Senate passes American Rescue Plan, includes $30.5B in funding for transit

The U.S. Senate passed an amended version of H.R. 1319, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, by a vote of 50-49 on March 6.

The bill provides $30.5 billion in COVID-19 emergency funding to help public transit agencies, according to a legislative update from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

Senators filed several amendments to cut, transfer or eliminate the emergency public transit and Amtrak funding. Very few of these amendments received roll call votes and none of them passed.

The U.S. House of Representatives is expected to consider the amended bill tomorrow. If the House passes the bill without further change, the legislation will be sent to President Joe Biden and he is expected to sign it, according to APTA.

Here is APTA’s list of Capital Investment Grant (CIG) projects eligible for funding under the Senate amendment to the bill.