Sponsors (2)
The bill redirects federal transportation funding away from streetcars—reducing federal fiscal exposure and freeing funds for other priorities—at the cost of blocking planned streetcar projects, shifting costs to localities, reducing urban transit options, and potentially weakening local air‑quality strategies.
State and local governments (and taxpayers) will no longer be able to use federal STBG, CMAQ, 5307, or 5309 funds on streetcars, freeing those federal dollars to be spent on other road or transit priorities.
Taxpayers and the federal government face reduced fiscal risk because the bill limits federal exposure to cost overruns and long‑term operating subsidies for streetcar projects funded with federal grants.
Cities, transit agencies, transportation workers, and local taxpayers lose access to key federal funds for streetcar procurement, operation, and maintenance, making planned projects harder to build or operate and increasing the likelihood of cancellations, service cuts, or local cost-shifts.
Residents in urban areas would face fewer transit options and reduced local connectivity and economic development benefits where streetcars were planned.
Redirecting or prohibiting CMAQ and other funds from streetcar projects could undermine local air-quality and emissions-reduction strategies that relied on streetcars, reducing expected environmental benefits.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Bars use of specified federal surface transportation and transit grant funds for procurement, operation, or maintenance of streetcars.
Prohibits the use of federal surface transportation formula and grant funds for streetcar projects. The bill amends several federal programs to bar apportioned or grant funds from being used to procure, operate, or maintain streetcars, applying a “notwithstanding any other provision” rule to ensure the prohibition overrides other language. The change affects multiple existing programs that provide federal support for urban transit and congestion mitigation, removing streetcars as an eligible use of Surface Transportation Block Grant, CMAQ, Urbanized Area Formula Grants, and Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants funds.
Official title: To amend title 23 and title 49, United States Code, to prohibit funds from certain programs to be used to fund streetcars, and for other purposes.
Introduced June 6, 2025 by Scott Perry · Last progress June 6, 2025