APTA Issues Statement on House T&I Committee’s BUILD America 250 Act

APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas has released the following statement:

“APTA thanks House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Sam Graves (R-MO) and Ranking Member Rick Larsen (D-WA) for their strong leadership and working together to develop a bipartisan surface transportation authorization bill, the BUILD America 250 Act.

“The BUILD America 250 Act is a great first step. We look forward to working with Congress to ensure that the BUILD America 250 Act builds upon current investment levels (including guaranteed funding) for public transit and passenger rail to drive job creation, innovation, and economic growth. Every $1 invested in public transportation generates $5 in long-term economic returns.

“We applaud the BUILD America 250 Act’s many policy initiatives that will accelerate project delivery by eliminating statutory and regulatory barriers to advancing public transit and passenger rail infrastructure projects.

“APTA’s Surface Transportation Authorization Recommendations call for Congress to invest $138 billion for public transit and $130 billion for passenger rail over five years. These investments will help address the more than $150 billion state-of-good-repair backlog; meet the growing mobility demands in our communities; and drive innovation and new technologies to enhance safety, security, and the rider experience. We look forward to working with Congress as this legislation moves forward.”