I 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3744 

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 associated capital improvements, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 8, 2021 

Mr. JOHNSON of Georgia (for himself, Ms. SCHAKOWSKY, Mr. GARCI ́A of Illinois, Mr. HUFFMAN, Ms. PRESSLEY, Mr. ESPAILLAT, and Mr. CARSON) 

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 associated capital improvements, and for other purposes. 

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’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PRO2 GRAM. 

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

4 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 5307 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘§ 5308. High quality transit operating support pro7 gram 

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

9 shall establish a program under which the Secretary may 

10 make grants to eligible recipients for eligible operating 

11 support costs of public transportation and associated cap12 ital improvements. 

13 ‘‘(b) ALLOCATION OF FUNDING.—The Secretary 

14 shall allocate funding as follows: 

15 ‘‘(1) 75 percent through the formula under sec16 tion 5336. 

17 ‘‘(2) 23.75 percent through the formula under 

18 section 5311(c)(3). 

19 ‘‘(3) 1.25 percent to Indian Tribes through the 

20 formula under section 5311(j). 

21 ‘‘(c) ELIGIBLE PROJECTS.— 

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

23 funding provided under this section for eligible oper24 ating support costs of public transportation and as25 sociated capital improvements that make substantial 

26 improvements to transit service as measured by a 


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1 comparison to the number of revenue hours of serv2 ice provided by the recipient during the covered pe3 riod, including— 

4 ‘‘(A) operating projects that decrease 

5 headways; 

6 ‘‘(B) operating projects that expand service 

7 area, hours, or days; 

8 ‘‘(C) operating projects for new or in9 creased frequent non-fixed guideway service or 

10 frequent fixed guideway service; 

11 ‘‘(D) service planning, including planning 

12 to address changing demographics, changing 

13 travel movement, network redesign (including 

14 the implementation of a plan that results in a 

15 net increase in service hours across a region, 

16 subregion, or study area), and accommodating 

17 essential service trips (including service trips 

18 for employment, healthcare facilities, child care, 

19 education and workforce training, food sources, 

20 banking and other financial institutions, and 

21 other retail shopping establishments); 

22 ‘‘(E) measuring access to work and essen23 tial services, particularly for non-drivers, includ24 ing data acquisition and acquiring outside sup25 port for conducting the analysis; and 


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1 ‘‘(F) associated capital improvements re2 lated to projects described in subparagraphs 

3 (A) through (E). 

4 ‘‘(2) COVERED YEAR FOR REVENUE HOURS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) COVERED PERIOD DEFINED.—In this 

6 subsection, the term ‘covered period’ means— 

7 ‘‘(i) for the period beginning on the 

8 date of enactment of this section and end9 ing on the last day of the fiscal year 3 fis10 cal years thereafter, fiscal year 2019; and 

11 ‘‘(ii) for the period beginning on the 

12 first day of the fourth fiscal year after the 

13 date of enactment of this section and con14 tinuing through the last day of the fol15 lowing fiscal year, the fiscal year preceding 

16 the fourth fiscal year. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXCEPTION FOR EMERGENCY.—In 

18 any fiscal year, the Secretary may change the 

19 comparison year under paragraph (1) in the 

20 case of an emergency. 

21 ‘‘(3) PRIORITIZATION.—Recipients of a grant 

22 under this section shall balance needs to decrease 

23 headways on low-frequency routes with needs for in24 creased capacity on high-frequency routes when allo25 cating operating costs and public transportation 


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1 projects described in subparagraphs (A) through (C) 

2 of paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(4) WAIVER.—The Secretary may waive the 

4 requirements of paragraph (3) if an eligible recipient 

5 certifies that all of the service provided by such re6 cipient meets the baseline frequency and access 

7 measurement for access to jobs and essential serv8 ices (as determined under subsection (k)) that is sat9 isfactory to the Secretary. 

10 ‘‘(d) LIMITATION.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A recipient of a grant 

12 under this section may not use more than 10 per13 cent of such grant for projects described in subpara14 graphs (D) through (F) of subsection (c)(1). 

