House Appropriations Committee Republican Leaders
Unveil Full-Year Continuing Resolution
In advance of the March 14, 2025 deadline for government funding, House Appropriations Committee Republican Leaders released “H.R. ____, the “Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025”. In general, the full-year Continuing Resolution (CR) funds government programs, including programs of the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Act, through September 30 at the same levels as Fiscal Year (FY) 2024.
The CR, together with Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) advance appropriations, provides $20.9 billion for public transit and $16.2 billion for passenger rail in FY 2025. Under the bill, total public transit investment increases less than one percent and total passenger rail funding decreases less than one percent. The CR does not include funding for new earmarks. (The FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act included $207 million in earmarks for transit projects, which are not affected by this CR.)
House and Senate Appropriations Committee Democratic Leaders are expected to oppose the bill and may propose a short-term CR to allow bipartisan negotiations on government funding to continue. Congress must complete action on a CR by March 14 or the Federal Government, including several U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) agencies, will shut down.
APTA urges Congress to ensure continued operations of the Federal Government and provide full funding for public transit and passenger rail in FY 2025.
Public Transit
The bill, together with IIJA advance appropriations, provides $20.9 billion for public transit in FY 2025, an increase of $82 million (+0.4 percent) from the FY 2024 enacted level. This total funding represents 95 percent of the amount authorized in the IIJA.
The CR includes a special provision to allow public transit formula and competitive grant funding (i.e., contract authority funded by the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund) to increase by $289 million as provided in the IIJA.
The CR and IIJA also provide $3.8 billion for Capital Investment Grants, equal to the FY 2024 funding level. Currently, communities are requesting more than $38.6 billion of CIG funds in FY 2025 and subsequent years to construct 58 projects in 25 states. View APTA’s CIG Project Pipeline Dashboard.
The bill retains important policy provisions enacted in the FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act. First, it blocks the Rostenkowski Test, preventing a possible across-the-board cut of FY 2025 transit formula funds to each public transit agency. It also prohibits DOT from impeding or hindering a project from advancing or approving a project seeking a CIG Federal share of more than 40 percent. Finally, the legislation authorizes projects in the Expedited Project Delivery for CIG Pilot Program to be eligible for funding under the CIG program without further evaluation or rating.
View APTA’s Public Transit Funding Table for FY 2025.
Passenger Rail
The bill, together with IIJA advance appropriations, provides $16.2 billion for passenger and freight rail in FY 2025, a decrease of $99 million (-0.6 percent) from the FY 2024 enacted level. This total funding represents 78 percent of the amount authorized in the IIJA.
The CR and IIJA provide a total of $16.2 billion for passenger rail investments, including:
- $7.3 billion for Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants;
- $6.8 billion for Amtrak grants ($4.5 billion for National Network grants and $2.3 billion for the Northeast Corridor);
- $1.1 billion for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants; and
- $600 million for Railroad Crossing Elimination grants.
The CR does not include any funding for new earmarks. (The FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act included $99 million designated for CRISI grant earmarks, which are not affected by this CR.)
The CR retains important policy provisions enacted in FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act, including authorizing CRISI grants for commuter railroad projects that implement or sustain positive train control systems. It also authorizes CRISI grants for passenger rail planning and project development activities (e.g., preliminary engineering).
View APTA’s Passenger Rail Funding Table for FY 2025.
BUILD Grants and U.S. Department of Transportation Policy Provisions
The CR and IIJA provide $1.8 billion for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) competitive grants for surface transportation projects, including public transportation and multi-modal projects.
The bill retains a provision that prohibits DOT from enforcing a mask mandate in response to the COVID-19 virus in FY 2025.
View H.R. ____, the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act, 2025 and the section-by-section summary of the bill.
