WASHINGTON, D.C. (February 11, 2022) – Today, the American Public Transportation Association (APTA) sent a letter urging Congress to fully fund the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), upholding the promise of the historic investments authorized in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
“We urge Congress to honor the promise of the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and provide funding levels at least equal to the IIJA’s public transportation and passenger rail investments for Fiscal Year 2022,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “These historic investments will enable our communities to provide access to opportunities and create family-wage jobs, advance equity, tackle climate change, and meet growing and evolving mobility demands.”
Specifically, APTA urges the House and Senate Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies (THUD) Appropriations Subcommittee leaders to provide a total of at least $16.76 billion for public transit and $7.2 billion for passenger and freight rail in the THUD Appropriations Act. When combined with the FY 2022 advance appropriations provided by the IIJA, the THUD funding would fully fund public transit investments of $21.0 billion and passenger rail investments of $20.4 billion as authorized by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.
APTA also requests that RAISE grants and similar programs in the bill are fully funded. These investments will help communities create more resilient, multimodal transportation systems to meet today’s mobility and climate challenges.
With enactment of the THUD Appropriations Act, Congress has an unparalleled opportunity to honor the promise of the most ambitious infrastructure package of our time.
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The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) is a nonprofit international association of 1,500 public- and private-sector organizations which represent a $80 billion industry that directly employs 448,000 people and supports millions of private sector jobs. APTA members are engaged in the areas of bus, paratransit, light rail, commuter rail, subways, waterborne services, and intercity and high-speed passenger rail. This includes: transit systems; planning, design, construction, and finance firms; product and service providers; academic institutions; transit associations and state departments of transportation. APTA is the only association in North America that represents all modes of public transportation. APTA members serve the public interest by providing safe, efficient and economical transit services and products.
