The Senate Committee on Appropriations on July 25 marked up S.4796, the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2025 (THUD Appropriations Act). The bipartisan legislation was reported in a 28-1 vote from the Senate Committee, according to the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).
On July 10 the House Committee on Appropriations marked up its THUD Appropriations bill (H.R. 9028) and approved it on a party-line vote of 31-26.
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill appropriates the “overwhelming majority” of public transit and passenger rail funding authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Specifically, the Senate THUD Appropriations bill, together with the IIJA’s advance appropriations, provides a total of $21.3 billion for public transit in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025, an increase of $439.8 million, or 2.1%, from the FY 2024 enacted level and $1.7 billion more than the House THUD Appropriations bill. The bill, together with the IIJA’s advance appropriations, provides $3.9 billion for Capital Investment Grants (CIG), an increase of $57 million from FY 2024 enacted levels, and $1.5 billion more than the House THUD Appropriations bill.
In addition, the Senate THUD Appropriations bill and IIJA provide $16.7 billion for passenger and freight rail in FY 2025, an increase of $440 million, or 2.7%, from the FY 2024 enacted level, and $703.6 million more than the House THUD Appropriations bill. The bill appropriates $2.63 billion for Amtrak, a significant increase from the House bill.
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill also includes important policy provisions, such as providing a 100% Federal share for § 5310 Enhanced Mobility of Seniors & Individuals with Disabilities and § 5311 Rural Area formula grants obligated in FY 2025. It does not include troubling policy riders, such as prohibiting actions on equity action plans and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions measures, included in the House THUD Appropriations bill.
Passenger Rail
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill and IIJA provide $16.7 billion for passenger and freight rail in FY 2025, an increase of $440.8 million, or 2.7% from the FY 2024 enacted level and $703.6 million more than the House THUD bill (4.4%). This total funding is $3.9 billion (-18.9%) less than the amount authorized in the IIJA.
Specifically, the bill appropriates $2.6 billion for Amtrak grants ($1.6 billion for the National Network and $1 billion for the Northeast Corridor), which is $210 million, or 8.7% more than the FY 2024 enacted level. Conversely, the House THUD Appropriations bill only provided $2.1 billion for Amtrak grants. The legislation also includes $292.8 million for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) Safety and Operations budget, an increase of $25 million, or 9.3%, from FY 2024 enacted levels. The accompanying report, APTA says, calls for increased research into wayside bearing defect detection systems, in line with the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) recommendations from its investigation into the derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill provides $375.8 million for Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) grants, an increase of $176 million, or 88.4%, from the FY 2024 enacted level. The CRISI grants include $75.8 million for Congressionally directed spending for designated CRISI projects. The Senate THUD Appropriations bill also allows CRISI grants to be used for commuter railroad projects that implement or sustain positive train control (PTC) systems. The House THUD Appropriations bill does not authorize any commuter rail project eligibility for CRISI funds.
The Senate bill provides $100 million in additional funding for the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail grants.
Unlike the House bill, the Senate THUD Appropriations bill does not include the controversial policy rider to prohibit any funding for the California High-Speed Rail Authority (CHSRA) project.
Finally, section 154 includes a sense of Congress noting “the importance of long-distance passenger rail routes, particularly for those in rural areas, and the need to sustain such routes and services to ensure connectivity throughout the National Network.”
View APTA’s Passenger Rail Funding Table of the Senate and House THUD Appropriations bills.
U.S. Department of Transportation Programs
The Senate THUD Appropriations bill provides $550 million, in addition to the $1.5 billion of advance appropriations included in the IIJA, for the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) competitive grant program for surface transportation projects, including public transportation and multi-modal projects. This amount equals the FY 2024 additional appropriation. However, the legislation does not provide additional appropriations for the Mega grant program.
House in Recess
The House is currently in recess and will not hold votes until it returns the week of Sept. 9, pausing any immediate action on the House THUD Appropriations bill.
