The American Bus Association (ABA), United Motorcoach Association (UMA), National School Transportation Association (NSTA), and Passenger Vessel Association (PVA) are asking why the bipartisan Coronavirus Economic Relief for Transportation Services (CERTS) Act (S.4150/H.R.7642) is ignored as discussions continue on Capitol Hill on the next stimulus package.
The associations and its members and supporters have been reaching out to their Congressional representatives for months as the industries fights for their life—an unprecedented effort that yielded tens of thousands of emails, phone calls, and meetings with representatives. As a result, the bills both enjoy a majority of House and Senate support—the strongest among the numerous industry-specific bills that are currently circulating through Congress—although its fate is tied to larger and sweeping stimulus, which has been stalled for months in a war between the two chambers and the Trump administration.
The coalition released the following statement:
“The numbers speak for themselves on the level of support the CERTS Act has received in both chambers of Congress: 59 Senators and 263 Representatives (60 percent) bipartisan cosponsors. We have been begging and pleading with Congressional leaders, especially Speaker Pelosi, Leader McConnell, and the White House, for more than seven months to provide our industries a lifeline to save our essential employees and our businesses. These businesses and workers are critical to the nation’s transportation system. They serve students, seniors, minorities, and other travelers and commuters, as well as the military and they move people out of harm’s way during wildfires and hurricanes. They deserve better. We need Congress to come together and give true relief to all the modes of transportation that serves everyone and keeps the American economy moving forward during this pandemic."
The House version of the CERTS Act is the most bipartisan and supported relief bill in today:
- 176 CERTS cosponsors are Democrats, which is 66 percent of total co-sponsors and 75 percent of the entire Democratic Caucus.
- Of the 176 Democrat cosponsors, 88 (50 percent) are Committee or Subcommittee Chairs.
- Of the 130 Committee and Subcommittee Chairs of Standing and Select Committees, 88 (67 percent) are CERTS cosponsors.
- Of the 23 Standing and Select Committee Chairs, 16 (69 percent) cosponsored CERTS.
- Of 12 Appropriations Subcommittee Chairs, 8 (66 percent) are CERTS cosponsors. (Chair Sanford Bishop, José Seranno, Mike Quigley, Lucille Roybal-Allard, Betty McCollum, Rosa DeLauro, Tim Ryan, and David Price)
- The CERTS Act has 37 House cosponsors from California, which is 69 percent of their delegation
The Senate version of the CERTS Act is also the most bipartisan and supported relief bill in today:
- 59 cosponsors (59 percent of entire Senate)
- 36 (59 percent) cosponsors are Democrats, which represents 77 percent of all Senate Democrats
- 23 (38 percent) cosponsors are Republicans, which represents 43 percent of all Senate Republicans
- Of the 59 cosponsors, all but 2 are Chairs, Subcommittee Chairs, Ranking Members, or Ranking Subcommittee Members of Standing and Select Committees
- 39 states are represented on this bill with either one or both Senators supporting
According to the associations, the U.S. private motorcoach, school bus, and domestic passenger vessel industries have collectively furloughed or laid off an estimated 308,000 employee jobs over the last eight months due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
For more information on the bills, visit congress.gov.
[10.23.20]