The three assistant U.S. Attorneys in Manhattan wrote that Duffy’s current argument to shut down the tolls isn’t likely to hold up in court. The program was approved under former President Joe Biden through a U.S. DOT pilot program – the Value Pricing Pilot Program – that allows local governments to impose tolls on federally-funded roads. Duffy has argued he has the authority to rescind that approval, but the government attorneys were skeptical.
“It is unlikely that Judge Liman or further courts of review will accept the argument that [congestion pricing] was not a statutorily authorized ‘value pricing’ pilot” by the federal government, the letter states.
The letter advises U.S. DOT officials to instead argue they’re revoking approval for the tolls through Office of Management and Budget regulations, which could allow for such a move “as a matter of changed agency priorities.” Still, the letter notes that argument isn’t airtight because the DOT did not give the MTA any money to launch congestion pricing.
The letter is available here:
