President Obama's 2012 budget recommendation contains significant good news for public transportation investment.  The budget requests $129 billion in funding for the Department of Transportation, including $22.4 billion for public transportation programs and $8 billion for high-speed rail for Fiscal Year 2012.  These increases are part of a proposed $50 billion boost in infrastructure funding to help create jobs and stimulate the economy.  The recommendation must be approved by the U.S. House of Representatives and the Senate.

The president's budget request also contains a proposal for a new six-year surface transportation authorization bill (FY 2012-2017) that would significantly increase investment for all surface transportation programs.  The administration's proposal calls for an investment of $119 billion for transit programs (a 128 percent increase over SAFETEA-LU) and $53 billion for a new high-speed rail program over the six-year period. 

It would use a new surface transportation trust fund to finance almost all the programs included in the bill, making spending for those programs mandatory, rather than discretionary.  The budget also calls for restructuring the federal transit program by distributing funds under new program headings and consolidating several existing programs.  The proposal does not provide a revenue mechanism for funding the increased investment.

APTA President William Millar said in a statement: "We applaud President Obama for his leadership and vision in making public transportation and high-speed rail programs a high national priority."

For more details on the budget, see APTA's Legislative Update and the next issue of Passenger Transport.

Funding for "New Starts" Projects
President Obama's proposal recommends a record $3.2 billion for 27 transit construction projects, including $569.3 million for 10 rail and bus rapid transit infrastructure projects, and an additional $1.4 billion for 11 projects recommended but left out of previous budgets, according to the FTA. The 10 projects are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Michigan, Oregon, Texas, Utah, and Washington.  In addition to transit projects that have not yet been funded, the budget also would provide $835.4 million for the continued funding of seven transit-rail projects already operating or under construction in New York City, Dallas, Salt Lake City, Seattle, and northern Virginia.

FY 2011 Budget -- Decreased Investment
The House is expected to vote today on a Continuing Resolution (CR) to fund the federal government through the end of the current fiscal year.  If adopted, the legislation would reduce spending for several transportation programs, including high-speed rail, New Starts, and positive train control.  Once the House passes the bill it will need to negotiate final spending levels for the remainder of the year with the Senate and the Obama administration.  The current CR expires on March 4, but it is expected an additional short-term CR will be required to keep the government running until a deal can be reached.  APTA has strongly opposed these reductions.

APTA Statement on High-Speed Rail
In response to this week's announcement regarding Florida's intent to return federal high-speed rail dollars, APTA released a statement on Feb. 16.  In it, APTA President William Millar noted that 28 states are forging ahead in planning and implementing high-speed and intercity passenger rail improvements.  "These states," he said, "recognize the critical importance of investing to create a modern, intermodal 21st century transportation system to accommodate expected population and economic growth.  This investment is expanding the rail industry in the United States and will lead to hundreds of thousands of much-needed American jobs."  

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