Protect Advance Appropriations for Transit and Rail

As your constituent, I am writing to urge you to protect our national transit and passenger rail infrastructure by ensuring any upcoming Continuing Resolution or budget agreement maintains advance appropriations for surface transportation. A House FY2027 transportation appropriations bill already advancing through committee cuts public transit funding by 22% and Amtrak funding by 69% compared to current levels, according to the American Public Transportation Association. Eliminating advance appropriations specifically accounts for a $7.2 billion reduction on its own. Our local transit systems and national rail network cannot absorb cuts of this scale. Why dropping advance appropriations is harmful: - It guts capital rail projects: The bill zeroes out the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail program and cuts Capital Investment Grant funding by 78%, down to $737 million. Transit agencies have requested $31 billion for 49 construction projects already underway across 23 states. Pulling funding out from under active projects drives up costs and delays completion. - It jeopardizes local economic development: Independent economic analysis by APTA shows that every $1 billion invested in public transit generates $5 billion in long-term economic value and supports roughly 41,400 jobs. Slashing that investment doesn't just delay trains—it directly kills local construction jobs and starves small business corridors. - It worsens an already broken system: Local transit agencies face a national state-of-good-repair backlog exceeding $150 billion. Cutting federal investment now means fewer buses, reduced service frequency, deferred maintenance, and higher fares for working families who rely on transit to get to work. Legislative actions I am urging you to take: 1. Protect advance transportation funding: Insist that any Continuing Resolution or surface transportation extension preserves full advance appropriations at or above current investment levels, rather than allowing them to quietly lapse. 2. Reject backdoor spending cuts: Refuse any short-term funding bill that uses procedural omissions to slash transportation investments authorized under federal law. 3. Pass a full-year THUD bill: Work to pass a bipartisan THUD bill that provides multi-year funding certainty for regional transit authorities and Amtrak, rather than the severe cuts advancing in the House. Please stand up for transit riders and ensure our transportation funding remains intact.