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I write to ask your support for the $5 million appropriation proposed by Senator Susan Collins of Maine for Section 416 of the Older Americans Act Amendments of 2006.
This section allows funding for a demonstration project to provide economically sustainable transportation services for older residents of our community and communities across the country. Unlike other senior transportation programs which already obtain funding through the Department of Transportation, projects established with this appropriation must demonstrate the ability to operate without continued government support after five years.
ITNAmerica, the first national non-profit transportation service for America's aging population, is a successful, entrepreneurial model of economically sustainable transportation. It supplements publicly funded services by accessing private resources and voluntary local community support and does not rely on Federal or other public financial assistance after five years. There are affiliates in 16 communities with another dozen in development across the country.
Developed through a public/private partnership between the Federal Transit Administration, the Transit IDEA Program of the National Academies of Science, AARP and dozens of private foundations, ITNAmerica has been described by former Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta as "the future of senior transportation." Since inception, ITN affiliates have provided over 250,000 rides to older Americans and visually impaired adults.
I urge you to include funding of Section 416 in the FY 2011 Labor-HHS Appropriation bill. An entrepreneurial non-profit solution will build community and a sustainable senior transportation solution for many communities and for the future.