APTA Leading the Way for Legislative Success
By Beth Holbrook and Collie Greenwood | 5/19/2025
BETH HOLBROOK
Board Trustee, Utah Transit Authority
Chair, APTA Legislative Committee
and COLLIE GREENWOOD
General Manager and CEO, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority
Vice Chair, APTA Legislative Committee
As chair and vice chair of the APTA Legislative Committee, we are pleased to welcome you to the Legislative Conference! APTA members have come from far and wide, and your participation is appreciated as this is a critical time for public transportation.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) expires next year. Congressional committees are holding hearings and asking for input. The annual appropriations process is underway. The Trump Administration is proposing agency budgets, issuing executive orders, and pursuing regulatory changes that affect our industry. Not to mention all of the budget fights, agency staffing, tariffs, and other headlines grabbing our attention.
This conference will give us the context we need and the core messages that will cut through the noise as we approach legislative opportunities and challenges ahead. Our work in the Legislative Committee is focused on unifying our industry. We know we must speak with one voice in our advocacy.
This year, APTA is focused on major initiatives that include:
- Developing, adopting, and advocating for APTA’s Surface Transportation Authorization Recommendations.
- Aggressively advocating for public transportation investments in the FY26 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations bill (THUD Appropriations bill).
- Carrying out a holistic advocacy outreach effort focused on specific Members of Congress.
Developing, Adopting, and Advocating for APTA’s Surface Transportation Authorization Recommendations
The Legislative Committee has already achieved a great deal in developing APTA’s Surface Transportation Authorization Recommendations, adopting a package of proposals at the December 2024 Legislative Committee Meeting and another at this year’s Mobility Conference. We will continue to consider proposals at major conferences this year, with the intent of having final Recommendations by the fall.
Our goal is to build on the success of the IIJA and ultimately put forward comprehensive funding and policy recommendations for the next authorization law through our vigorous and consensus-driven process.
If you have any ideas that you would like to submit to the Legislative Steering Committee and Legislative Committee for consideration, please complete APTA’s online, one-page Surface Transportation Authorization Form or let an APTA Government Affairs and Advocacy staff member know. The next scheduled opportunity for consideration of proposals not yet submitted is at APTA’s Rail Conference in San Francisco in June, so please share your ideas as soon as you can.
Advocating for Public Transportation Appropriations Priorities
APTA has also been focused on annual appropriations, with a great result for public transportation in the most recent legislation. In March, Congress enacted a full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) that provides $20.9 billion for public transit and $16.2 billion for passenger rail in FY25—an $82 million increase for public transit and a decrease of less than one percent for passenger rail.
For FY26, APTA urges Congress and the Trump Administration to fully fund public transportation in accordance with the IIJA. Specifically, we urge Congress and the Administration to:
- Provide at least $22.3 billion for public transit and $21 billion for passenger rail.
- Accelerate project delivery by enacting commonsense regulatory reform, such as streamlining real property acquisition for public transit projects.
Carrying Out a Holistic Advocacy Outreach Effort
Finally, APTA is carrying out a holistic outreach effort focused on specific Members of Congress, particularly key transportation leaders. This initiative involves the meticulous identification of key transportation lawmakers and the execution of a coordinated advocacy campaign, together with APTA members, aimed at advancing APTA’s objectives. This strategy is focused on grassroots advocacy, and we urge APTA members to:
- Use APTA’s Action Center for targeted advocacy campaigns.
- Utilize APTA’s Industry Footprint [https://footprint.apta.com] to highlight the breadth of public transportation providers, businesses, and funding in their congressional district and state.
- Encourage APTA public transit agencies to use APTA’s My Economic Impact Tool [www.apta.com/my-economic-impact-tool] to calculate the economic impact of their transit service.
- Engage Voices for Public Transit advocates for targeted advocacy campaigns.
- Create local media campaigns (e.g., videos, editorials, letters to the editor).
Most importantly, we urge all APTA members to meet with each of their Members of Congress to outline the role that public transportation plays in their community and the U.S. economy and educate them on the need to support public transportation in the surface transportation authorization legislation and the FY26 THUD Appropriations bill.
Our industry has a terrific story to tell. We are a $79 billion industry that employs 430,000 people and supports millions of private-sector jobs. Moreover, 77 percent of federal public transit investment flows to the private sector through spending on capital projects, contracted and other services, fuel, materials, and supplies.
We hope that you connect with your Senators and Representatives, not only during this conference but throughout the year. Please take advantage of APTA’s informative resources including regular Legislative Alerts and Updates, the Smart Guide: Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and Inflation Reduction Act, and the Executive and Regulatory Actions Tracker.
Thank you to each of you who have affirmed your commitment to advocacy for our industry. Our success depends on your dedication, ideas, and passion for achieving policies that will improve communities through high-quality public transportation.