I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7039 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to provide 

grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating support costs of public 

transportation, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JANUARY 18, 2024 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. ADAMS, Mr. AUCHINCLOSS, Ms. 

BARRAGA ́N, Mrs. BEATTY, Mr. BISHOP of Georgia, Mr. BLUMENAUER, 

Ms. BLUNT ROCHESTER, Mr. BOWMAN, Mr. BOYLE of Pennsylvania, Ms. 

BROWN, Ms. BUSH, Mr. CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARSON, Mrs. CHERFILUSMCCORMICK, Mr. COHEN, Mr. DAVIS of Illinois, Ms. DELBENE, Mr. 

ESPAILLAT, Mr. EVANS, Mrs. FOUSHEE, Mr. FROST, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Ms. GARCIA of Texas, Mr. GOLDMAN of New York, Mr. GOMEZ, Mr. 

GRIJALVA, Ms. NORTON, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. IVEY, Mr. JACKSON of Illinois, Ms. JACKSON LEE, Ms. JAYAPAL, Ms. KAMLAGER-DOVE, Mr. 

KRISHNAMOORTHI, Ms. LEE of California, Ms. LEE of Pennsylvania, Mr. 

LYNCH, Ms. MCCLELLAN, Ms. MENG, Ms. MOORE of Wisconsin, Mr. 

MOULTON, Mr. MULLIN, Mr. NADLER, Mrs. NAPOLITANO, Ms. OCASIOCORTEZ, Ms. OMAR, Mr. PAYNE, Ms. PELOSI, Ms. ROSS, Mr. RUPPERSBERGER, Ms. SALINAS, Ms. SA ́NCHEZ, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. SCHIFF, 

Ms. STANSBURY, Mr. THANEDAR, Ms. TITUS, Ms. TLAIB, Mr. TORRES

of New York, Mr. VARGAS, Mr. VASQUEZ, Ms. VELA ́ZQUEZ, Mrs. WATSON COLEMAN, Ms. WILSON of Florida, and Ms. PORTER) introduced the 

following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Transportation 

and Infrastructure 

A BILL 

To amend title 49, United States Code, to establish a program to provide grants to eligible recipients for eligible 

operating support costs of public transportation, and for 

other purposes. 


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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 ‘‘Stronger Communities 

5 through Better Transit Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PRO7 GRAM. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 53 of title 49, United 

9 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5307 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘§ 5308. High quality transit operating support pro12 gram 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Transportation 

14 shall establish a program under which the Secretary may 

15 make grants to eligible recipients to enhance mobility and 

16 improve environmental sustainability through investing in 

17 public transportation service improvements. 

18 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—For each fiscal 

19 year, the Secretary shall allocate funding as follows: 

20 ‘‘(1) Each urbanized area, State, and Indian 

21 Tribe that is an eligible recipient shall receive an ap22 portionment based on data contained in the National 

23 Transit Database such that— 

24 ‘‘(A) each urbanized area shall receive an 

25 amount equal to 50 percent of the urbanized 


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1 area’s average annual operating costs over the 

2 3-year period preceding such fiscal year; 

3 ‘‘(B) each State shall receive an amount 

4 equal to 50 percent of the subrecipients in such 

5 State under section 5311 average operating 

6 costs over the 3-year period preceding such fis7 cal year; and 

8 ‘‘(C) each Indian Tribe shall receive an 

9 amount equal to 50 percent of the Indian 

10 Tribe’s average operating costs over the 3-year 

11 period preceding such fiscal year. 

12 ‘‘(2) For funds remaining after the apportion13 ment described in paragraph (1), such funds shall be 

14 apportioned such that each urbanized area, State, 

15 and Indian Tribe that is an eligible recipient shall 

16 receive an apportionment equal to the proportion of 

17 all operating costs reported to the National Transit 

18 Database over the 3-year period preceding the fiscal 

19 year in which such funds are apportioned. 

