[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7039 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






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. 
Barragan, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bishop of Georgia, Mr. Blumenauer, Ms. Blunt 
Rochester, Mr. Bowman, Mr. Boyle of Pennsylvania, Ms. Brown, Ms. Bush, 
  Mr. Cardenas, Mr. Carson, Mrs. Cherfilus-McCormick, Mr. Cohen, Mr. 
Davis of Illinois, Ms. DelBene, Mr. Espaillat, Mr. Evans, Mrs. Foushee, 
Mr. Frost, Mr. Garcia 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. 
     Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Omar, Mr. Payne, Ms. Pelosi, Ms. Ross, Mr. 
 Ruppersberger, Ms. Salinas, Ms. Sanchez, Ms. Schakowsky, Mr. Schiff, 
 Ms. Stansbury, Mr. Thanedar, Ms. Titus, Ms. Tlaib, Mr. Torres of New 
York, Mr. Vargas, Mr. Vasquez, Ms. Velazquez, 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.

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

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Stronger Communities through Better 
Transit Act''.

SEC. 2. HIGH QUALITY TRANSIT OPERATING SUPPORT PROGRAM.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, is 
amended by inserting after section 5307 the following:
``Sec. 5308. High quality transit operating support program
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Transportation shall establish 
a program under which the Secretary may make grants to eligible 
recipients to enhance mobility and improve environmental sustainability 
through investing in public transportation service improvements.
    ``(b) Allocation of Funding.--For each fiscal year, the Secretary 
shall allocate funding as follows:
            ``(1) Each urbanized area, State, and Indian Tribe that is 
        an eligible recipient shall receive an apportionment based on 
        data contained in the National Transit Database such that--
                    ``(A) each urbanized area shall receive an amount 
                equal to 50 percent of the urbanized area's average 
                annual operating costs over the 3-year period preceding 
                such fiscal year;
                    ``(B) each State shall receive an amount equal to 
                50 percent of the subrecipients in such State under 
                section 5311 average operating costs over the 3-year 
                period preceding such fiscal year; and
                    ``(C) each Indian Tribe shall receive an amount 
                equal to 50 percent of the Indian Tribe's average 
                operating costs over the 3-year period preceding such 
                fiscal year.
            ``(2) For funds remaining after the apportionment described 
        in paragraph (1), such funds shall be apportioned such that 
        each urbanized area, State, and Indian Tribe that is an 
        eligible recipient shall receive an apportionment equal to the 
        proportion of all operating costs reported to the National 
        Transit Database over the 3-year period preceding the fiscal 
        year in which such funds are apportioned.
            ``(3) In any given year, no urbanized area, State, or 
        Indian Tribe may receive an apportionment under this subsection 
        that is greater than 80 percent of the average operating costs 
        over the 3-year period preceding the fiscal year in which such 
        funds are apportioned.
    ``(c) Eligible Projects.--
            ``(1) In general.--Eligible recipients may use funding 
        provided under this section for operating costs associated with 
        projects eligible under this chapter and title 23 that improve 
        public transportation service for transit dependent populations 
        and support increased transit ridership, including--
                    ``(A) projects that decrease headways;
                    ``(B) projects for new or expanded service area, 
                hours, or days;
                    ``(C) projects to improve transit reliability or 
                travel time savings, including transit prioritization;
                    ``(D) IT enhancements to improve customer 
                information and customer and employee safety such as 
                implementation of real-time transit data;
                    ``(E) projects to support seamless complete trips, 
                including--
                            ``(i) projects to improve transit network 
                        connectivity;
                            ``(ii) signage and wayfinding;
                            ``(iii) fare coordination; and
                            ``(iv) multimodal payment integration;
                    ``(F) service planning related to funding provided 
                under this section, including planning to address 
                changing demographics, changing travel movement, 
                network redesign (including the implementation of a 
                plan that results in a net increase in service hours 
                across a region, subregion, or study area), and 
                accommodating essential service trips (including 
                service trips for employment, healthcare facilities, 
                child care, education and workforce training, food 
                sources, banking and other financial institutions, and 
                other retail shopping establishments);
                    ``(G) measuring access to work and essential 
                services, particularly for non-drivers, for the purpose 
                of developing projects to be funded under this section, 
                including data acquisition and acquiring outside 
                support for conducting analysis of such data;
                    ``(H) measures to enhance customer sense of safety 
                and security, including public safety measures and 
                outreach to unhoused persons in the transit system;
                    ``(I) initiatives to improve the transit 
                environment, such as additional or enhanced cleaning; 
                and
                    ``(J) workforce development initiatives necessary 
                to improve or maintain service.
            ``(2) No effect on other laws.--The use of funds from this 
        section for operating costs of projects described in paragraph 
        (1) may not affect the eligibility of such projects to receive 
        funding from other sections of this chapter or title 23.
    ``(d) Requirement.--A preponderance of a grant received by a 
recipient under this section in a fiscal year shall be used for 
projects that benefit underserved communities or areas of persistent 
poverty.
    ``(e) Federal Share.--
            ``(1) In general.--The Federal share of a project or 
        program carried out using a grant awarded under this section 
