The Good and the Bad of the Latest COVID-19 Bill

The Good: It appears Congress had made a breakthrough in providing Amtrak and transit agencies with emergency coronavirus funding to prevent additional layoffs, furloughs and massive cuts to rail service.

The Bad: The bill only provides funding through March 31st and lacks a clear timeline for restoration of daily service to long-distance and State-supported trains.

The Bottom Line: Rail Passengers Association is still using the time left to fight for restoration of daily service in this package. You can help us by calling your member of congress and asking for their help restoring daily service.

Congress appears poised to pass a $748 billion COVID-19 relief bill that, if passed, will provide $1 billion in emergency funding for Amtrak, with another $15 billion going towards US transit agencies. While the funding is not enough to get Amtrak and transit agencies through the year, it will stave off another round of devastating furloughs, layoffs and cuts to rail and transit service.

House and Senate leadership reached a breakthrough by agreeing to separate points of controversy—including state and local aid and liability protections for businesses operating during the pandemic—off from the main relief bill. ​Through the work of our organization, our members, and hundreds of other transportation organizations, advocates were able to secure the inclusion of transportation in the $748 billion coronavirus package, which is expected to be attached to the omnibus that will fund the government for the remainder of Fiscal 2021.​

There are still significant hurdles that remain, mainly centered around the size and shape of Unemployment Insurance and stimulus payments. However, both Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) are expressing a newfound optimism that a compromise will be reached.

The current extension expires this Friday, and Congress could potentially pass another short-term extension to give congressional staff time to finalize the bill.

Bipartisan Transportation Relief Proposal: $45 billion​

• Amtrak: $1 billion [Requested: $2.4 billion]​
  • $580 million for Northeast Corridor Grants​
    • $91.6 million set aside for NEC commuter railroads​
  • $420 million for National Network Grants ​
    • $145.3 million in lieu of Sec. 209 payments​
  • Policy Riders: Prohibits additional cuts to service and additional furloughs through March 31, 2021. ​
• Transit: $15 billion [Requested: at least $32 billion]​
  • $13.2 billion in urbanized area formula grants​
    • No urbanized area may receive more than $4 billion​
  • $1 billion in formula grants for rural areas​
  • $628 million for agencies needing additional help in managing COVID-19​
  • Policy Riders: Prevents furloughs and allows systems to keep running through March 31, 2021. ​
• Airlines: $17 billion – [Requested: $25 billion]​
• Airports: $4 billion – [Requested: $13 billion]​
• Private buses: $8 billion – [Requested: $10 billion]​​