Urgent Action Needed
Urge Your Members of Congress to Fully Fund
Public Transit and Passenger Rail
in the FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act
APTA strongly encourages you to urge your Representatives and Senators to honor the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and fully fund public transit and passenger rail in the FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act.
We ask you to join APTA’s email advocacy campaign now!
Bipartisan Topline Appropriations Funding Agreement
Yesterday, Congressional Leaders and President Biden reached an agreement on “topline” funding levels for Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Appropriations. It provides $1.66 trillion for FY 2024 government funding, including $773 billion for non-defense discretionary funding (which includes U.S. Department of Transportation funding) and $886 billion for defense discretionary spending. Speaker of the House Mike Johnson wrote to House Republicans outlining the bipartisan agreement and indicating that it includes an additional $16 billion of spending cuts (including $6.1 billion of COVID-19 emergency funds) to offset the discretionary spending levels. Senate Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries also issued a statement in support of the bipartisan agreement.
With the topline funding agreement, the bipartisan leaders of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations will allocate the funds among the 12 Appropriations Subcommittees and begin writing the appropriations bills.
THUD Appropriations Bill
Under the Further Continuing Appropriations and Other Extensions Act, 2024 (Pub. L. 118-22), the first tranche of four appropriations bills, including the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations bill, expires January 19, 2024. Congress has only 11 days to complete action on the THUD Appropriations bill to prevent a partial government shutdown. For more information on the impacts of a government shutdown on public transit and passenger rail, view APTA’s Government Shutdown Impacts on Public Transportation. The second tranche of eight appropriations bills expires February 2, 2024.
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill provides the overwhelming majority of public transit and passenger rail investments authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. The Senate THUD Appropriations bill, together with the IIJA’s advance appropriations, provides a total of $21.1 billion for public transit in FY 2024, including more than $4 billion for Capital Investment Grants (CIG), and $16.7 billion for passenger and freight rail. The Senate THUD Appropriations bill passed the Senate as part of an appropriations “minibus” package (H.R. 4366) by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 82-15. View APTA’s Legislative Update on the Senate THUD Appropriations bill.
Conversely, the House THUD Appropriations bill significantly cuts public transit and passenger rail below the authorized funding levels of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. It cuts public transit investment by $2.3 billion and passenger rail investment by $2 billion from last year’s funding levels. It slashes CIG funding to the lowest level in two decades. The House THUD Appropriations bill was reported from the Committee on Appropriations on a party-line vote, and the House of Representatives did not vote on final passage of the bill. View APTA’s Legislative Alert on the House THUD Appropriations bill.
Join APTA’s Advocacy Campaign
APTA strongly encourages you to urge your Representatives and Senators to honor the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and fully fund public transit and passenger rail in the FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act.
We ask you to join APTA’s email advocacy campaign now! APTA urges Congress to provide at least $21.6 billion for public transit and $20.2 billion for passenger rail in the FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act. These amounts would honor the promise of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. At a minimum, the final FY 2024 THUD Appropriations Act should adopt the Senate-passed funding amounts of $21.1 billion for public transit and $16.7 billion for passenger rail.
To easily send a pre-written message to your Representatives and Senators, visit the APTA Advocacy Campaign Action Center.
Other Key APTA Advocacy Tools
APTA members have several other key advocacy tools to help them in these efforts, including:
Industry Footprint
APTA’s Industry Footprint is a powerful advocacy tool for the public transportation industry. APTA members and the broader industry can use the Industry Footprint to view important information on public transportation providers, businesses, and funding, organized by state, Congressional District, and state legislative districts. The Footprint contains information on more than 3,000 APTA member locations and 2,600 public transportation industry suppliers and manufacturers. Nearly every Congressional District in the country has either an APTA member, or another public transportation industry supplier.
CIG Project Pipeline Dashboard
APTA’s Capital Investment Grants (CIG) Project Pipeline Dashboard allows the industry to track the progress of projects in the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) CIG pipeline. To date, the Dashboard includes important information on 68 CIG projects with existing full funding grant agreements or seeking CIG funding. APTA’s Dashboard also includes important information on the Members of Congress that represent the areas where each project is located.
My Economic Impact Tool
APTA’s My Economic Impact Tool enables APTA transit agency members to use their budget data to calculate the economic impact of their transit service. The tool uses the same methodology as APTA’s Economic Impact of Public Transportation report and provides APTA members with valuable information to make the case for public transportation to elected officials, stakeholders, and the public. The analysis produces figures for jobs, wages, sales, and value-add supported by transit agency spending. The tool’s reports also help users understand direct and indirect effects on the local economy, as well as the diverse occupational mix of jobs supported by public transit spending.
APTA 2024 Legislative Calendar
The second session of the 118th Congress is underway! To help APTA’s members stay informed and prepare for the year ahead, we have created an APTA Government Affairs 2024 Legislative Calendar detailing Congress’ legislative schedule and APTA’s meetings and conferences. Please note that some of these dates are subject to change, and this calendar will be updated regularly.