20 ‘‘(3) In any given year, no urbanized area, 

21 State, or Indian Tribe may receive an apportionment 

22 under this subsection that is greater than 80 percent 

23 of the average operating costs over the 3-year period 

24 preceding the fiscal year in which such funds are ap25 portioned. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Eligible recipients may use 

3 funding provided under this section for operating 

4 costs associated with projects eligible under this 

5 chapter and title 23 that improve public transpor6 tation service for transit dependent populations and 

7 support increased transit ridership, including— 

8 ‘‘(A) projects that decrease headways; 

9 ‘‘(B) projects for new or expanded service 

10 area, hours, or days; 

11 ‘‘(C) projects to improve transit reliability 

12 or travel time savings, including transit 

13 prioritization; 

14 ‘‘(D) IT enhancements to improve cus15 tomer information and customer and employee 

16 safety such as implementation of real-time tran17 sit data; 

18 ‘‘(E) projects to support seamless complete 

19 trips, including— 

20 ‘‘(i) projects to improve transit net21 work connectivity; 

22 ‘‘(ii) signage and wayfinding; 

23 ‘‘(iii) fare coordination; and 

24 ‘‘(iv) multimodal payment integration; 


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1 ‘‘(F) service planning related to funding 

2 provided under this section, including planning 

3 to address changing demographics, changing 

4 travel movement, network redesign (including 

5 the implementation of a plan that results in a 

6 net increase in service hours across a region, 

7 subregion, or study area), and accommodating 

8 essential service trips (including service trips 

9 for employment, healthcare facilities, child care, 

10 education and workforce training, food sources, 

11 banking and other financial institutions, and 

12 other retail shopping establishments); 

13 ‘‘(G) measuring access to work and essen14 tial services, particularly for non-drivers, for the 

15 purpose of developing projects to be funded 

16 under this section, including data acquisition 

17 and acquiring outside support for conducting 

18 analysis of such data; 

19 ‘‘(H) measures to enhance customer sense 

20 of safety and security, including public safety 

21 measures and outreach to unhoused persons in 

22 the transit system; 

23 ‘‘(I) initiatives to improve the transit envi24 ronment, such as additional or enhanced clean25 ing; and 


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1 ‘‘(J) workforce development initiatives nec2 essary to improve or maintain service. 

3 ‘‘(2) NO EFFECT ON OTHER LAWS.—The use of 

4 funds from this section for operating costs of 

5 projects described in paragraph (1) may not affect 

6 the eligibility of such projects to receive funding 

7 from other sections of this chapter or title 23. 

8 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENT.—A preponderance of a grant 

9 received by a recipient under this section in a fiscal year 

10 shall be used for projects that benefit underserved commu11 nities or areas of persistent poverty. 

12 ‘‘(e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Federal share of a 

14 project or program carried out using a grant award15 ed under this section shall be not greater than 50 

16 percent. 

17 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL SHARE FOR OPERATING EX18 PENSES.—In the case that a project includes both 

19 operating components funded from this section and 

20 non-operating components, the Federal share for op21 erating components shall be 50 percent and for non22 operating components shall be consistent with the 

23 requirements of the funding source for those compo24 nents. 


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1 ‘‘(3) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN

2 AREAS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Fed3 eral share of an operating assistance component of 

4 a project or program carried out in an area of per5 sistent poverty or an underserved community using 

6 a grant awarded under this section shall be not 

7 greater than 80 percent. 

8 ‘‘(4) FEDERAL SHARE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.— 

9 Notwithstanding paragraphs (1) through (3), for In10 dian Tribes receiving funding allocated under sub11 section (b)(1)(C), the Federal share of a project or 

12 program carried out using a grant awarded under 

13 this section shall be 100 percent. 

14 ‘‘(5) IN KIND MATCH.—Of the non-Federal 

15 share required under this subsection, 25 percent 

16 may be derived from amounts (other than amounts 

17 received from the Federal Transit Administration) 

18 expended for associated capital improvements related 

19 to a project or program carried out using a grant 

20 awarded under this section. 