15 ‘‘(2) INCREASE OF LIMITATION.—The Secretary 

16 may increase the limitation in paragraph (1) to not 

17 more than 20 percent if a recipient can demonstrate 

18 that such an increase will result in substantial serv19 ice improvements in a given fiscal year. 

20 ‘‘(e) REQUIREMENT.—A preponderance of a grant re21 ceived by a recipient under this section in a fiscal year 

22 shall be used for projects that primarily serve underserved 

23 communities or areas of persistent poverty. 

24 ‘‘(f) FEDERAL SHARE.— 


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

2 project or program carried out using a grant award3 ed under this section shall be not greater than 50 

4 percent. 

5 ‘‘(2) INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE FOR CERTAIN

6 AREAS.—Notwithstanding paragraph (1), the Fed7 eral share of a project or program carried out in an 

8 area of persistent poverty or an underserved commu9 nity using a grant awarded under this section shall 

10 be not greater than 80 percent. 

11 ‘‘(3) FEDERAL SHARE FOR INDIAN TRIBES.— 

12 Notwithstanding paragraph (1), for Indian Tribes 

13 receiving funding allocated under subsection (b)(3), 

14 the Federal share of a project or program carried 

15 out using a grant awarded under this section shall 

16 be 100 percent. 

17 ‘‘(4) IN KIND MATCH.—Of the non-Federal 

18 share required under this subsection, 25 percent 

19 may be derived from amounts (other than amounts 

20 received from the Federal Transit Administration) 

21 expended for associated capital improvements related 

22 to a project or program carried out using a grant 

23 awarded under this section. 

24 ‘‘(g) PERIOD OF AVAILABILITY.—An amount appor25 tioned under this section may be obligated by the recipient 


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

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

3 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the end 

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

5 apportioned under this section in the following fiscal year. 

6 ‘‘(h) CONDITIONS.—As a condition of receiving a 

7 grant under this section, an eligible recipient shall— 

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

9 area— 

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

11 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

12 Transit Database— 

13 ‘‘(i) service frequency and revenue ve14 hicle hours, including revenue vehicle hours 

15 and unlinked passenger trips originating 

16 and terminating in areas of persistent pov17 erty and underserved communities, to18 gether with such other specific data as the 

19 Secretary shall find necessary and appro20 priate; and 

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

22 services accessible by transit, and improve23 ment in such access, including specific re24 porting on access by transit for areas of 


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1 persistent poverty and underserved com2 munities; and 

3 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 

4 surveyed, within the past year and at least 

5 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 

6 as well as non-riding residents of areas of per7 sistent poverty and underserved communities 

8 regarding transit service improvements, using 

9 means designed to maximize participation from 

10 both riders and non-riders, and has published 

11 the survey in an online format; 

12 ‘‘(2) in the case of a recipient that is a federally 

13 recognized tribe or Alaska Native village— 

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

15 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

16 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours and 

17 unlinked passenger trips, together with such 

18 other specific data as the Secretary shall find 

19 necessary and appropriate; and 

20 ‘‘(B) demonstrate that such recipient has 

21 surveyed, within the past year and at least 

22 every 2 years thereafter, current transit riders 

23 as well as non-riding residents of the tribe’s or 

24 village’s service area regarding transit service 

25 improvements, using means designed to maxiVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744

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1 mize participation from both riders and non-rid2 ers, and has published the survey in an online 

3 format; and 

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

5 or other possession receiving assistance under sec6 tion 5311— 

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

8 Administration, for inclusion in the National 

9 Transit Database, revenue vehicle hours for 

10 each subrecipient receiving assistance under 

11 this section, including revenue vehicle hours and 

12 unlinked passenger trips originating and termi13 nating in areas of persistent poverty and under14 served communities, together with such other 

15 specific data as the Secretary shall find nec16 essary and appropriate; 

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

18 the Secretary identifying those underserved 

19 communities and areas of persistent poverty in 

20 the non-urbanized areas of the State or posses21 sion that do not have any reported public tran22 sit services, or in which either the availability or 

23 utilization of rural public transit is in the bot24 tom quintile as compared to all rural public 

25 transit services in the United States, using such 


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1 measurements as shall be identified by the Sec2 retary, together with annually updated progress 

3 toward achieving the State’s or possession’s 

4 strategy for establishing high-quality transit 

5 service in these unserved and underserved com6 munities and areas of persistent poverty; and 

7 ‘‘(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient 

8 of the State or posession has surveyed, within 

9 the past year and at least every 2 years there10 after, current transit riders as well as non11 riding residents of areas of persistent poverty 

12 and underserved communities within the sub13 recipient’s service area regarding transit service 

14 improvements, using means designed to maxi15 mize participation from both riders and non-rid16 ers, and has published the survey in an online 

17 format. 

