John Kerry Fights to Halt Devastating Transit Cuts to Massachusetts and Nationwide Projects

Busy, busy, busy... that's what John Kerry has been lately in the Senate. Sometime in between the Mercury Polution Hearing and the Bolton Hearing, John Kerry managed to slide in introducing an ammendment to the Senate Finance Committee that would prevent the cut of $1.7 billion in transit projects and improvements over the next six years. Always the environmentalist, Kerry also pointed out that mass transit also improves the quality of life by cutting air pollution.

Fighting to stop major proposed cuts to transit in Massachusetts, Senator John Kerry today worked to amend the six year transportation bill currently pending in Congress. Without changes to the legislation, Massachusetts would lose $50 million for transit projects and improvements over the next six years. Nationwide, the cuts would total $1.7 billion.

“Now is not the time to cut funding for mass transit," insisted Senator Kerry. “Beyond its economic benefits, transit reduces our dependence on foreign oil. It also improves our quality of life by cutting the air pollution linked to lung disease, heart disease and cancer. In one year, one person using mass transit instead of driving to work can keep 77 pounds of toxic pollutants out of the air we breathe."

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