Democratic Senators are going on offense before the holiday break regarding securing infrastructure funding for public transit as the Trump administration is putting more emphasis on roads and bridges.
"This bill will help ensure that transit agencies have the resources they need to provide consistently safe and efficient service to the millions of Americans who depend on public transit every day," said Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D- Md.
Van Hollen teamed up with Sen. John Fetterman, D– Pa., and eight other Democrats to reintroduce the "Moving Transit Forward Act."
The legislation is designed to create U.S. Department of Transportation grants for operating costs and capital projects that would cover cost increases, provide additional service, or address safety issues.
The bill began its journey in 2024 but never made it out of the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs.
Fetterman adds his support as Pittsburgh Regional Transit and the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority are both currently using funds diverted from capital projects to operating budgets.
"Public transit is the backbone of our communities," said Fetterman. "Hundreds of thousands of Pennsylvanians in both red and blue counties rely on these services every day to get where they need to go."
In November, Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro directed the state's Department of Transportation to allocate $219.9 million in additional capital funding to SEPTA to comply with orders from the Federal Railroad Administration and the Federal Transit Administration regarding repairs and safety upgrades.
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The future of transit spending will unfold next year as the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure hammers away on a Surface Transportation Reauthorization.
Sources on Capitol Hill point to markups happening this week on T&I business of an unknown nature.
The committee has already sent clear signals that transportation funding will flow to more traditional purposes like highways as opposed to bike lanes.
Formula funding, which is supported by fuel taxes and user fees may or may not pass through state level DOTs down to municipalities.
The National League of Cities report tracking Bipartisan Infrastructure Law dollars shows municipalities received an estimated $12.7 billion in federal funds for infrastructure projects in the past three years.
According to the NLC, "While municipalities fared well with direct federal funding, cities, towns and villages received minimal funding under pass-through transportation programs, leaving them at a disadvantage for fixing infrastructure assets."
"Federal-to-local direct awards remain the most efficient way to ensure municipal governments receive funding to address infrastructure needs quickly and completely."
The cities leading the way in the federal funding race include San Francisco with twenty grant awards. Washington, D.C., Seattle and Phoenix each scored 18 grants. New York City and Philadelphia each netted 16.
BIL funding is scheduled to expire in October 2026.
