While we await further activity on the Biden Administration’s American Jobs Plan proposal – which House Speaker Nancy Pelosi hopes to have passed Congress by July 4 – as well as insights on how it will interact with reauthorization of the FAST Act, some key developments & events have occurred in Washington impacting transit nationwide.

First, U.S. Senators Chuck Schumer (the Majority Leader, from New York) and Sherrod Brown (Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, Ohio) introduced the Clean Transit For America Plan, which would provide $73 billion in additional investment for a 100% zero-emmissions transit bus & cutaway fleet. It’s possible the measure may be combined with the American Jobs Plan. Analysis can be found here.

Meanwhile, this past Tuesday (May 11), FTA Acting Administrator Nuria Fernandez appeared before a Senate Banking Committe hearing ahead of a vote to confirm her in the Administrator role. A video of the hearing and her prepared remarks are available here.

Additionally, FTA has selected consultant and digital services provider ICF to automate and update the National Transit Database (NTD), improving data visibility, analysis and tracking. Details on the project can be found here.

Finally, on May 6th, the House T&I Committee’s Railroads Subcommittee held a hearing on high-speed rail in the U.S., including Texas Central Railway CEO Carlos Aguilar. Video & testimony from the hearing are provided here.

States

Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Kansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Texas