Transportation Equity Act of the 21st Century (TEA- 21)

The Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities (CCD) is comprised of over 100 national organizations representing the interests of people with disabilities. CCD’s Transportation Task Force has been tracking the progress of transportation reauthorization legislation, particularly the sections that relate to people with disabilities. Individuals may be limited in their mobility due to physical, sensory, or cognitive disabilities, and as a rule are more reliant on public transportation than the general public. It is critical that transportation legislation ensures that people with disabilities have safe, affordable and accessible transportation to fully participate in community life. As the transportation reauthorization bills, S. 1072 and H.R. 3550, are in conference, we ask your support for the following issues.


• NEW FREEDOM INITIATIVE: The New Freedom Initiative (NFI) must be a separate program as in Section 3018 of H.R. 3550. This program is intended to remove barriers and provide services to people with disabilities beyond that required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. The Senate bill inserts New Freedom into the existing Section 5310 program without recognizing its distinct purpose. Although NFI projects must be coordinated with 5310 services, it is not intended exclusively for segregated transportation services. The House Committee Report (No. 108-452) provides examples of accepted uses of these funds, e.g., accessible taxi, van-pooling and ridesharing programs, voucher and volunteer driver programs and mobility management programs. We ask that you support the House’s language on the New Freedom Initiative in the final conference report.


• SECTION 5310: As stated above, the Senate bill joins the NFI program and the existing Section 5310 program. The Senate bill also changes the eligibility for 5310 recipients by including public transit agencies. CCD strenuously opposes both these positions, and believes that the eligibility requirements in current law should remain. We are very concerned that non-profits may be edged out by public agencies in allocations of already insufficient funding in Section 5310 programs. H.R. 3550 contains neither of these objectionable provisions; further, Section 3011 in H.R. 3550 includes language that allows Section 5310 funds to be utilized for operating expenses as well as capital expenditures. This provision will allow for greater local flexibility in providing needed transportation instead of simply replacing old vehicles. We ask your support for the House’s provisions for Section 5310.
 

• HAZARD ELIMINATION: CCD also supports language in Section 1401(f) of H.R. 3550 that specifies identification of hazards to people with disabilities as part of the hazard elimination program.


• FAIR SHARE FOR SAFETY: Another priority for CCD is improving accessibility to sidewalks, crosswalks and other public rights of way. An accessible public route has the added benefit of being a safe public route. As such, we ask your support for the Fair Share for Safety, Section 1401(a)(1) in S. 1072, an allocation from the Highway Safety Improvement program for bicycle and pedestrian safety based on state safety records on pedestrian and bicyclist fatalities.


The undersigned members of CCD’s Transportation Task Force ask that you support these stated provisions in the Conference Committee’s considerations. CCD thanks you for your support for integrated accessible public transportation for people with disabilities. If we can provide further information, please contact Maureen McCloskey, National Advocacy Director at Paralyzed Veterans of America, at 202-416-7696 or maureenm@pva.org.


Yours sincerely,

Maureen McCloskey for:
Consortium for Citizens with Disabilities Transportation Task Force

American Association of People with Disabilities
American Association on Mental Retardation
American Council of the Blind
American Foundation for the Blind
APSE: The Network on Employment
Association for University Centers on Disabilities
Council for Exceptional Children
Council of State Administrators of Vocational Rehabilitation
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund
Division for Learning Disabilities
Easter Seals
Epilepsy Foundation
Helen Keller National Center
National Association of Councils on Development Disabilities
National Association of Protection and Advocacy Systems
National Coalition on Deaf-Blindness
National Rehabilitation Association
NISH
Paralyzed Veterans of America
Spina Bifida Association of America
The Arc of the United States
United Cerebral Palsy
United Spinal Association