S.C., W.Va. workers need the MTA too

Money for NYC’s subways spreads across state

The MTA is days away from going broke. That may sound like something you hear a version of every year at budget time — but this year it’s literal. The giant transit agency will soon spend all the money it has, because COVID erased a million jobs from New York City, and many who are still working no longer need buses and trains to commute to the office. That in turn has clobbered transit fare revenue and cash balances. Layoffs and massive service cuts could be the MTA’s next stop. That will cripple New York’s ability to recover and rebuild from the COVID crisis.

In normal times, transit advocates would holler at Gov. Cuomo, who’s the ultimate person in charge of the state-run MTA, to fix such a big problem. But just as the MTA finances have been devastated, so too have the state and city budgets. Now the transit system’s only hope is New York’s powerful congressional delegation. They secured relief in March with the CARES Act, but the MTA will run out of this money in days — not months — and needs $3.9 billion more to stay afloat this year.

While the House HEROES Act approved in May would give the MTA what it needs to keep the lights on through 2020, the Senate has failed to move on another aid package.

As Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, House Deputy Majority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and the rest of New York’s members of Congress try to get this tough job done this year, they should arm themselves with the fact that this agency is not only crucial to the economy of the nation’s most populated region; it’s a vital economic engine across America.

The MTA spends money all across the country. It buys railroad ties from West Virginia, tracks from Ohio, uniforms from South Carolina, software from California, computers from Texas, commuter rail seats from Georgia and much more. This spending benefits red and blue states alike, with top contracts going to states with Republican senators like $1.4 billion in Pennsylvania, nearly $300 million in Ohio and $266 million in North Carolina. The MTA is also a behemoth in the municipal bond market, with a $55 billion capital plan. It takes a $17 billion budget to run the system every year. That eclipses state budgets in Maine, Idaho, Montana, and North and South Dakota.

My organization, Reinvent Albany, crunched the data on how just much the MTA spends on out-of-state vendors in our report, “Investing in the MTA is Investing in America.” We found the MTA invested $8 billion outside New York from 2011-2018. Over that period, the agency created as many as 100,000 jobs in 46 other states. (The MTA spent $15 billion in New York in the same period.)

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s state of Kentucky received $66 million from the MTA, with Louisville’s MCI Service Parts selling the MTA $44 million worth of bus equipment. Vice President Mike Pence’s Indiana has Muncie Transit Supply, another huge bus parts manufacturer, which pocketed $47 million from the MTA.

The list goes on. Just as defense contractors leverage their spending to be heard when budget time comes around, so can and should public transit agencies like ours. Make explicit the connection that the fate of the biggest mass transit system in the country and the fate of cities and states across America are closely connected.

New York has a very powerful and senior congressional delegation. In addition to Schumer and Jeffries in leadership roles, the House delegation from just New York City and the Hudson Valley boasts five committee chairs. They can get the job done when the Senate finally reconvenes and the dealmaking starts.

Saving New York’s buses and trains won’t just ensure NYC’s recovery; it will also keep thousands of people across the country employed at a time of deep economic stress. Pointing this out can help push a new MTA relief package over the finish line.