Making Transit Work for All Americans
By Rep. Sam Graves (R-MO) | 5/19/2025
REP. SAM GRAVES (R-MO)
Chairman
Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure
As chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee, passing the next bipartisan, multi-year surface transportation reauthorization bill is a top priority. Whether you’ve heard this legislation referred to as a “surface transportation reauthorization bill,” a “highway bill,” or an “infrastructure bill,” regardless of the name, this is one of the most consequential bills that the T&I Committee—and the United States Congress—regularly passes. The legislation is fundamental to moving people and goods safely and efficiently across the country. It impacts every facet of our national economy, our supply chains, and the everyday lives of just about every American.
The current authorizing legislation was contained in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act(IIJA) and authorizes programs through September 30, 2026. The T&I Committee is already hard at work on the next reauthorization.
We have held numerous hearings as we continue to gather feedback from the infrastructure community around the country. For example, on April 9, 2025, the Highways and Transit Subcommittee held a hearing focused on federal transit policies and programs, as transit systems provide our local communities with an important service. At that hearing, Members heard from various industry leaders, including APTA.
Additionally, last month, during our budget reconciliation markup, the committee began addressing one of the most pressing issues for this upcoming surface reauthorization bill: ensuring the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund. We took steps to preserve the Trust Fund’s user-pays principle and ensure that electric vehicle (EV) users join the rest of our roadway users in paying into the Trust Fund. While we know that fees on EVs and hybrids won’t entirely fix the Trust Fund, it’s a significant first step toward that goal.
We also know that the Highway Trust Fund isn’t the only issue in reauthorization that we must address to ensure that it works well into the future.
The transit title of the upcoming -reauthorization bill will prioritize solutions tailored toward making sure transit works for everyone. Federal investments in transit systems must reflect the needs of all types of communities while simultaneously providing safe and efficient services to riders.
Making transit work is a bipartisan goal. Lawmakers can—and should—work together across the aisle and with stakeholders on solutions that improve the rider experience and bolster the safety of all our transit systems. These policies should account for the fact that American communities are extremely diverse in size, dimension, and the -ridership needs of their populations. While the model for legacy transit systems may suit large cities, one size does not fit all. In many communities, options such as buses and microtransit are better options than subways or light rail. This bill will seek to ensure that transit works for communities of all sizes across the country.
It’s no secret that crime has become more rampant on some of our transit systems, endangering both riders and transit workers. Unfortunately, I’ve seen the damaging effects of crime on Kansas City’s transit operations as a result of implementing a “free fare” policy. While the policy may have been well intentioned, it had the unintended consequence of making transit unsustainable and dangerous. Thankfully, Kansas City reversed its policy. However, this is just one example of how transit agencies grappling with crime, or even the perception of crime, must work to restore public trust to address ridership rates.
Plain and simple—travelers, tourists, and commuters must feel safe taking transit, just like any other mode of transportation. Men and women who work around the clock to transport riders should be safe at their jobs. If not, transit users and taxpayers will question committing their hard-earned money to such systems. We can start fulfilling the shared goal of making transit work by ensuring that it’s safe and reliable, and that transit assets are maintained to a certain standard. I commend Transportation Secretary Duffy for making this issue a priority early in his tenure atop the Department of Transportation.
The bottom line is this: our surface transportation programs must work for the traveling public and taxpayers alike, who expect their tax dollars to be spent wisely for the public good.
I look forward to working with APTA and its members as the T&I Committee moves forward to ensuring that transit is safe, reliable, and works for all of our communities. The next reauthorization bill will strive to address the challenges transit systems face, and I ask our nation’s transit agencies and operators to continue partnering with our committee in this effort.