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Washington, D.C.—The leader of the nation’s largest independent union of federal employees today called on members of a key Senate committee to support bipartisan legislation which would restore parity between the parking and mass transit portions of the transportation fringe benefit for working men and women.

“The mass transit commuter benefit provides much needed relief in the form of reduced commuting costs for many working people, including tens of thousands of federal employees who rely on public transportation to get to and from work,” said President Colleen M. Kelley of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU).

She made the comments in a letter to members of the Senate Finance Committee which will consider tomorrow a bipartisan bill that would, among other steps, raise the cap on the permissible transit benefit from $130 per month to the $250 per month that is currently in place for parking. The provision would cover all of this calendar year and last through 2015.

“Restoring the monthly commuter transit subsidy to parity with parking also encourages greater transit ridership, which helps lessen congestion on the roadways, reduces pollution, conserves energy, and saves taxpayers money in road construction and maintenance,” Kelley wrote.

The parking-transit parity provision expired at the end of 2013, dropping the transit benefit to $130 per month. In urging support for the measure, President Kelley noted that “workers using environmentally-helpful mass transit should not be provided a lesser benefit than those driving and parking personal vehicles.” NTEU has been a consistent and strong supporter of parity in this matter.

As the largest independent federal union, NTEU represents 150,000 employees in 31 agencies and departments.