Rail News: Federal Legislation & Regulation
Sen. Brown targets SMART Act at rebuilding transit infrastructure

Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) recently introduced the Strengthening Manufacturing and Rebuilding Transit (SMART), which proposes to help promote American-made transportation infrastructure, enhance domestic transportation supply chains and maximize job creation in U.S. manufacturing, according to the BlueGreen Alliance and Apollo Alliance. The two alliances also announced plans to merge.

“With gas prices close to $4 a gallon … across the country, reinvesting in transit is more important than ever. And at the same time, manufacturing is responsible for creating hundreds of thousands of good-paying, middle class jobs,” said Brown in a prepared statement. “The buses, trolleys and trains that take Americans to every corner of our country should be ‘Made in America’ as well. By strengthening the domestic supply chain for public transit, the SMART Act will strengthen our public transit options and revitalize our manufacturing heritage.”

The BlueGreen Alliance and Apollo Alliance, which support the SMART Act, are merging to “strengthen and unify the movement” to foster clean energy and fuel U.S. job creation, alliance officials said in a joint statement. About 24 million Americans are still out of work or unable to find full-time jobs, so the newly unified organization plans to call on Washington, D.C., to “focus anew on creating good jobs, securing America’s energy future and preserving the environment for future generations,” they said.