Today (April 9), President Joseph R. Biden, Jr. released his fiscal year (FY) 2022 Discretionary Budget request, outlining his Administration’s priorities for the next fiscal year’s budget. President Biden requests $1.52 trillion of discretionary spending for FY 2022, including $25.6 of discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation. This is a $317 million (or 1.3-percent) increase over FY 2021 enacted funding. However, the overwhelming majority of surface transportation funding for public transit and highways is considered mandatory spending and is not identified in this part of the President’s Budget. The President’s Mandatory Budget will be submitted at a later date.

The President’s Discretionary Budget includes several key public transportation and passenger rail initiatives, including:

Public Transportation

  • $2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants, a 23-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level;
  • $250 million for grants for transit agencies to purchase low- and no-emission buses. This funding, combined with the assumed $55 million of contract authority of the FAST Act, would provide $305 million for the Low or No Emission Grant Program, a 69-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level;
  • $110 million for a new Thriving Communities Initiative Pilot. Designed as a “down payment” on transportation equity, this program aims to “improve access to destinations and foster community vibrancy.”; and

Passenger Rail

  • $2.7 billion for Amtrak, a 35-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level, to provide improvements and expansion on the Northeast Corridor and throughout the Nation’s passenger rail network;
  • $625 million for a new passenger rail competitive grant program to invest in passenger rail; and
  • $375 million for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grants (equal to the FY 2021 enacted level).

The Budget also proposes $1 billion for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants (equal to the FY 2021 enacted level), which can fund both public transit and passenger rail projects.

Please click here to view the President’s FY 2022 Discretionary Budget request. The U.S. Department of Transportation section begins on pg. 44 of the PDF.