Federal bills take aim at congestion pricing

Editor’s note: The Department of Transportation has since revoked its approval for congestion pricing, giving New York until March 21 to end the program. Find more information here.

Federal lawmakers in New Jersey and New York introduced three bills that go directly after New York City’s congestion pricing program and the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

Reps. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., Nicole Malliotakis, R-N.Y., and Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., announced the reintroduction of multiple bills aimed at congestion pricing in New York. The bills range from relief for certain motorists to a federal audit of the MTA.

According to a news release from Gottheimer’s office, the bills being reintroduced are the Anti-Congestion Tax Act, the Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act and the Economic Impact of Tolling Act. The bills represent attempts to dismantle congestion pricing at the federal government level.

“States like New York and New Jersey have developed a habit of solving problems by imposing more fees and taxes on our residents, driving up the cost of living,” Van Drew said in a statement. “It’s no wonder people are leaving the region in droves – it’s simply too expensive to live and work here. This needs to change, and this bill is a step in the right direction.”

The Anti-Congestion Tax Act withholds federal funding from the MTA unless the agency exempts congestion pricing for certain drivers.

Previous versions of the bill introduced in 2019, 2021 and 2023 prohibit the U.S. Department of Transportation from awarding new grants to the MTA until all drivers entering Manhattan from the Holland Tunnel, Lincoln Tunnel or the George Washington Bridge are exempt from congestion fees. Any drivers entering the Central Business District from those crossings would receive a federal tax credit at the end of the year equal to what they paid in congestion fees.

With its sights set on the MTA, the Make Transportation Authorities Accountable and Transparent Act directs the DOT to conduct a full audit of the agency looking into how it spent billions of dollars in federal funds over the past five years. Some local, state and federal lawmakers claim congestion pricing is less about relieving traffic and more about funding a mismanaged MTA.

“I’m not going to sit around and let the MTA balance their woefully mismanaged, out-of-control budget by picking the pockets of Jersey and New York families – our bipartisan legislation will put a stop to the MTA’s cash grab and hold them accountable,” Gottheimer said.

Malliotakis introduced two bills that could effectively kill congestion pricing in New York City or anywhere else. HR352 attempts to amend the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 to prohibit congestion pricing specifically in the Central Business District in Manhattan. HR351 would amend the act to ban congestion pricing in any “value pricing program.”

Other efforts to stop congestion pricing

In addition to multiple federal lawsuits trying to undo New York City’s congestion pricing, federal lawmakers and New Jersey’s governor are asking President Donald Trump to step in.

At least nine lawsuits filed in federal district courts are challenging congestion pricing. Nearly all of them argue that the DOT violated the National Environmental Policy Act. However, judges in those cases have struck down that claim, severely gutting the lawsuits. Attorneys representing the state of New Jersey in its lawsuit have signaled they plan to file a new complaint.

The lawsuit filed by the Trucking Association of New York is different than the others, as it focuses specifically on the pricing structure for truck drivers. Instead of getting rid of congestion pricing altogether, the association is seeking changes to toll rates it says are unfair to truckers.

Motions to stop congestion pricing while litigation is pending have been denied in all cases. A few cases are challenging that decision.

On Jan. 11, Rep. Mike Lawler, R-N.Y., and several other lawmakers including Malliotakis sat down with Trump, who expressed support to end congestion pricing. LL