The National Campaign for Transit Justice and 115 partner organizations sent the following letter to Speaker Mike Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries:
Dear Speaker Johnson and Leader Jeffries:
We are writing to express our deep concern about the FY2027 (FY27) Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development (THUD) appropriations bill reported by the House Appropriations Committee on June 3, 2026. With gas prices at historically high levels, this bill slashes programs that support more affordable ways of getting around such as public transportation, taking away relief that could ease the burden on family budgets. This bill is a disservice to the 36 percent of Americans who do not regularly drive a car, and it should be rejected.
The FY27 THUD bill cuts transit funding by $4.6 billion, or 22 percent, from FY2026. The bill provides only $737 million for new transit lines under the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program, a cut of $2.6 billion, or 78 percent, from FY2026. This falls short of the funding levels authorized under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which Congress should be maintaining, not abandoning. Other programs that support safe and resilient infrastructure – such as the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP), the Healthy Streets Program, the Reconnecting Communities Program, and the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program (SS4A) – are left out completely.
This bill will not deliver safe and affordable transportation options for Americans. A recent study of transit in cities around the world found that Americans have far less access to transit service than residents of many other countries. The study found that America could achieve world-class transit in every state by significantly increasing our investment over the next 20 years, starting with a FY27 federal investment of $32.2 billion, including both capital and operating funds, with $8 billion dedicated to the CIG program. Instead of cutting the federal investment, Congress should be making a real commitment to delivering the transit service Americans deserve.
As it stands, this bill would cause costly delays or even cancellation of projects to build new rapid bus and rail lines in communities across the country. Projects in Austin, Broward County, Cleveland, Columbus, Los Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis, Montgomery County (MD), Nassau County, Portland (OR), Raleigh, Salt Lake City, San Antonio, San Francisco, San Jose, and Tucson could be ready for federal funding during the coming year. This bill would stop those projects in their tracks, costing construction jobs and forcing millions of Americans to continue paying the rising price of gasoline.
When transportation options are limited, people lose economic opportunities; their health and well-being suffer. When transportation options are plentiful and affordable to all, communities thrive. We need a bill that empowers people to participate fully in their communities through robust investments in programs that support transit, walking, and biking. This bill fails on all counts, and we urge you to reject it.
Sincerely,
National Campaign for Transit Justice, LeeAnn Hall
America Walks, Mike McGinn
Transportation for America, Elisa Ramirez
National Association of City Transportation Officials (NACTO), Josh Naramore
Natural Resources Defense Council, Shruti Vaidyanathan
League of American Bicyclists, Caron Whitaker
Sierra Club, Katherine Garcia
Union of Concerned Scientists, Molly McKinley
Institute for Policy Studies Climate Policy Program, Basav Sen
1000 Friends of Wisconsin, Trevor Roark
Ability360, Tory Rocca
Able South Carolina, Kimberly Tissot
Action For Equity, Mela Bush
Activate St Pete, Max McCann
Active Prince William, Allen Muchnick & Mark Scheufler
Active Transportation Alliance, Jim Merrell
Arkansas Community Organizations, Neil Sealy
Arts2Action, Charles Chamberlain
Better Eugene-Springfield Transportation, Rob Zako
