MichiganRadio

Jackson, Other Leaers Call For Mass Transit Funding DETROIT, MI (Michigan Radio) - A nationwide campaign to support giving cities more control over Federal transit dollars stopped in Detroit Friday.

Current law prohibits larger cities from using Federal transit dollars for operational expenses. A bill proposed in the U.S House would change that.

The Reverend Jesse Jackson was one of a number of labor and political leaders at the rally.

Jackson told a crowd at Detroit's Hart Plaza that promoting mass transit would help alleviate many of the country's economic, environmental, and energy-related problems.

But he says there are powerful interests aligned against change. "They want more cars using more foreign oil and gas," Jackson says. "More lung congestion more traffic congestion."

Jackson says strengthening U.S. transit systems and other infrastructure "may be the most critical issue of our time."
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