Vice President Kamala Harris’ potential success as president is vital for the financially struggling Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) following New York City’s abandonment of congestion pricing, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries stated on Monday. Jeffries, one of the most influential Democrats in Washington, did not confirm if the federal government would continue providing billions to the ailing MTA; instead, he emphasized that “who wins in November will be so important.
We need Vice President Harris to succeed,” Jeffries told reporters at an event with MTA Chairman Janno Lieber in Brooklyn. The gathering marked the start of a project aimed at adding elevators to the Classon Avenue G train station. Jeffries continued, “If she succeeds, New York City succeeds, and the MTA will succeed.
Jeffries is set to become the next House Speaker if the Democrats regain control in the upcoming election. He also commended Governor Hochul’s last-minute decision to cancel congestion pricing as a “reasonable thing to do at this moment.
The Democrats’ victory in the 2020 presidential election, which brought Kamala Harris into office and secured control of the White House, Senate, and House, was also beneficial for the MTA. This led to billions more dollars being allocated to the heavily indebted transit agency. The initial $7.5 billion federal contribution to the MTA’s 2020-2024 capital plan rose to around $10.5 billion as part of the bipartisan infrastructure law passed in 2021, with an additional $2.5 billion for the Second Avenue subway expansion.
In the future, Jeffries and other lawmakers will need to reevaluate the amount of funds allocated to localities when the current five-year plan expires in 2026. The MTA is currently preparing its own five-year capital spending plan for 2025-2029, with some experts predicting it could reach up to $70 to $80 billion.
Additionally, the agency must find an additional $15-16 billion to fill the gap in the current capital plan that Governor Hochul created when she canceled the widely disliked congestion pricing toll earlier this year. Last week, Hochul stated that she would delegate the handling of this substantial fiscal challenge to next year’s state budget talks.
New Yorkers need the maximum participation of Governor Hochul, the legislature and Washington leaders like Rep. Jeffries to deliver and safeguard the reliable and accessible public transit network we deserve,” said Danny Pearlstein, Policy and Communications Director for the pro-congestion pricing Riders Alliance in a statement to The Post.
