VAWA will now go to the President, who has vowed to sign it immediately. This marks a day of great hard-won victory for advocates fighting sexual assault and domestic violence nationwide. It also provides funding for state and local grant programs that address stalking and domestic violence, training for child protective service workers and judges, and programs that address teen dating violence and domestic violence in the workplace. It also provides funding for the enforcement of orders of protection and crucial programs that support children who witness domestic violence. The powerful road builders' lobby opposes the Department of Transportation's efforts to require more attention to the effects of transportation on low-income and minority communities.
People living close to major highways face very high cancer risk due to motor vehicle pollution.
Instead of assuring steps to reduce these risks when highways are approved, road builders want to weaken the rules. The Transportation Equity Network and its allies have been working to ensure public involvement and availability of information about new construction projects because they often adversely affect low-income and minority communities. Send the following letter to your Senator today to ensure continued public participation and the availability of information in the transportation planning process. Proposed US DOT rules should be strengthened to assure that the public has better information about how transportation plans and projects affect health, the environment, equity, and environmental justice. The road lobby wants these rules scrapped so they can build roads faster without considering alternatives or impacts.