The House and Senate have agreed on a bipartisan transportation funding bill that will carry public transit systems through the end of fiscal 2026. The deal is a mixed bag: public transportation gets a modest boost, but ambitious plans to expand intercity rail take a real hit.
Public transit agencies will see $21.1 billion in funding—a $168 million increase from last year. That's the kind of steady support that keeps buses running and subway systems operating. But the bill cuts more than $500 million from a capital investment grant program that funds light rail, subways, commuter rail, and bus rapid transit projects. It's the difference between maintaining what exists and building what's next.
The cuts to rail expansion are sharper. Amtrak's budget drops by $115 million, and the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Grant Program gets slashed from $1.5 billion to just $65 million. Those weren't abstract numbers—that program was funding the expansion of Chicago Union Station, a new passenger rail corridor between Raleigh and Richmond, and the Brightline West high-speed rail system connecting Las Vegas to Southern California. Each of those projects represented a different vision for how Americans could move between cities.
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Start Your News Detox"There are some wins and some losses," said Jim Mathews, president of the Rail Passengers Association. That's the honest read on what Congress actually delivered.
What Congress is reasserting
The bill also includes a less visible but significant move: Congress is reasserting its oversight role. The Department of Transportation must now notify appropriations committees within 90 days about any grants or contracts that were terminated or scaled back during 2025. The DOT also can't terminate federal awards without following proper procedures. It's a reminder that Congress wants visibility into how transportation money gets spent—and stopped.
The $21.1 billion public transit figure does position agencies to move forward with existing plans. Ward McCarragher, APTA's vice president for government affairs, suggested this funding level creates momentum for Congress to tackle a larger surface transportation authorization bill—the multiyear legislation that funds highway and transit projects across the country. The current five-year program expires September 30, 2026, so that conversation is coming soon.
For now, transit systems can count on stability. For rail expansion, it's a step backward.