        shall be not greater than 50 percent.
            ``(2) Federal share for operating expenses.--In the case 
        that a project includes both operating components funded from 
        this section and non-operating components, the Federal share 
        for operating components shall be 50 percent and for non-
        operating components shall be consistent with the requirements 
        of the funding source for those components.
            ``(3) Increased federal share for certain areas.--
        Notwithstanding paragraph (2), the Federal share of an 
        operating assistance component of a project or program carried 
        out in an area of persistent poverty or an underserved 
        community using a grant awarded under this section shall be not 
        greater than 80 percent.
            ``(4) Federal share for indian tribes.--Notwithstanding 
        paragraphs (1) through (3), for Indian Tribes receiving funding 
        allocated under subsection (b)(1)(C), the Federal share of a 
        project or program carried out using a grant awarded under this 
        section shall be 100 percent.
            ``(5) In kind match.--Of the non-Federal share required 
        under this subsection, 25 percent may be derived from amounts 
        (other than amounts received from the Federal Transit 
        Administration) expended for associated capital improvements 
        related to a project or program carried out using a grant 
        awarded under this section.
    ``(f) Period of Availability.--An amount apportioned under this 
section may be obligated by the recipient for 2 years after the fiscal 
year in which the amount is apportioned. Not later than 30 days after 
the end of the 2-year period, an amount that is not obligated at the 
end of that period shall be added to the amount that may be apportioned 
under this section in the following fiscal year.
    ``(g) Conditions for Operating Assistance.--As a condition of 
receiving a grant under this section, an eligible recipient shall--
            ``(1) in the case of a recipient in an urbanized area--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database--
                            ``(i) service frequency and revenue vehicle 
                        hours, including revenue vehicle hours and 
                        unlinked passenger trips originating and 
                        terminating in areas of persistent poverty and 
                        underserved communities, together with such 
                        other specific data as the Secretary shall find 
                        necessary and appropriate; and
                            ``(ii) the number of jobs and essential 
                        services accessible by transit, and improvement 
                        in such access, including specific reporting on 
                        access by transit for areas of persistent 
                        poverty and underserved communities; and
                    ``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed, 
                within the past year and at least every 2 years 
                thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
                riding residents of areas of persistent poverty and 
                underserved communities regarding transit service 
                improvements, using means designed to maximize 
                participation from both riders and non-riders, and has 
                published the survey in an online format;
            ``(2) in the case of a recipient that is an Indian Tribe--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database, revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger 
                trips, together with such other specific data as the 
                Secretary shall find necessary and appropriate; and
                    ``(B) demonstrate that such recipient has surveyed, 
                within the past year and at least every 2 years 
                thereafter, current transit riders as well as non-
                riding residents of the Tribe's service area regarding 
                transit service improvements, using means designed to 
                maximize participation from both riders and non-riders, 
                and has published the survey in an online format; and
            ``(3) in the case of a recipient that is a State or other 
        possession receiving assistance under section 5311--
                    ``(A) agree to report to the Federal Transit 
                Administration, for inclusion in the National Transit 
                Database, revenue vehicle hours for each subrecipient 
                receiving assistance under this section, including 
                revenue vehicle hours and unlinked passenger trips 
                originating and terminating in areas of persistent 
                poverty and under-served communities, together with 
                such other specific data as the Secretary shall find 
                necessary and appropriate;
                    ``(B) provide an annually updated report to the 
                Secretary identifying those underserved communities and 
                areas of persistent poverty in the non-urbanized areas 
                of the State or possession that do not have any 
                reported public transit services, or in which either 
                the availability or utilization of rural public transit 
                is in the bottom quintile as compared to all rural 
                public transit services in the United States, using 
                such measurements as shall be identified by the 
                Secretary, together with annually updated progress 
                toward achieving the State's or possession's strategy 
                for establishing high-quality transit service in these 
                unserved and underserved communities and areas of 
                persistent poverty; and
                    ``(C) demonstrate that every subrecipient of the 
                State or possession has surveyed, within the past year 
                and at least every 2 years thereafter, current transit 
                riders as well as non-riding residents of areas of 
                persistent poverty and underserved communities within 
                the sub-recipient's service area regarding transit 
                service improvements, using means designed to maximize 
                participation from both riders and non-riders, and has 
                published the survey in an online format.
    ``(h) Regulations.--Not later than 1 year after the date of 
enactment of this section, the Secretary shall issue such regulations 
as are necessary to carry out the program established under subsection 
