II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3477 

To increase access to higher education by providing public transit grants. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

DECEMBER 12, 2023 

Mr. CASEY (for himself, Mrs. GILLIBRAND, Mrs. SHAHEEN, and Mr. VAN

HOLLEN) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs 

A BILL 

To increase access to higher education by providing public 

transit grants. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Promoting Advance5 ment Through Transit Help to College Act’’ or the 

6 ‘‘PATH to College Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. INCREASING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION 

8 THROUGH PUBLIC TRANSIT GRANTS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 


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1 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi2 ble institution’’ means— 

3 (A) a community college; 

4 (B) a historically Black college or univer5 sity; 

6 (C) a Tribal College or University (as de7 fined in section 316 of the Higher Education 

8 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1059c)); or 

9 (D) a minority-serving institution. 

10 (2) ELIGIBLE RECIPIENT.—The term ‘‘eligible 

11 recipient’’ means a public transit provider that is an 

12 eligible recipient under chapter 53 of title 49, 

13 United States Code, in partnership with 1 or more 

14 eligible institutions. 

15 (3) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI16 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college or 

17 university’’ has the meaning given the term ‘‘part B 

18 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

19 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1061). 

20 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

21 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an eligi22 ble institution under section 371 of the Higher Edu23 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q). 

24 (5) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

25 the Secretary of Transportation. 


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1 (b) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may make grants 

2 under this section to eligible recipients to enable those eli3 gible recipients to carry out projects described in sub4 section (c) to better connect students with transportation 

5 to eligible institutions. 

6 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eligible recipient re7 ceiving a grant under this section shall use grant funds 

8 to carry out one or more of the following activities to bet9 ter connect students with transportation to one or more 

10 of the eligible institutions that are part of the eligible re11 cipient partnership: 

12 (1) Adding bus or rail stops or routes and com13 plementary paratransit service that serve campuses 

14 and connect to surrounding areas or other cities. 

15 (2) Increasing the frequency of service or ad16 justing the time of bus, rail, or paratransit routes to 

17 allow students to get to and from their classes. 

18 (3) Operating costs for service described in 

19 paragraphs (1) and (2) if such costs are eligible 

20 under section 5307 or section 5311 of title 49, 

21 United States Code. 

22 (d) APPLICATION.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible recipient that de24 sires a grant under this section shall submit an ap25 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such manVerDate Sep 11 2014 05:15 Dec 28, 2023 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3477.IS S3477

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1 ner, and containing such information as the Sec2 retary may require, including information on the ex3 tent to which the proposed projects using grant 

4 funds will improve the availability of transit access 

5 for students. 

6 (2) PRIORITY.—In awarding grants under this 

7 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligi8 ble recipient whose partnership includes an eligible 

9 institution with respect to which more than 25 per10 cent of students enrolled in that eligible institution 

11 receive a Federal Pell Grant. 

12 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 (1) CAPITAL PROJECT.—Except as provided in 

14 section 5323(i) of title 49, United States Code, the 

15 Federal share of the net project cost of a capital 

16 project carried out using a grant under this section 

17 shall be not more than 80 percent. 

18 (2) OPERATING COSTS.—The Federal share of 

19 net operating costs for a project carried out using a 

20 grant under this section shall be not more than 50 

21 percent. 

22 (f) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

23 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section— 

24 (1) $2,000,000 for fiscal year 2025; 

25 (2) $4,000,000 for fiscal year 2026; 


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1 (3) $6,000,000 for fiscal year 2027; 

2 (4) $8,000,000 for fiscal year 2028; and 

3 (5) $10,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2029 

4 through 2031. 

Æ 


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