-Congressman Urges Fellow Conferees on the Transportation Bill to Support Provisions Important to Mobility of Seniors-

As a senior member of the conference committee for the new transportation bill, U.S. Rep. Nick J. Rahall (D-WV) is working on crafting a final bill which keeps all his constituents in mind. Today, Rahall focused action on ensuring that the new bill supports public transportation for senior citizens. "As our state becomes older as a whole, it is clear that there is a need for additional transportation services for senior citizens, and today I am urging my fellow conferees for the highway bill to help me increase transportation options for our seniors," said Rahall.

Rahall has been a champion of past transportation bills during his tenure in the House of Representatives and is working tirelessly to ensure a bipartisan transportation bill is finalized. In bringing the need for transportation services for senior citizens to the table, Rahall joined a bipartisan group of his colleagues in urging the rest of the conference committee to join him in addressing the transportation needs of our seniors.

"Some of our senior citizens are unable to drive themselves due to various reasons. After years of depending on themselves for transportation, these seniors too often become stranded at home and reliant on family and friends to get them to the store, the pharmacy or the park," said Rahall. "In southern West Virginia many of the destinations our seniors need to arrive at are too far away to walk and while our public transportation services are doing a great job, I believe more can be done specifically for these seniors to help them travel where they need to be."

Rahall is working with his colleagues to ensure that the final transportation bill includes four key priorities to senior citizens' transportation needs. The first priority is to significantly increase funding for the Federal Transit Administration's Section 5310 program, which is an "essential transit program for seniors and persons with disabilities," according to Rahall and his colleagues. The Representatives second priority is to adopt provisions that would allow nonprofits to obtain new vans and buses and to ensure they are operational with funding available for insurance, gasoline and driver salaries. The third priority would reaffirm that private nonprofit organizations are the only eligible recipient of Section 5310 funding so they can accompany the public transportation infrastructure already in place. Rahall and his colleagues fourth priority on this issue is to authorize a national technical assistance center for senior transportation, which would allow for better sharing of results related to senior transportation across the Nation.

"These provisions are a good step towards ensuring that seniors who are unable to drive will be able to get to crucial locations throughout our communities," said Rahall. "Our public transportation systems in southern West Virginia are working hard and additional services for seniors will help aid in their effectiveness and coverage area. I am committed to implementing as many of these recommendations as possible in the final version of the transportation bill as we move forward with a compromise."

Rahall stressed that he is keeping all of southern West Virginia in mind with this transportation bill. In the House version of the bill Rahall was able to secure $2.3 billion for West Virginia. The Congressman also was able to secure millions of dollars earmarked for transportation projects throughout southern West Virginia in the House bill. He and the rest of the conference committee are working to craft a final bill to be signed into law before the current short-term extension of highway funding expires on June 30, 2005.