On Friday, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) said it supported the House and Senate Appropriations Committee leaders for including funding for public transit and rail systems in H.R. 2617, the Consolidated Appropriations Act.
The bipartisan, bicameral agreement on appropriations for Fiscal Year 2023 would allocate $21.2 billion for public transit and $16.6 billion for passenger and freight rail as part of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Act that was included in H.R. 2167. The THUD Appropriations bill appropriates the majority of public transit and passenger rail authorizations in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“We are encouraged to see Congress honor the promise of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act by providing this funding for public transit and passenger rail for Fiscal Year 2023,” Paul P. Skoutelas, APTA President and CEO, said. “This is a transformational investment in public transportation infrastructure that our country so desperately needs. These historic and generational investments will enable our communities to provide access to opportunities and create family-wage jobs, advance equity, tackle climate change, and meet growing and evolving mobility demands.”
The appropriations bill increases public transit spending by $704 million from the FY 2022 enacted level and increases passenger and freight rail spending by $69 million.
APTA said the bill will provide $13.6 billion to fully fund the public transit contract authority, as well as provide $4.2 billion for Capital Investment Grants (CIG), an increase of $387 million over the CIG spending in FY 2022. The bill also blocks the Rostenkowski Test that would have potentially cut transit formula funding across the board to public transit agencies.