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BUILD America 250 Act: Public Transportation Investments and Policy Provisions

June 15, 2026

 

BUILD America 250 Act:  Public Transportation Investments and Policy Provisions

BUILD America 250 Act is good first step
APTA urges Congress to increase public transit and passenger rail investment

On May 21 and 22, the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I Committee) considered and approved H.R. 8870, as amended, the “BUILD America 250 Act”, by a recorded vote of 62-2.

The Committee considered an Amendment in the Nature of a Substitute to H.R. 8870, and adopted seven amendments that directly impact the public transit and passenger rail industry. View APTA Fact Sheet H.R. 8870 Public Transportation Amendments Adopted.

In addition, during Committee consideration, APTA actively opposed 10 amendments offered by Representative Scott Perry (R-PA) that attacked public transit investment and policies (e.g, amendment to repeal Capital Investment Grants, amendment to prohibit universal fare-free transit policies). Each of these Perry amendments failed by recorded votes.

Public Transit and Passenger Rail Investments

H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act, is a good first step, but Congress needs to increase the bill’s public transit and passenger rail investment levels (including guaranteed funding) prior to consideration by the House of Representatives.

        Public Transit

The BUILD America 250 Act authorizes $103.3 billion (including $87.6 billion of guaranteed funding) for public transit over five years (FY 2027 – FY 2031). The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) authorization baseline is $119.9 billion (including $101.6 billion of guaranteed funding) for public transit. The BUILD America 250 Act cuts public transit investment by $16.5 billion (including $14.0 billion of guaranteed funding) (-14%) over five years compared to the IIJA authorization baseline.

View APTA’s H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act, Funding Table (Public Transit)

        Passenger Rail

H.R. 8870 authorizes $64.3 billion (with no guaranteed funding) for passenger rail over five years. The IIJA authorization baseline is $112.9 billion (including $71.0 billion of guaranteed funding) for passenger rail. The BUILD America 250 Act cuts passenger rail investment by $48.7 billion (-43%) and provides no guaranteed funding over five years compared to the IIJA authorization baseline.

View APTA’s H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act Funding Table (Passenger Rail)

Prior to the House T&I Committee markup, APTA sent a May 20 letter to Committee leaders commending the bipartisan bill as a good first step. However, the letter also urges the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and the Committee on Appropriations to ensure that the BUILD America 250 Act, when considered by the House of Representatives, builds upon current investment levels (including guaranteed funding) for public transit and passenger rail to drive job creation, innovation, and our economy. Every $1 invested in public transportation generates $5 in long-term economic returns.

APTA continues to aggressively advocate for the investment levels outlined in APTA’s 2026 Surface Transportation Authorization Recommendations. We urge Congress to invest $138 billion for public transit and $130 billion for passenger rail over five years. These investments will help address the more than $150 billion state-of-good-repair backlog, meet the growing mobility demands in our communities, and drive innovation and new technologies to enhance safety, security, and the rider experience.

APTA’s analysis, as depicted in the public transit and passenger rail funding tables, compares the BUILD America 250 Act’s public transit and passenger rail investments to the IIJA authorization baseline. APTA calculates the IIJA authorization baseline for FY 2027 through FY 2031 by adjusting the FY 2026 IIJA authorization amounts for inflation annually pursuant to the Congressional Budget Office’s Consumer Price Index estimates.

Public Transit and Passenger Rail Policy Provisions

APTA greatly appreciates that the BUILD America 250 Act includes many APTA Policy Recommendations to accelerate project delivery by eliminating statutory and regulatory barriers to advancing public transit and passenger rail projects. These policy initiatives include:

  • Reforming Capital Investment Grants;
  • Authorizing advance acquisition of real property for public transit and passenger rail projects;
  • Allowing large public transit agencies to assume responsibility for certain NEPA actions (e.g., approving Categorical Exclusions);
  • Authorizing public transit agencies to determine the number of spare vehicles necessary for their fleets without the limitation of FTA’s one-size-fits-all spare ratio policy; and
  • Expanding the authorities for innovative procurement to include goods, technologies, and software services.

Finally, in the May 20 letter, APTA outlines several key policy areas of significant concern with the BUILD America 250 Act, including:

  • Establishing a Consolidated State Block Grant Program;
  • Limiting the Federal contribution for bus procurements; and
  • Imposing new mandates on States and local public transit agencies, such as mandating fully enclosed bus workstations.

Smart Guide to Surface Transportation Authorization

At the APTA Rail Conference, APTA staff will be discussing specific investment and policy provisions of the BUILD America 250 Act and APTA’s advocacy strategy. We strongly encourage you to participate in the APTA Legislative Committee meeting on Sunday, June 28, 2:00 – 3:30 p.m. ET. The meeting will include opportunities to participate in person or virtually.

In addition, you will find the BUILD America 250 Act, Funding Tables, APTA Fact Sheets, and more on the APTA Smart Guide to Surface Transportation Authorization.