Gottheimer, Malliotakis announce bipartisan action to fight New York’s congestion tax
Call for Audit of MTA, Unclear How Billions They Received in Federal Funding Were Spent
NEW YORK, NY — U.S. Representatives Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5) and Nicole Malliotakis (NY-11) Monday joined in a bipartisan effort to stand up for hardworking New Jersey and New York drivers who will soon face the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s (MTA) cash grabbing Congestion Tax.
New York and the MTA’s Congestion Tax could go into effect as early as 2023. The Congestion Tax would cost Jersey and New York drivers up to $23 dollars a day — more than $5,000 a year — on top of the already far-too-high $16-a-day tolls for our bridges and tunnels, to drive south of 60th Street to work in New York City from Jersey. No revenue from the Congestion Tax goes to support New Jersey, unlike the shared Port Authority tolls.
Last week, the MTA released a Congestion Tax report which showed that every scenario will whack drivers with a new tax.
Gottheimer and Malliotakis announced that they plan to introduce new bipartisan legislation requiring the Department of Transportation’s Office of Inspector General to conduct a full audit of the MTA to see exactly where the billions of federal dollars they received over the last years have gone, including during COVID. The MTA receives millions a year plus the record-setting, $15 billion in federal COVID aid.
“If the report the MTA released proved anything, it’s that the bureaucratic and woefully mismanaged agency sees the hardworking Jersey and New York residents as their piggy bank. Every Congestion Tax scenario the MTA released last week will whack drivers with a new tax. It’s why I brought this piggy bank as a gift for the MTA. We will fight to make sure that this is the only dollar the MTA ever gets from their Congestion Tax,” Gottheimer said. “Can you imagine a hard working nurse or Uber driver from Jersey having to pay $23 dollars a day on top of the $16 dollars they pay to go over the GW Bridge – not to mention what it costs for parking and gas? Just read MTA spelled backwards and it tells you exactly how the MTA looks at New Jersey right now: as their personal ATM. It’s time we audited the MTA that keeps pouring the dollars we’ve sent them into a black hole.”
“The fact that the City, State, and MTA are proposing a congestion tax to make up for lost revenue after they’ve received billions in federal assistance and opportunities to apply for matching grants through the federal infrastructure bill is absurd and goes to show how mismanaged the authority is,” Malliotakis said. “Go after toll evaders, turnstile jumpers, and make New York City’s transit safe so more residents and tourists ride, but stop treating New Yorkers and American taxpayers like ATMs. The MTA is a notorious blackhole and the Inspector General should audit every federal dollar the MTA has received. Enough is enough.”
Gottheimer also called on E-ZPass, the multi-state toll consortium, to immediately cease and desist its Soviet-era disinformation propaganda email campaign they are allowing MTA to propagate. MTA has sent blast emails lying about the Congestion Tax to millions of E-ZPass holders — raving about how great the fees will be for those commuting south of 60th street, but conveniently leaving out the cost of the Congestion Tax, how it will kill small business in the City, and likely make traffic horrifically worse north of 60th Street and at the bridges and tunnels commuters take to enter the City. This is an egregious misuse of personal email addresses and taxpayer resources.
Gottheimer and Malliotakis encouraged those who oppose the Congestion Tax to submit comments to the MTA and let their voices be heard at virtual public hearings starting on August 25th. Comments can be emailed to CBDTP@mtabt.orgor submitted at mta-nyc.custhelp.com/app/cbd_tolling.
The schedule of virtual public hearings can be found at https://new.mta.info/project/CBDTP.
