Senate Committee Releases Earmark and Program Guidance for FY27 THUD Approps Bill
3/19/2026
The Senate Committee on Appropriations has issued formal guidance on the FY27 appropriations process. The memo provides detailed guidance outlining how senators can make Community Project Funding, programmatic, and language requests. (Earlier this month, House Committee on Appropriations Chairman Tom Cole (R-OK) sent a letter to members of congress announcing the beginning of the FY27 appropriations process.)
APTA strongly encourages its members to contact their senators and representative(s) and urge them to support specific projects and programs of importance to their agency.
It is very important to engage members of congress as soon as possible to encourage them to submit earmarks and program priorities as part of the FY27 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill. Each member of congress establishes individual deadlines for constituents to submit appropriations requests. Engaging members of congress early will ensure your priorities have the best chance of being included in the FY27 THUD Appropriations bill. The deadline for representatives to submit their public transit and passenger rail project requests is March 27. The deadline for senators to submit their THUD requests is April 20.
There are two types of requests that members of congress can submit to the Committee on Appropriations: Programmatic and language requests and Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS) requests:
- Programmatic and language requests are general funding requests for regional programs or bills that request that a department or federal agency carry out an action, such as requesting $4.6 billion for the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program.
- A Congressionally Directed Spending (CDS)/Community Project Funding request, often called an earmark, is a provision that allows a member of congress to direct federal funding toward loans and grants in their home state. Senators are permitted to submit up to 65 requests, and representatives may submit up to 20 requests in FY 2027.
View the Senate Committee on Appropriations General Guidance for Senators for Programmatic and Language requests and Congressional Requested Spending requests for all Senate Appropriations bills.
View the House Committee on Appropriations General Guidance for Members of Congress for Community Project Funding Requests and Programmatic and Language Requests for all House Appropriations bills.
View the House THUD Appropriations Subcommittee Specific Guidance for Members of Congress for Transit Infrastructure Grants and Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) Grants.
View APTA’s Guidance for FY27 Programmatic Request for FTA’s Capital Investment Grants.
In FY26, Congress appropriated more than $235 million for specific public transit and rail projects in the 2026 THUD Appropriations Act. The legislation included $147.9 million for specific public transit projects and $87.4 million for specific railroad projects in FRA’s CRISI grant program. View the full list of FY26 Congressionally Directed Spending projects.
APTA’s Advocacy Tools
It has never been more important to make the case to Congress for public transportation investment. The APTA Industry Footprint and My Economic Impact tool are designed for APTA members to engage with their Members of Congress both on Capitol Hill and in their congressional districts and states.
APTA’s Industry Footprint shows how many riders use public transportation; recent major grant awards; and the manufacturing, construction, and engineering firms advancing public transportation projects in each congressional district and state.
The My Economic Impact tool uses a public transit agency’s budget data to calculate the economic impact of that agency’s transit service.