Whereas public transit is an essential service for communities across the country; Whereas 2,800,000 essential workers rely on public transit to travel to and from work; Whereas, according to the American Public Transportation Association, 60 percent of public transit riders are people of color; Whereas any strategy to meaningfully reduce emissions from transportation relies on public transit; Whereas American companies, large and small, prefer locations in public transit-connected communities to attract and retain workers and customers; Whereas the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and the November 2018 Fourth National Climate Assessment report found that human activity is the dominant cause of observed climate change over the past century, and a changing climate is causing sea levels to rise and increasing wildfires, severe storms, droughts, and other extreme weather events that threaten human life, healthy communities, and critical infrastructure; Whereas, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, transportation is the leading sector of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, and such emissions are rising while emissions in other sectors are decreasing; Whereas safe, reliable, and convenient public transit is an essential tool to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector; Whereas Americans of color, long underserved by transportation decisions since establishment of the Federal highway program, are disproportionately reliant on public transit to provide access to jobs and essential services such as grocery stores, education, and health care; Whereas people with low incomes are also disproportionately reliant on public transit and, when public transportation is not safe, reliable, or convenient, may be cut off from opportunities; Whereas the Bureau of Transportation Statistics estimates that the average annual cost to own and operate a vehicle is $9,282