In a letter sent Friday, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) urged Congress to fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said the organization hoped Congress would uphold the promise of the investments authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“We urge Congress to honor the promise of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and provide funding levels at least equal to the IIJA’s public transportation and passenger rail investments for Fiscal Year 2022,” Skoutelas said. “These historic 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.”
Specifically, the organization urged leaders from the House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee to provide at least $16.76 billion for public transportation and $7.2 billion for passenger freight rail in the THUD Appropriations Act. When combined with the FY 2022 advance appropriations in the IIJA, the THUD funding would reach $21.0 billion for public transit and $20.4 billion for passenger rail investment authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
APTA also asked that RAISE grants and other similar programs in the bill be fully funded, noting that these investments help communities create resilient, multimodal transportation systems that meet today’s challenges of mobility and climate change.
“With enactment of the THUD Appropriations Act, Congress has an unparalleled opportunity to honor the promise of the most ambitious infrastructure package of our time,” APTA said.