Better Streets Chicago, Kyle Lucas
Bicycle Coalition of Greater Philadelphia, Lana Harshaw
Bike Cleveland, Jacob VanSickle
Bike Durham, John Tallmadge
Bike HoCo – Bicycling Advocates of Howard County, Jack Guarneri
BikeLA, Eli Akira Kaufman
Brooklyn Center for Independence of the Disabled, Joseph G. Rappaport
Capital Streets, James Rath
Car-Lite Long Beach, Kurt Canfield
Catskill Mountainkeeper, Taylor Jaffe
Central Maryland Transportation Alliance, Eric Norton
Chesapeake Climate Action Network (CCAN) Action Fund, Quentin Scott
Chesapeake Physicians for Social Responsibility, Terry Fitzgerald, MD
Clean Air Council, Titania Markland
Clean Power Lake County, Mayra Mendez
Climate Reality Chicago, Tom Coleman
Coalition Against the Mid-States Corridor, Mark Nowotarski
Coalition for Economic Justice, Jamal Davis
Coalition for Responsible Transportation Priorities, Colin Fiske
Coalition for Smarter Growth, Stewart Schwartz
Coltura, Rob Sargent
Democracy for America Advocacy Fund, Charles Chamberlain
Denver Streets Partnership, Jill Locantore
Detroit Greenways Coalition, Todd Scott
East Coast Greenway Alliance, Niles Barnes
East Metro Strong, Will Schroeer
Elmont Cultural Center, Mimi Pierre Johnsonn
Environmental Law & Policy Center, Ann Mesnikoff
Families for Safe Streets New Jersey, Sangeeta Badlani
Foothills Rails-to-Trails Coalition, Breanna Fokes
For the Many, Jonathan Bix
ForeverGreen Trails, Larry Leveen
Greater Greater Washington, Chelsea Allinger
GreenLatinos, Juan Roberto Madrid
Health Equity Partnership of North Central Mass, Chelsey Patriss
Homage Senior Services, Jay Kang
Hudson Catskill Housing Coalition, Quintin E Cross
Law Office of Dennis M Grzezinski, Dennis Grzezinski
League of Conservation Voters (LCV). Darien Davis
Lincoln County Connections, Jennifer Whitesell
Living Independence Network Corporation, Jeremy Maxand
Local Motion, Inc., Christina Erickson
Madison Area Bus Advocates, Susan De Vos
Make the Road New Jersey, Nedia Morsy
Marin County Bicycle Coalition, Warren Wells
Metropolitan Planning Council, Audrey Wennink
Monroe County Legislature, Mercedes Vazquez Simmons
MountainTrue, Susan Bean
Move LA, Eli Lipmen
Move Minnesota, MJ Carpio
Move Redmond, Kelli Refer
Native Organizers Alliance, Judith LeBlanc
New Yorkers for Transportation Equity, Danny Pearlstein
Nikhil Badlani Foundation, Sangeeta Badlani
North Carolina Conservation Network, Dale McKeel
Nu-Voters Movement, Omari Shakur
Open Plans, Sara Lind
Permanent Citizens Advisory Committee to the MTA (PCAC), Lisa Daglian
Pittsburghers for Public Transit, Laura Chu Wiens
Plug In America, Ingrid Malmgren
PSOB Bike Committee, Marsha Hanchrow
Public Rail Now, Tabitha Tripp
Reconnect Rochester, Cody Donahue
Ride Illinois, Dave Simmons
Riders Alliance, Danny Pearlstein
Rise and Resist Elevator Action Group, Jessica Murray
Seamless Bay Area, Adina Levin
Second Cycle Community Bike Shop, Leon Nettels
Southern Environmental Law Center, Garrett Gee
Southwest Energy Efficiency Project, Matt Frommer
Streets For All, Michael Schneider
StreetsPAC, Eric McClure
Sunrise Movement KC, Anthony Cunningham
Sustain Charlotte, Meg Fencil
Sustainable Mobility for Arlington County, Chris Slatt
Tacoma Washington Bicycle Club, Bob Myrick
TakeItBack.Org, Charles Chamberlain
The Clean Air Coalition of Western New York, Bridge Rauch
The Street Trust, Lindsay Huber
The Transit Coalition, Bart Reed
Transbay Coalition, Carter Lavin
Transform, Abibat Rahman-Davies
Transit Alliance Miami, Cathy Dos Santos
Transit Columbus, Stevie Pasamonte
Transit For All PA, Connor Descheemaker
Transit Forward Philadelphia, Stephen Bronskill
Transit Trekker/Downshift Outdoors, Kimberly Huntress-Inskeep
TransitMatters, Caitlin Allen-Connelly
Transportation Choices Coalition, Katy Ricchiuto
Transportation for Massachusetts, Pete Wilson
Transportation Riders United, Megan Owens
Tri-State Transportation Campaign, Renae Reynolds
Urba Habitat, Bob Allen
Virginia Organizing, Brian Johns
WalkMassachusetts, Brendan Kearney
West Line Corridor Collaborative, Michael Hughes