Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2026

This bill sets the 2026 budget and rules for the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development, and related agencies. It affects everyday travel, housing, and local projects by attaching clear conditions to how money can be used and by pulling back some unspent funds.

Key points

• Highways: Before any “Buy America” waiver on highway projects, the public must get at least 15 days’ notice online.
• Air travel: FAA can’t quickly close regional operations centers without advance notice; it must keep considering new contract-tower applications; small airports and on-site businesses can be reimbursed when security closures near a President’s residence shut them down.
• Trucking: DOT can’t require speed limiters on heavy trucks.
• Passenger rail: Amtrak overtime is capped at $35,000 per employee unless waived for safety, and Amtrak police staffing can’t drop below earlier levels. Federal money is blocked for certain high‑speed rail projects in California, Texas, and Minnesota; $75 million for an intercity rail program is pulled back.
• Funds pulled back: The bill cancels some unspent money, including $10 million from an infrastructure research program, $86 million from a ship loan program, $40 million from transit grants, and $417 million from lead hazard and healthy homes grants.
• Property rights: Federal money can’t support projects that use eminent domain mainly for private development; using it for roads, transit, utilities, or to remove urgent threats still counts as public use.
• COVID‑19: No funds may be used to enforce a mask mandate.
• Housing: Agencies must follow current federal rules on who may receive federally assisted housing; HUD may not use these funds to update energy‑efficiency rules for new HUD‑financed homes.
• Civil rights rider: The federal government may not penalize a person or group for stating or acting on a sincere belief that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Who is affected and when

• Travelers, truck drivers, airport workers and small airport businesses, Amtrak riders and staff, renters and housing providers, and local governments working on transportation or housing projects.
• Most changes apply to spending for fiscal year 2026.