The Trump administration continues to discuss the release of a formal proposal on its infrastructure initiative. While Congress is likely to be preoccupied with other issues in the near term, rumors about the release of an administration proposal in the coming month persist. Members of the President’s National Economic Council (NEC), which has been tasked with advancing the issue, are scheduled to meet with a group of stakeholders on Wednesday, August 30, and also with a separate delegation from APTA’s leadership on Friday, September 1. APTA is working to ensure that the importance of public transportation is raised by our industry partners at the August 30 meeting.

However, given the administration’s posture toward federal public transportation programs to date, it is more important than ever that we continue to urge Congress to include public transportation in any infrastructure bill. Congress will ultimately have to negotiate the details of any infrastructure plan proposed by the President, and we need to tell them clearly that transit is an essential part of the nation’s surface transportation system and that any federal effort to invest in the nation’s infrastructure must include public transportation investment. Please help us in our efforts and reach out to your Congressional delegation today!

The U.S. DOT has estimated a backlog of nearly $90 billion just to bring existing transit facilities into a state of good repair as the pipeline of new and expanded capacity projects continues to grow. APTA has developed recommendations on a federal infrastructure initiative, recommendations on ways to better use innovative financing mechanisms for public transportation, and regulatory streamlining recommendations​ for federal transit programs. APTA believes that any new federal infrastructure initiative should complement and build on programs authorized by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and that direct federal funding must serve as the foundation of any new initiative.

As always, please contact APTA’s government affairs team​ for more information.

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