Last week President Biden released his fiscal year (FY) 2022 Discretionary Budget request, outlining his Administration’s priorities for the next fiscal year’s budget, including $1.52 trillion of discretionary spending for FY22, including $25.6 of discretionary funding for the U.S. Department of Transportation. According to APTA, this is a $317 million (or 1.3-percent) increase over FY21 enacted funding.
The President’s Discretionary Budget includes several key public transportation and passenger rail initiatives, including:
- $2.5 billion for Capital Investment Grants, a 23-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level;
- $250 million for grants for transit agencies to purchase low- and no-emission buses. This funding, combined with the assumed $55 million of contract authority of the FAST Act, would provide $305 million for the Low or No Emission Grant Program, a 69-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level;
- $110 million for a new Thriving Communities Initiative Pilot. Designed as a “down payment” on transportation equity, this program aims to “improve access to destinations and foster community vibrancy.”; and
Passenger Rail
- $2.7 billion for Amtrak, a 35-percent increase from the FY 2021 enacted level, to provide improvements and expansion on the Northeast Corridor and throughout the Nation’s passenger rail network; and
- $625 million for a new passenger rail competitive grant program to invest in passenger rail.