Urge Your Members of Congress to Fully Fund Public Transit, Passenger Rail

APTA strongly encourages its members to urge their Representatives and Senators to honor the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) and fully fund public transit and passenger rail in the FY24 THUD Appropriations Act. Join APTA’s email advocacy campaign now!

Under the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-22), the first tranche of four appropriations bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill, expires Jan. 19. Congress must complete action on the THUD Appropriations bill or a Continuing Resolution (CR) to prevent a partial government shutdown. For more information on the impacts of a government shutdown, view APTA’s Government Shutdown Impacts on Public Transportation. The second tranche of eight appropriations bills expires Feb. 2. On Jan. 14, congressional leaders unveiled a proposal to extend the two CRs to March 1 and March 8, respectively. If Congress enacts this proposal, the THUD bill will expire March 1.

The Senate THUD Appropriations bill provides the overwhelming majority of public transit and passenger rail investments authorized by the BIL. The Senate THUD Appropriations bill, together with the BIL’s advance appropriations, provides a total of $21.1 billion for public transit (including more than $4 billion for CIG) and $16.7 billion for passenger and freight rail in FY24. The Senate THUD Appropriations bill passed the Senate as part of an appropriations “minibus” package (H.R. 4366) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 82-15. View APTA’s Legislative Update on the Senate THUD Appropriations bill.

Conversely, the House THUD Appropriations bill significantly cuts public transit and passenger rail below the authorized funding levels of the BIL. It cuts public transit investment by $2.3 billion and passenger rail investment by $2 billion from last year’s funding levels and slashes CIG funding to the lowest level in two decades. The House THUD Appropriations bill was reported from the Committee on Appropriations on a party-line vote, and the House of Representatives did not vote on final passage of the bill. View APTA’s Legislative Alert on the House THUD Appropriations bill.

Urge your Representatives and Senators to honor the promise of the BIL and fully fund public transit and passenger rail in the FY24 THUD Appropriations Act. To easily send a pre-written message to your Representatives and Senators, visit the APTA Advocacy Campaign Action Center.

Other APTA Advocacy Tools

Industry Footprint

The Industry Footprint includes information on public transportation providers, businesses, and funding, organized by state, congressional district, and state legislative districts. Nearly every congressional district in the U.S. has either an APTA member or another public transportation industry supplier.

CIG Project Pipeline Dashboard

The Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Project Pipeline Dashboard allows the industry to track the progress of projects in FTA’s CIG pipeline. The dashboard also includes information on the Members of Congress that represent the areas in which each project is located.

My Economic Impact Tool

APTA’s My Economic Impact Tool enables public transit agency members to use their budget data to calculate the economic impact of their services and to make the case for public transportation to elected officials, stakeholders, and the public. The analysis produces figures for jobs, wages, sales, and value-add supported by transit agency spending. The tool also helps users understand direct and indirect effects on the local economy, as well as the diverse occupational mix of jobs supported by public transit spending.

APTA 2024 Legislative Calendar

APTA’s Government Affairs 2024 Legislative Calendar details Congress’ legislative schedule and APTA’s meetings and conferences. This calendar will be updated regularly.