On behalf of the more than 1,500 member organizations of the American Public Transportation Association (APTA), I urge you to vote in favor of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017, which represents a bipartisan and bicameral compromise to fund our national priorities.

This appropriations bill would fully fund federal public transportation programs funded by the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund authorized by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, including $199 million in grants for Positive Train Control implementation.

The legislation would also make appropriations for important discretionary general fund programs. We are grateful for the more than $2.4 billion that would be made available for the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. Additionally, we appreciate that this bill would fund the TIGER program, transit security grants, and passenger rail programs, including support for Amtrak.

This omnibus appropriations bill provides much needed certainty to states and transit agencies, follows through on the promises made by the FAST Act, and funds vital public transportation infrastructure projects around the country.

We appreciate the exhaustive work by Congressional leadership and House and Senate Appropriators to reach this significant agreement and urge you to approve this legislation expeditiously.​

​Sincerely,