II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 3250 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 18, 2021 

Mr. CASEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation 

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 ‘‘Providing Assistance 

5 for Transit Help to College Act’’ or the ‘‘PATH to College 

6 Act’’. 

7 SEC. 2. INCREASING ACCESS TO HIGHER EDUCATION 

8 THROUGH PUBLIC TRANSIT GRANTS. 

9 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

10 (1) ELIGIBLE INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘eligi11 ble institution’’ means— 


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1 (A) a community college; 

2 (B) a historically Black college or univer3 sity; 

4 (C) a Tribal College or University (as de5 fined in section 316 of the Higher Education 

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

7 (D) a minority-serving institution. 

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

9 recipient’’ means a public transit provider in part10 nership with one or more eligible institutions. 

11 (3) HISTORICALLY BLACK COLLEGE OR UNI12 VERSITY.—The term ‘‘historically Black college and 

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

14 institution’’ in section 322 of the Higher Education 

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

16 (4) MINORITY-SERVING INSTITUTION.—The 

17 term ‘‘minority-serving institution’’ means an eligi18 ble institution under section 371 of the Higher Edu19 cation Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1067q). 

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

21 the Secretary of Transportation. 

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

23 under this section to eligible recipients to enable those eli24 gible recipients to carry out projects described in subVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:32 Nov 20, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3250.IS S3250

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1 section (c) to better connect students with transportation 

2 to eligible institutions. 

3 (c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.—An eligible recipient re4 ceiving a grant under this section shall use grant funds 

5 to carry out one or more of the following activities to bet6 ter connect students with transportation to one or more 

7 of the eligible institutions that are part of the eligible re8 cipient partnership: 

9 (1) Adding bus, rail, or paratransit stops at or 

10 within walking distances of campuses. 

11 (2) Adding bus, rail, or paratransit routes to 

12 and from campuses from surrounding areas and 

13 other cities. 

14 (3) Increasing the frequency of service or ad15 justing the time of bus, rail, or paratransit routes to 

16 allow students to get to and from their classes. 

17 (4) Subsidizing bus, rail, or paratransit costs 

18 for students. 

19 (d) APPLICATION.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—An eligible recipient that de21 sires a grant under this section shall submit an ap22 plication to the Secretary at such time, in such man23 ner, and containing such information as the Sec24 retary may require, including information on the ex25 tent to which the proposed projects using grant 


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1 funds will improve the availability of transit access 

2 for students. 

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

4 section, the Secretary shall give priority to an eligi5 ble recipient whose partnership includes an eligible 

6 institution with respect to which more than 25 per7 cent of students enrolled in that eligible institution 

8 receive a Federal Pell Grant. 

9 (e) FEDERAL SHARE.— 

10 (1) CAPITAL PROJECT.—The Federal share of 

11 the net project cost of a capital project carried out 

12 using a grant under this section shall be not more 

13 than 80 percent. 

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

15 net operating costs for a project carried out using a 

16 grant under this section shall be not more than 50 

17 percent. 

Æ 


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