Today (September 9), APTA, together with a total of 88 national organizations, sent a surface transportation coalition letter to Congressional Leaders urging Congress to provide $32 billion of additional COVID-19 emergency transit funding and to extend the FAST Act surface transportation law for one year. The letter was supported by a broad coalition of surface transportation stakeholders including associations representing public transportation, state departments of transportation, transportation construction contractors, businesses, unions, manufacturers, and suppliers.

Specifically, the letter urges Congress to act before the FAST Act expires on September 30 on three key priorities:

• Provide emergency federal funding for public transit agencies ($32 billion) and state departments of transportation ($37 billion);
• Extend the FAST Act for one year with increased investment levels; and
• Deposit the necessary funds in the Highway Trust Fund to ensure its solvency for at least the duration of the extension.

Please click here to view the letter.

Please click here to view APTA’s Talking Points on the need for additional COVID-19 emergency transit funding.

Please click here to view the Coalition Fact Sheet prepared by the Transportation Construction Coalition, U.S. Chamber of Commerce-led Americans for Transportation Mobility (of which APTA is a leading member), and AASHTO.

Tomorrow, we expect the Senate to consider S. 178, the “Delivering Immediate Relief to America’s Families, Schools and Small Businesses Act”. This bill, which is Senate Republicans’ latest proposed COVID-19 relief package, provides more than $500 billion of economic relief and emergency funding but contains no funding for transportation, including public transportation and passenger rail. Senate Democrats are expected to oppose the bill, likely leaving it well short of the 60 votes necessary for passage. Please click here to view a summary of the bill or click here to view the text of S. 178.

APTA continues to aggressively advocate for additional COVID-19 emergency funding and extension of the FAST Act. We urge you to contact your Senators and Representatives to advocate for at least $32 billion of additional COVID-19 emergency transit funding.

House Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials Holds Hearing on Amtrak’s COVID-19 Response

Earlier today, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure’s Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines, and Hazardous Materials held a hearing entitled Amtrak’s Response to COVID-19. The Committee heard testimony from Amtrak’s President and CEO, Amtrak union leaders, and the Rail Passenger Association. Please click here to view a recording of the subcommittee hearing.

APTA’s Capital Investment Grants Project Pipeline Dashboard

APTA tracks projects participating in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program and the specific project allocations provided by FTA. APTA’s CIG Project Pipeline Dashboard allows you to view each project in the CIG pipeline and its current status, including projects with executed full funding grant agreements that require allocations. This important advocacy tool allows you to see, collectively, how much funding remains unallocated by project type and the unmet need that remains for current pipeline projects. Currently, Congress needs to provide nearly $23 billion to the CIG program to fully fund all projects in the pipeline and those projects with grant agreements. Please click here to view APTA’s CIG Project Pipeline Dashboard.

Coalition Letter on 5.9 GHz Spectrum

Yesterday, APTA joined 49 coalition partners in sending a letter to White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows asking him to work with the Department of Transportation and the transportation community to ensure that the Federal Communications Commission does not reallocate spectrum in the 5.9 GHz band that is currently reserved for transportation safety. Please click here to view the 5.9 GHz Spectrum letter