21 ‘‘(f) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—An amount appor22 tioned under this section may be obligated by the recipient 

23 for 2 years after the fiscal year in which the amount is 

24 apportioned. Not later than 30 days after the end of the 

25 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the end 


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1 of that period shall be added to the amount that may be 

2 apportioned under this section in the following fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(g) CONDITIONS FOR OPERATING ASSISTANCE.—As 

4 a condition of receiving a grant under this section, an eli5 gible recipient shall— 

6 ‘‘(1) in the case of a recipient in an urbanized 

7 area— 

8 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 

9 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

10 Transit Database— 

11 ‘‘(i) service frequency and revenue ve12 hicle hours, including revenue vehicle hours 

13 and unlinked passenger trips originating 

14 and terminating in areas of persistent pov15 erty and underserved communities, to16 gether with such other specific data as the 

17 Secretary shall find necessary and appro18 priate; and 

19 ‘‘(ii) the number of jobs and essential 

20 services accessible by transit, and improve21 ment in such access, including specific re22 porting on access by transit for areas of 

23 persistent poverty and underserved com24 munities; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 

2 surveyed, within the past year and at least 

3 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 

4 as well as non-riding residents of areas of per5 sistent poverty and underserved communities 

6 regarding transit service improvements, using 

7 means designed to maximize participation from 

8 both riders and non-riders, and has published 

9 the survey in an online format; 

10 ‘‘(2) in the case of a recipient that is an Indian 

11 Tribe— 

12 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 

13 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

14 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours and 

15 unlinked passenger trips, together with such 

16 other specific data as the Secretary shall find 

17 necessary and appropriate; and 

18 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 

19 surveyed, within the past year and at least 

20 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 

21 as well as non-riding residents of the Tribe’s 

22 service area regarding transit service improve23 ments, using means designed to maximize par24 ticipation from both riders and non-riders, and 


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1 has published the survey in an online format; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(3) in the case of a recipient that is a State 

4 or other possession receiving assistance under sec5 tion 5311— 

6 ‘‘(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 

7 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

8 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours for 

9 each subrecipient receiving assistance under 

10 this section, including revenue vehicle hours and 

11 unlinked passenger trips originating and termi12 nating in areas of persistent poverty and under13 served communities, together with such other 

14 specific data as the Secretary shall find nec15 essary and appropriate; 

16 ‘‘(B) provide an annually updated report to 

17 the Secretary identifying those underserved 

18 communities and areas of persistent poverty in 

19 the non-urbanized areas of the State or posses20 sion that do not have any reported public tran21 sit services, or in which either the availability or 

22 utilization of rural public transit is in the bot23 tom quintile as compared to all rural public 

24 transit services in the United States, using such 

25 measurements as shall be identified by the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:13 Feb 05, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7039.IH H7039

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1 retary, together with annually updated progress 

2 toward achieving the State’s or possession’s 

3 strategy for establishing high-quality transit 

4 service in these unserved and underserved com5 munities and areas of persistent poverty; and 

6 ‘‘(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient 

7 of the State or possession has surveyed, within 

8 the past year and at least every 2 years there9 after, current transit riders as well as non10 riding residents of areas of persistent poverty 

11 and underserved communities within the sub-re12 cipient’s service area regarding transit service 

13 improvements, using means designed to maxi14 mize participation from both riders and non-rid15 ers, and has published the survey in an online 

16 format. 

17 ‘‘(h) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

18 date of enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue 

19 such regulations as are necessary to carry out the program 

20 established under subsection (a), including defining the 

21 terms ‘preponderance of a grant’, and ‘access to jobs and 

22 essential service’ for purposes of this section and taking 

23 into account any necessary difference in the definition of 

24 such terms required for urbanized areas, rural areas lo25 cated near urbanized areas, and remote rural areas. 


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1 ‘‘(i) ACCESS MEASUREMENT.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro3 gram under this section, the Secretary shall set up 

4 a multimodal access measurement interface that is 

5 open to any public agency through the program 

6 under section 5505 to aid transit agencies in deter7 mining and reporting on access to jobs and essential 

8 services. 

9 ‘‘(2) INTERIM DATA.—Until the access meas10 urement interface under paragraph (1) is estab11 lished, an eligible recipient may use other data 

12 sources to determine and report on access to jobs 

13 and essential services. 

14 ‘‘(j) MAINTENANCE OF EFFORT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days 

16 after the beginning of each fiscal year, recipients of 

17 funds under this section shall certify to the Sec18 retary that such recipients will, with funding pledged 

19 by all sources, maintain effort with regard to transit 

20 service. As part of such certification, the transit 

21 agency shall submit to the Secretary a statement 

22 identifying the amount of funds from all sources 

23 (other than funds provided under this section and 

24 related non-Federal match) expended on transit op25 erations during the prior fiscal year, and the amount 


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1 expected to be expended on transit operations from 

2 all sources during the current fiscal year. 

