Tomorrow (February 10, at 11:00 a.m. EST), the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure will mark up the Budget Reconciliation Title, which provides $30 billion of COVID-19 emergency funding for public transit and $1.5 billion of emergency funding for Amtrak.
Republican Members of the T&I Committee will offer numerous amendments to transfer, cut, or eliminate the emergency funding for public transit and Amtrak.
APTA strongly opposes all amendments to transfer, cut, or eliminate the $30 billion of COVID-19 emergency transit funding or $1.5 billion of emergency Amtrak funding provided in the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee’s Budget Reconciliation Title.
We encourage you to contact Members of the House T&I Committee and urge them to oppose all amendments to transfer, cut, or eliminate emergency transit funding and emergency Amtrak funding, including:
Public Transit
Gibbs (OH) 019—Cuts transit emergency funding by $10 billion and transfers the funding to highways;
Graves (LA) 010—Authorizes the transfer of transit emergency funding for highway projects;
Graves (LA) 011—Cuts transit emergency funding by $500 million and transfers the funding to port infrastructure grants;
Graves (LA) 022—Cuts transit emergency funding by $500 million and transfers the funding to a new aviation fuel grant program;
Guest (MS) 004—Strikes the 100 percent Federal cost share for transit and other emergency grants;
Nehls (TX) 003—Cuts transit emergency funding by $7.5 billion and eliminates all Amtrak emergency funding ($1.5 billion);
Perry (PA) 008—Eliminates all transit emergency funding ($30 billion); and
Westerman (AR) 004—Cuts transit emergency funding for urbanized area formula grants by $13 billion and transfers the funding to rural formula grants.
Amtrak
Crawford (AR) 007—Eliminates all Amtrak emergency funding ($1.5 billion) and transfers the funding to rail-highway grade crossings;
Perry (PA) 007—Eliminates all Amtrak emergency funding ($1.5 billion);
We continue to review amendments as they are filed and may make additional recommendations.
It is imperative that the House T&I Committee pass this Budget Reconciliation Title and provide $30 billion of COVID-19 emergency relief funding to address a devastated public transportation industry that continues to serve Americans every day. The public transportation industry’s very survival is at stake.
APTA urges the Committee to pass the Budget Reconciliation Title without change—and provide $30 billion of emergency funding for public transit and $1.5 billion of emergency funding for Amtrak.
CALL TO ACTION
We strongly encourage you to contact Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure today and urge Members to oppose all amendments to transfer, cut, or eliminate the $30 billion of COVID-19 emergency transit funding or the $1.5 billion of emergency Amtrak funding provided in the Budget Reconciliation Title.
Please click here to view the House T&I Committee Roster.
To contact T&I Committee Members, please call 202.224.3121.
Please click here to view APTA’s Talking Points.
