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6/16/2020
A coalition of New York state and federal Republican leaders last week wrote to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) to urge Congress to deliver another $3.9 billion relief package for the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in the next coronavirus stimulus bill.
The nearly $4 billion directed to the MTA under the federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act has been “crucial” in allowing the agency to continue running service, the leaders wrote. But it is ultimately not enough to meet the full need, they continued.
The letter cited the large financial impact of the pandemic on the agency, saying the MTA’s financial future is “at risk” without additional federal funding.
The leaders also stressed how the MTA will be vital to not just New York's economic recovery but the nation's as well.
“The system connects more than 15 million residents across New York City, Long Island, Westchester and Connecticut with employment and educational opportunities that help drive the downstate economy, which accounts for nearly 10 percent of the national GDP. It would stunt both the New York and national post-pandemic recovery to let the agency flounder,” they wrote.
To learn more about how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected MTA, read this feature article in Progressive Railroading's June issue.