Senate Manages to Fumble Punting on Extension of Rail & Transit

by Sean Jeans-Gail, VP of Gov't Affairs & Policy

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The U.S. Senate passed legislation that will extend current government funding levels and extend surface transportation law through December 11th, part of an attempt to head off a protracted government shutdown fight in the leadup to November’s midterm elections.

While Congress usually doesn’t give up trying to pass a budget until late-September, Senate leadership have decided discretion is the better part of valor. Given the political dysfunction that has undermined the legislative process, in conjunction with the rapidly approaching September 30th expiration deadline, it’s hard to fault them for settling on this strategy.

Unfortunately, Senate Republicans opted not to go with a clean extension of current transportation law, opting instead to strip advanced appropriations for rail and transit included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). While the budgetary impacts will be somewhat muted by the short length of the extension, practically, it will result in an 83 percent cut to passenger rail funding and a 20 percent cut to transit funding.

[For a deeper analysis of the distinction between advanced appropriations and authorized appropriations, you can read Rail Passengers' Analysis of BUILD America 250 Act (Part 1). However, in short: authorized appropriations are to an IOU what advanced appropriations are to a cashier’s check.]

While Senate Democrats overwhelmingly voted in favor of the bill, key Democratic figures did express disappointment at the failure to secure the extension of funding for guaranteed funding for rail and transit.

“Republicans also rejected our efforts to… to extend the critical advanced appropriations provided by the [IIJA],” said Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Vice Chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

The bill passed the Senate by a vote of 90-6. The “no” votes included Senators Bill Cassidy (R-LA), Tim Kaine (D-VA), Ed Markey (D-MA), Rand Paul (R-KY), Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), while Sen. Darline Graham (R-SC) voted present because the bill included a death benefit for the heir of her brother, the late Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC).

The continuing resolution for current appropriations through December 11th (“Division A”) appears, on the first reading of Rail Passengers’ policy staff, to be a clean extension of Fiscal Year 2026. This would be a marked improvement over what The House Committee on Appropriations provided for passenger rail in the markup of its FY2027 transportation bill, which included significant cuts for both Amtrak and passenger rail grant programs. (The Senate Committee on Appropriations, meanwhile, failed to introduce any transportation budget at all).

The Surface Transportation Extension Act ("Division C") extends highway, transit and related authorities through December 11th.

The loss of advanced appropriations will not only kill the pipeline of upgrades and expansions currently being developed—thanks to IIJA funding—it will also be a blow to the resurgent U.S. rail industry. As explained in our coalition letter to Congressional leadership:

“The U.S. rail supply industry supported more than 906,000 jobs nationwide, including 12,300 in Louisiana, 2,140 in South Dakota, and 104,000 in New York – these jobs are supported by Division J programs including the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail, Amtrak National Network and Northeast Corridor. In North Carolina, the expansion of a single rail manufacturing facility is expected to create 500 new domestic manufacturing jobs by 2028. In upstate New York, a passenger rail manufacturer invested $75 million to expand its operations. These investments illustrate the power of just five years of predictable federal funding to unlock long-term private investment and create American jobs.

“The economic benefits of these investments extend far beyond the communities where projects are built. Freight rail infrastructure, supported by the Division J program CRISI, strengthens supply chains that connect farmers, manufacturers, businesses, and consumers in every state. Businesses that rely on short line rail service, for example, support nearly 479,000 jobs across the country, demonstrating how strategic infrastructure investments generate economic activity nationwide. Congress’ commitment to Amtrak and strengthening intercity passenger rail via Division J has supported large-scale rolling stock procurement, the opening of a critical rail bridge, and infrastructure improvement investments to expand new routes, bolstering the careers of 20,000 Amtrak employees and the countless others working at construction sites and manufacturing facilities rebuilding infrastructure and the intercity passenger rail fleet.”

The House will need to take up this legislation when it returns from August recess in September. Given what was included in the BUILD AMERICA 250 Act, it’s all but certain that they will follow suit in stripping advanced appropriations for rail and transit.