Rosa  Miranda with her children

Lucille Roybal-Allard

With the recent news of the extension of the Federal Surface Transportation Act, Rosa Miranda, organizer, mother, and member of the Bus Riders Union reports back about her visit to Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard's office on September 8, 2009. In our third delegation visit of the summer, Rosa speaks extensively on the ways public transportation and specifically, buses affect her daily life and the role Congressional representatives play in the debate around public transportation.

She reports: "Today I met with Kimberlee Tachiki-Chin, the district staff person of Congresswoman Lucille Roybal-Allard.  I went as a mother of 3 children, one of which suffers from asthma and as a resident dependent on public transportation to ask the Congresswoman to co-sponsor the Carnahan Bill, H.R. 2746.  This bill would allow more federal funding to be invested for the operation of public transit, which is a critical factor in preventing service cuts and fare increases."

Support of this bill would not only shift federal funding but it would also impact daily life. Rosa explains that "as a mother, I worry because I want a better life for my child with asthma without having to go to the hospital twice a month. I think about all the families who are in the same situation as mine and why the needs of these communities should be the priority of our representative."

Delegation visits are one way constituents can highlight what is important to their communities. Following her first delegation visit to Congresswoman Roybal-Allard, Rosa expresses mixed feelings: "I was disappointed to hear her staff tell me that the Congresswoman can only do so much since she is not part of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that is currently discussing the bill. I of course reminded the staff that even though Congressmembers have more authority in the committees they head up, that there is still plenty the Congresswoman can do given that this issue impacts a large part of the community she represents."

Then what is to be done? In the past months of delegation visits we have had first hand experience in how local constituents can initiate conversations at the district level to address policy at the federal level. Though we know this is not nearly enough to spur the kind of large-scale shift in transportation funding we require for our communities, we believe it is still an important step in maintaining pressure on our Congress people.

Rosa remains steadfast: "What I'm very clear about is that we can't just sit and wait to hear back from Congresswoman Royal-Allard. We must continue mobilizing our community to make these delegation visits. I invite other residents and constituents to urge the Congresswoman's leadership in supporting this bill."

Check back for future updates on our next actions to affect the Federal Surface Transportation Act!