the MTA hard. It will hit the MTA very hard," MTA chairman Joseph Lhota said at a news conference at Grand Central Terminal. Lhota called it "the worst piece of legislation anyone could ever imagine."

However, Greg Cohen, president and chief executive of American Highway Users Alliance, a transportation advocacy group, called for bipartisan support of the bill, saying it would "stabilize current levels of highway funding."

The House bill is "full of important reforms that are critical to reassuring taxpayers that federal-aid funding for highways is invested prudently and not wasted," Cohen said in a news release.

The MTA -- the largest public transportation system in North America -- received about $1 billion a year in funding from federal taxes on gas that are specifically earmarked for mass transit. The agency got another $400,000 from the general fund in aid for its so-called "megaprojects," including the $7.4-billion East Side Access that aims to connect the LIRR to Grand Central by 2018.

SEE PHOTOSLIRR trains and commuters through the years

Without reliable federal funding, Lhota said, the MTA "would have to make some serious decisions" on how it would move forth on those projects. Also, if the agency loses considerable federal aid, it could be forced to raise fares, he said.

The bill is expected to be voted on by Congress next week.

Democratic lawmakers at the news conference, including Reps. Charles Rangel (D-Harlem), Jerrold Nadler (D-Manhattan), Carolyn Maloney (D-Manhattan) and Joseph Crowley (D-Woodside), said they expect President Barack Obama to veto the bill. An accompanying bill in the Senate preserves dedicated mass-transit funding and is set to be voted on later this week.

"This is a bill aimed like a dagger at the heart of cities and suburban areas," Nadler said.

The speakers at the news conference also noted that the legislation could eliminate jobs tied to mass transit and hurt the environment by forcing more people into their cars.