Reps. Garamendi, Simon Demand DOT Stop Effort in Eliminating Civil Rights Regulations

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Yesterday, Congressman John Garamendi (CA-08), a senior member of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, joined Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (CA-12) and 11 of his colleagues in calling for the withdrawal of a Department of Transportation (DOT) final rule that would eliminate regulations providing essential civil rights protections, ensuring that organizations receiving federal transportation funding don't unintentionally discriminate against protected groups. 

These regulations have been standard procedure since 1964 and require transit agencies to weigh equity across fares, services, facilities, and language access when making policy and operational decisions. These federal protections ensure no person is excluded, denied benefits, or subjected to discrimination under any transportation program or activity that receives federal funds. In addition to the harmful final rule, the DOT also published its rescissions of Title VI regulations as a Final Rule without allowing for public comment, which violates the Administrative Procedures Actand denies the public their rightful opportunity to provide comment on this critical civil rights protection. 

"Not only is the Trump Administration ignoring the law, but it is also disregarding some of our nation's most consequential civil rights protections for public transportation services, fares, and facilities. And they are doing this all while silencing public feedback," said Rep. Garamendi. "I'm proud to stand with Congresswoman Simon in fighting to ensure our government rightfully invests in the American communities that have been overlooked for far too long."

"Transportation is how people access jobs, schools, and health care-it's the physical infrastructure of equal opportunity," said Guillermo Mayer, CEO & President of Public Advocates, a 55-year-old civil rights law firm and advocacy organization based in California. "When transit agencies aren't required to consider the impact of their decisions, Black, Latino, Asian, and Indigenous riders can end up with larger service cuts, more crowded buses, and fare policies not designed with them in mind. Those are the types of harms Title VI disparate impact analysis prevents. Secretary Duffy's rescissions would make those harms invisible and unreviewable.

The letter requests that the DOT withdraw the Final Rule (RIN 2105-AF45) in its entirety, or at a minimum, retract and reissue it as a Notice of Proposed Rule Making so members of the public have the opportunity to provide comments.

In addition to Congressman Garamendi, this letter was signed by Representatives Lateefah Simon (CA-12), André Carson (IN-07), Jesús (Chuy) García (IL-04), Jonathan Jackson (IL-01), Sara Jacobs (CA-51), Raja Krishnamoorthi (IL-08), Summer Lee (PA-12), LaMonica McIver (NJ-10), Kevin Mullin (CA-15), Ayanna Pressley (MA-07), Bonnie Watson-Coleman (NJ-12), and Rashida Tlaib (MI-12).

You can read the final letter here.

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