WASHINGTON - Congressman Dale E. Kildee announced today that the U.S. Department of Transportation has authorized the release of $1,526,738 of the FY 2005 Transportation Appropriations earmark for Flint Mass Transit Authority.  Kildee helped secure a $2 million earmark for the popular Job Access Reverse Commute (JARC) Program in the 2005 Transportation Appropriations Conference Report, which passed the U.S. House of Representatives as part of the Omnibus Appropriations bill.

“I am delighted that a portion of the funds that I helped secure are going to be released to help finance the Flint MTA Reverse Commute Program,” said Kildee.  “High quality public transit is vital to our community because it provides transportation to low-income workers that contribute to our local economy.  By funding more efficient and reliable transit to our workforce, the use of Flint MTA commuter services will continue to grow and expand.”

In December 2004, Kildee’s funding requests were included in the federal Transportation Appropriations legislation for fiscal year 2005, which was approved by Congress and signed into law as part of the Omnibus Appropriations Bill.  The Flint MTA will use the new federal funds to expand its popular Reverse Commute Program.  By ensuring efficient, reliable transportation of workers to jobs, the reverse commute venture has been of benefit to both employers and employees.  The program provides work-related transportation to Genesee County residents accessing jobs in their own county, as well as the counties of Oakland, Livingston, Lapeer, Saginaw, and Washtenaw.