(a), including defining the terms `preponderance of a grant', and 
`access to jobs and essential service' for purposes of this section and 
taking into account any necessary difference in the definition of such 
terms required for urbanized areas, rural areas located near urbanized 
areas, and remote rural areas.
    ``(i) Access Measurement.--
            ``(1) In general.--In carrying out the program under this 
        section, the Secretary shall set up a multimodal access 
        measurement interface that is open to any public agency through 
        the program under section 5505 to aid transit agencies in 
        determining and reporting on access to jobs and essential 
        services.
            ``(2) Interim data.--Until the access measurement interface 
        under paragraph (1) is established, an eligible recipient may 
        use other data sources to determine and report on access to 
        jobs and essential services.
    ``(j) Maintenance of Effort.--
            ``(1) In general.--Not later than 30 days after the 
        beginning of each fiscal year, recipients of funds under this 
        section shall certify to the Secretary that such recipients 
        will, with funding pledged by all sources, maintain effort with 
        regard to transit service. As part of such certification, the 
        transit agency shall submit to the Secretary a statement 
        identifying the amount of funds from all sources (other than 
        funds provided under this section and related non-Federal 
        match) expended on transit operations during the prior fiscal 
        year, and the amount expected to be expended on transit 
        operations from all sources during the current fiscal year.
            ``(2) Failure to maintain effort.--If a recipient of funds 
        under this section is unable to maintain the level of effort 
        certified pursuant to paragraph (1) for any fiscal year, the 
        amount such recipient would have received under this section in 
        the following fiscal year shall be reduced by one-third.
    ``(k) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
construed to prevent an eligible recipient from increasing service 
through the use of any other Federal or non-Federal funds.
    ``(l) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $20,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2024 through 2027.
    ``(m) Definitions.--In this section:
            ``(1) Areas of persistent poverty.--The term `area of 
        persistent poverty' means--
                    ``(A) a county that has consistently had greater 
                than or equal to 20 percent of the population of such 
                county living in poverty during the most recent 30-year 
                period for which data is available, as measured by the 
                1990 and 2000 decennial censuses; or
                    ``(B) a census tract with a poverty rate of at 
                least 20 percent as measured by the 2014 through 2018 
                5-year data series available from the American 
                Community Survey of the Bureau of the Census.
            ``(2) Associated capital improvements.--The term 
        `associated capital improvements' means a capital project 
        described in subparagraphs (B) through (G) of section 5302(4).
            ``(3) Eligible recipient.--The term `eligible recipient' 
        means a recipient or subrecipient of funds under section 5307 
        or 5311.
            ``(4) Underserved community.--The term `underserved 
        community' means--
                    ``(A) a census tract or block numbering area in 
                which the median income does not exceed 80 percent of 
                the area median income;
                    ``(B) families with income not greater than 100 
                percent of the area median income that reside in 
                minority census tracts;
                    ``(C) families with income not greater than 100 
                percent of the area median income that reside in areas 
                affected by disasters, as determined by the 
                Administrator of the Federal Transit Administration;
                    ``(D) a census tract that has a minority population 
                of at least 30 percent or a median income of less than 
                100 percent of the area median income;
                    ``(E) a community that has low access to jobs and 
                essential services, as determined by the Secretary; or
                    ``(F) a census block or group of geographically 
                contiguous census blocks in which the population of any 
                racial or ethnic minority individuals, individually or 
                in combination, comprises 30 percent or more of the 
                population of persons in the census block or group of 
                geographically contiguous census blocks.''.
    (b) Federal Transit Program General Purposes.--Section 5301(b) of 
title 49, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
            ``(9) support public transportation's role in combating 
        climate change through growing/retaining transit ridership.''.
    (c) Applicability of Law.--The Secretary of Transportation shall 
ensure that the requirements of section 5333 of title 49, United States 
Code, are applied to section 5308 of such title (as added by subsection 
(a)).
    (d) GAO Report.--Not later than 4 years after the date of enactment 
of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall submit 
to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure of the House of 
Representatives and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban 
Affairs of the Senate a report that reviews the outcomes of the program 
established under section 5308 of title 49, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a), including new service produced and 
improvements in access to work and essential services, particularly for 
areas of persistent poverty and underserved communities.
    (e) Clerical Amendment.--The analysis for chapter 53 of title 49, 
United States Code, is amended by inserting after the item relating to 
section 5307 the following:

``5308. High quality transit operating support program.''.
    (f) Sense of Congress.--It is the sense of Congress that capital 
funding for transit should be increased.

SEC. 3. INCREASED FEDERAL SHARE OF OPERATING COSTS FOR RURAL AREAS.

    Section 5311(g)(2) of title 49, United States Code, is amended to 
read as follows:
            ``(2) Operating assistance.--A grant made under this 
        section for operating assistance may not exceed 80 percent of 
        the net operating costs of the project, as determined by the 
        Secretary.''.
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