| The Honorable Patty Murray Chair Committee on Appropriations U.S. Senate Room S-128, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 |
The Honorable Susan Collins Vice Chairman Committee on Appropriations U.S. Senate Room S-146A, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 |
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| The Honorable Tom Cole Chairman Committee on Appropriations U.S. House of Representatives H-307, The Capitol Washington, DC 20515 |
The Honorable Rosa DeLauro Ranking Member Committee on Appropriations U.S. House of Representatives 1036 Longworth House Office Building Washington, DC 20515 |
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Dear Chair Murray, Vice Chairman Collins, Chairman Cole, and Ranking Member DeLauro:
On behalf of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), which represents a $79 billion-dollar public transportation industry that provides mobility for millions of Americans each year, directly employs 430,000 people, and supports millions of private-sector jobs, I write to urge you to appropriate at least $57.5 million of emergency appropriations to the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Public Transportation Emergency Relief program (49 U.S.C. § 5324). This emergency funding is necessary to help public transit agencies offset the significant costs of providing emergency transportation services, rebuilding damaged infrastructure, and replacing vehicles destroyed by Hurricanes Helene and Milton, and other recent natural disasters.
Over the past several months, APTA has been conducting outreach to public transit agencies across the nation to identify unmet recovery funding needs from natural disasters, including Hurricanes Helene and Milton. These needs are reflected in President Biden’s November 18, 2024 letter to Congress that requests $57.5 million for the Public Transportation Emergency Relief program.
Providing this emergency funding would support disaster recovery for public transit agencies in at least 14 States: California, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Montana, North Carolina, New York, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia, Washington, and West Virginia.
Since 2012, Congress, in four separate emergency appropriations acts, has provided assistance to public transit agencies to respond to and recover from natural disasters.1 In the wake of the devastating recent hurricanes and other natural disasters, we urge Congress to provide at least $57.5 million of emergency appropriations to FTA’s Public Transportation Emergency Relief program. This emergency relief will offset public transit agencies’ significant costs for disaster response, recovery, and rebuilding activities.
If you have any questions regarding this request, please have your staff contact Ward McCarragher, Vice President, Government Affairs and Advocacy, at wmccarragher@apta.com.
Thank you for your consideration.
Sincerely,
Paul P. Skoutelas
President and CEO
cc: The Honorable Brian Schatz, Chair, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Cindy Hyde-Smith, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate
The Honorable Steve Womack, Chair, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives
The Honorable Mike Quigley, Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives
Members, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate
Members, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives
1 See APTA FACT SHEET Public Transportation Emergency Relief Program (11.25.2024).
