Dive Brief:
- Appropriators in the U.S. House and Senate agreed on bipartisan legislation on Tuesday to fund transportation through the remainder of fiscal year 2026, which ends Sept. 30.
- The bill “provides the overwhelming majority of public transit and passenger rail investments” funded by the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act, according to the American Public Transportation Association.
- The House passed the bill on Thursday, and the Senate is expected to vote on the measure this week to avoid a partial shutdown of the federal government on Jan. 30.
Diving knowledge:
The bill is “very good news for our industry,” APTA President and CEO Paul Skoutelas said Wednesday in a hastily arranged webinar for his members.
When combined with advance IIJA appropriations, the bill provides $21.1 billion for public transportation, a $168 million increase from the fiscal year 2025 level, according to APTA. However, more than $500 million was cut from a capital investment grant program for fixed-rail transit, including light rail, subway, commuter rail and bus rapid transit.
“There are some wins and some losses,” Rail Passengers Association President and CEO Jim Mathews said in a web post. Amtrak’s funding is being cut by $115 million starting in fiscal year 2025 appropriations, and the Federal-State Association’s grant program for intercity passenger rail was cut from $1.5 billion to $65 million.
The grant program, authorized by the IIJA, provides funding for new intercity passenger rail services, improvements to existing service, or equipment and infrastructure repair projects. Previous awards were for increasing capacity at Chicago Union Station; create a new passenger rail route between Raleigh, North Carolina, and Richmond, Virginia; and help build the Brightline West high-speed rail system between Las Vegas and Southern California.
“There are also many more programs that will not be funded at all because of deep cuts to the capital program,” Mathews said.
The legislation reaffirms Congress’ role in funding. Requires DOT to notify the House and Senate Appropriations Committees within 90 days of enactment of “each grant, cooperative agreement, and contract that was obligated in the preceding 5 fiscal years and subsequently terminated, withdrawn, or reduced in scope during calendar year 2025 that remains terminated.”
In addition, the bill says the DOT “shall not cancel a federal award in whole or in part” without following departmental procedures.
Taking a longer view, APTA Vice President of Government Affairs and Advocacy Ward McCarragher said in the webinar that the $21.1 billion funding level “positions us very well as we head into the year to see Congress begin to move forward on the surface transportation authorization bill.” These multi-year funding bills support highway and transit projects. The current five-year program expires on September 30, 2026.