3 ‘‘(2) FAILURE TO MAINTAIN EFFORT.—If a re4 cipient of funds under this section is unable to main5 tain the level of effort certified pursuant to para6 graph (1) for any fiscal year, the amount such re7 cipient would have received under this section in the 

8 following fiscal year shall be reduced by one-third. 

9 ‘‘(k) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec10 tion shall be construed to prevent an eligible recipient 

11 from increasing service through the use of any other Fed12 eral or non-Federal funds. 

13 ‘‘(l) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

14 authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $20,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2024 through 

16 2027. 

17 ‘‘(m) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

18 ‘‘(1) AREAS OF PERSISTENT POVERTY.—The 

19 term ‘area of persistent poverty’ means— 

20 ‘‘(A) a county that has consistently had 

21 greater than or equal to 20 percent of the pop22 ulation of such county living in poverty during 

23 the most recent 30-year period for which data 

24 is available, as measured by the 1990 and 2000 

25 decennial censuses; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) a census tract with a poverty rate of 

2 at least 20 percent as measured by the 2014 

3 through 2018 5-year data series available from 

4 the American Community Survey of the Bureau 

5 of the Census. 

6 ‘‘(2) ASSOCIATED CAPITAL IMPROVEMENTS.— 

7 The term ‘associated capital improvements’ means a 

8 capital project described in subparagraphs (B) 

9 through (G) of section 5302(4). 

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

11 recipient’ means a recipient or subrecipient of funds 

12 under section 5307 or 5311. 

13 ‘‘(4) UNDERSERVED COMMUNITY.—The term 

14 ‘underserved community’ means— 

15 ‘‘(A) a census tract or block numbering 

16 area in which the median income does not ex17 ceed 80 percent of the area median income; 

18 ‘‘(B) families with income not greater than 

19 100 percent of the area median income that re20 side in minority census tracts; 

21 ‘‘(C) families with income not greater than 

22 100 percent of the area median income that re23 side in areas affected by disasters, as deter24 mined by the Administrator of the Federal 

25 Transit Administration; 


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1 ‘‘(D) a census tract that has a minority 

2 population of at least 30 percent or a median 

3 income of less than 100 percent of the area me4 dian income; 

5 ‘‘(E) a community that has low access to 

6 jobs and essential services, as determined by 

7 the Secretary; or 

8 ‘‘(F) a census block or group of geographi9 cally contiguous census blocks in which the pop10 ulation of any racial or ethnic minority individ11 uals, individually or in combination, comprises 

12 30 percent or more of the population of persons 

13 in the census block or group of geographically 

14 contiguous census blocks.’’. 

15 (b) FEDERAL TRANSIT PROGRAM GENERAL PUR16 POSES.—Section 5301(b) of title 49, United States Code, 

17 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(9) support public transportation’s role in 

19 combating climate change through growing/retaining 

20 transit ridership.’’. 

21 (c) APPLICABILITY OF LAW.—The Secretary of 

22 Transportation shall ensure that the requirements of sec23 tion 5333 of title 49, United States Code, are applied to 

24 section 5308 of such title (as added by subsection (a)). 


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1 (d) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

2 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

3 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

4 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep5 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

6 Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the out7 comes of the program established under section 5308 of 

8 title 49, United States Code, as added by subsection (a), 

9 including new service produced and improvements in ac10 cess to work and essential services, particularly for areas 

11 of persistent poverty and underserved communities. 

12 (e) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap13 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by in14 serting after the item relating to section 5307 the fol15 lowing: 

‘‘5308. High quality transit operating support program.’’. 

16 (f) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con17 gress that capital funding for transit should be increased. 

18 SEC. 3. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE OF OPERATING COSTS 

19 FOR RURAL AREAS. 

20 Section 5311(g)(2) of title 49, United States Code, 

21 is amended to read as follows: 

22 ‘‘(2) OPERATING ASSISTANCE.—A grant made 

23 under this section for operating assistance may not 


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1 exceed 80 percent of the net operating costs of the 

2 project, as determined by the Secretary.’’. 

Æ 


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