Sponsor
Eleanor Holmes Norton
Representative · D-DC
Representative · D-DC
The bill directs and clarifies federal support for transit, culvert infrastructure, and road-safety programs—potentially improving safety, flood resilience, and targeted transit funding—while introducing eligibility, administrative, and fiscal uncertainties that could shift funding away from some jurisdictions and complicate access for smaller or nontraditional projects.
Communities nationwide (urban and rural) may see fewer traffic deaths and injuries because aligning SS4A with highway-safety programs encourages more data-driven, coordinated safety projects.
State governments and transit riders in growing or high-density areas could receive larger or better-targeted federal transit apportionments, increasing funding available for transit projects and improved service in those communities.
Local governments and rural communities could obtain federal grants to remove or replace culverts, reducing flood risk and improving drainage for roads and properties.
Changes to apportionment language could produce winners and losers—some states may lose expected transit shares, disrupting planned projects and state transportation budgets.
Altering SS4A cross-references or eligibility could narrow which projects qualify and reduce funding availability for some local safety initiatives.
Smaller or resource-constrained local governments may struggle to compete for culvert and safety grants if the bill lacks clear eligibility, matching, or prioritization criteria.
Based on analysis of 5 sections of legislative text.
Modifies federal transportation statutes: removes DC mention in a transit provision, inserts apportionment language, adds/changes a national culvert grant program, and adjusts an IIJA cross-reference to 23 U.S.C. § 402.
Removes an explicit statutory mention of the District of Columbia from a list in federal transit grant law and makes several targeted changes to federal surface transportation and infrastructure statutes. The bill also adds new or modified statutory language related to formula apportionments, a national culvert grant program, and a cross-reference in the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant provisions, all of which affect how federal transportation grant programs are structured or tied to other highway-safety authorities.
Official title: To amend title 49, United States Code, to treat the District of Columbia as a State for purposes of certain grant programs, and for other purposes.
Introduced January 6, 2026 by Eleanor Holmes Norton · Last progress January 6, 2026