18 ‘‘(i) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 1 year after the 

19 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall issue 

20 such regulations as are necessary to carry out the program 

21 established under subsection (a), including defining the 

22 terms ‘frequent service’, ‘preponderance of a grant’, ‘pri23 marily serve’, and ‘access to jobs and essential service’ for 

24 purposes of this Act, including by taking into account any 

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1 quired for urbanized areas, rural areas located near ur2 banized areas, and remote rural areas. 

3 ‘‘(j) PROHIBITION ON PRIVATIZATION.—Any eligible 

4 project carried out using a grant under this section shall 

5 be operated and maintained by employees of an existing 

6 public transportation provider in the service area. 

7 ‘‘(k) ACCESS MEASUREMENT.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out the pro9 gram under this section, the Secretary shall set up 

10 a multimodal access measurement interface that is 

11 open to any public agency through the program 

12 under section 5505 of title 49, United States Code, 

13 to aid transit agencies in determining and reporting 

14 on access to jobs and essential services. 

15 ‘‘(2) INTERIM DATA.—Until the access meas16 urement interface under paragraph (1) is estab17 lished, an eligible recipient may use other data 

18 sources to determine and report on access to jobs 

19 and essential services. 

20 ‘‘(l) GAO REPORT.—Not later than 4 years after the 

21 date of enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General 

22 of the United States shall submit to the Committee on 

23 Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of Rep24 resentatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

25 Urban Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the outVerDate Sep 11 2014 20:11 Jun 27, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H3744.IH H3744

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1 comes of the program established under subsection (a), in2 cluding new service produced and improvements in access 

3 to work and essential services, particularly for areas of 

4 persistent poverty and underserved communities. 

5 ‘‘(m) PREVAILING WAGE.—The Secretary shall en6 sure that any labor associated with eligible operating costs 

7 or a public transportation project carried out using a 

8 grant made under this section will be paid wages not less 

9 than those prevailing on similar projects in the locality, 

10 as determined by the Secretary of Labor under subchapter 

11 IV of chapter 31 of title 40. The Secretary shall make 

12 a grant under this section only after being assured that 

13 required labor standards will be maintained. 

14 ‘‘(n) 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 this 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 ‘‘(o) 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 ‘‘(p) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 is authorized to be appropriated to carry out this section 

15 $20,000,000,000 for each of fiscal years 2023 through 

16 2026. 

17 ‘‘(q) 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 

8 capital projects described in subparagraphs (B) 

9 through (G) of section 5302(a)(1) of title 49, United 

10 States Code. 

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

12 recipient’ means a recipient or subrecipient of funds 

13 under section 5307 or 5311 of title 49, United 

14 States Code. 

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

16 ‘underserved community’ means— 

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

18 area in which the median income does not ex19 ceed 80 percent of the area median income; 

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

21 100 percent of the area median income that re22 side in minority census tracts; 

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

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1 mined by the Administrator of the Federal 

2 Transit Administration; 

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

4 population of at least 30 percent or a median 

5 income of less than 100 percent of the area me6 dian income; 

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

8 jobs and essential services, as determined by 

9 the Secretary; or 

10 ‘‘(F) a census block or group of geographi11 cally contiguous census blocks in which the pop12 ulation of any racial or ethnic minority individ13 uals, individually or in combination, comprises 

14 30 percent or more of the population of persons 

15 in the census block or group of geographically 

16 contiguous census blocks.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The analysis for chap18 ter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is amended by in19 serting after the item relating to section 5307 the fol20 lowing: 

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

21 (c) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that capital funding for transit should be increased. 

Æ 


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