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Friday, March 9, 2012

PROFITEER TRANSIT PROVIDER BEHIND MOVE TO PUSH FOR PRIVATIZATION

Veolia has also played a role in shaping HR 7, the House transportation bill put forward by GOP leadership. Through the law firm Patton Boggs, Veolia lobbied for measures that would accelerate the transfer of transit service to private operators, according to Sam Finkelstein, a spokesperson for the Transportation Equity Network, which organized the protest. A provision of the bill would reward transit agencies that privatize a portion of their service by offering increased capital funding [PDF, pages 322 and 323]. Veolia did not respond to requests to confirm or deny that the company lobbied for that provision.

 Advocates: Private Transit Giant Lobbied House to Weaken Public Transit | Streetsblog Capitol Hill

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