Tell the Joint Finance Committee you don't want the RTA legislation repealed!

I stole the message at the end of this post from an anti-RTA email that arrived in my mailbox. Sorry about the poor formatting, but I don't have time to clean it up. All the phone numbers and names are there, but the links don't work.
For email, the format for assembly addresses is: Rep.[last name]@legis.wisconsin.gov
Senators are: Sen[last name]@legis.wisconsin.gov

Example: Sen.Darling@legis.wisconsin.gov or Rep.Voss@legis.wisconsin.gov

Although the die is cast - the Republicans have the votes to repeal the RTA-enabling legislation - we don't want to make it easy for them! Speak up now, and then write a letter to the editor to support transit and RTAs.

Please call or email members of the Joint Finance Committee to tell them transit is important to you and to Wisconsin.

Here are just some reasons why we need transit, and local communities need the flexibility to form RTAs:

• Gas prices reaching skyward. Transit gives people an alternative to filling the tank so frequently.
• Aging population - Transit allows people who can't or shouldn't drive to access all their daily needs.
• Economic support for individuals or families struggling. Transit allows people to get to jobs, school, shopping, etc. Cars are very expensive to own and operate, and transit frees up funds for other necessities.
• Young people can't drive and people with disabilities can't drive. They need a way to move around without relying on a car.
• Transit is a way to give people an alternative to crowded highways and streets.
• Transit is more energy efficient than driving and creates less pollution.

RTAs allow communities to organize their transit on a metropolitan or regional level. Wisconsin is the only state in the upper Midwest that does not allow RTAs. Our local communities need transportation options, and RTAs are one way to plan and pay for those options.

Wis. Legislature Joint Committee on Finance Senate Members	Assembly Members
Senator Alberta Darling,(R) Co-Chair PH: 266 5830	Representative Robin Vos,( R)Co-Chair  266 9171
Senator Luther Olsen ( R) 266 0751	Representative Dan Meyer ( R) 266 7141
Senator Sheila Harsdorf ( R) 266 7745	Representative Dan LeMahieu ( R) 266 9175
Senator Joe Leibham ( R) 266 2056	Representative John Nygren (R) 266 2343
Senator Glenn Grothman (R) 266 7513	Representative Pat Strachota (R) 264-8486
Senator Randy Hopper (R) 266 5300	Representative Joel Kleefisch (R) 266 8551
Senator  Lena Taylor ( D)	Representative Tamara Grigsby (D)
Senator  Robert Jauch ( D)	Representative Jennifer Shilling (D)

The Joint committee on Finance ( Budget) Committee meets tomorrow (5/3/11) 11 am on Rm 412 East State Cap Exec. session, . One of the items under “Transportation” will  be Repeal the RTA statewide. 

And there is also a letter from the Madison Area Chamber of Commerce in support of the RTA. When the business community and the environmentalists all agree, how can the Republicans be so dense?