Give us a break!

Ending a mass-transit tax provision in the Stimulus Act at the end of the year will derail about $150 million in savings each year for metro-area commuters, Sen. Chuck Schumer argued yesterday.

The provision that lets commuters use pretax wages to pay for up to $230 in mass-transit costs each month is set to expire in December. The figure will drop to just $120, what it was in 2009.

Schumer (D-NY) was at Grand Central Terminal pushing a bill to keep the benefit at its current levels.

“In every corner of every borough, families are struggling to make ends meet,” Schumer said. “It’s more important than ever that the federal government not throw salt in their wounds.”