House Committee advances COVID relief legislation for transportation

The House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) has advanced nearly $100 billion in aid for the American transportation sector as part of President Biden’s American Rescue Plan.

The T&I Committee says the funding includes provisions for transportation workers whose jobs are at risk due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“By approving this legislation, our Committee is moving forward with providing much-needed relief to the millions of transportation workers and rural and urban communities alike that have been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic and resulting economic downturn,” House T&I Chair Peter DeFazio (D-Oregon) said in a statement. “With the plan that passed through our Committee on a bipartisan vote, Amtrak will be able to recall furloughed workers and restore service, transit workers will receive lifesaving personal protective equipment, and FEMA will receive critical funding to help get vaccines into the arms of Americans. I’m grateful to the members of my Committee who have worked hard to pass this latest COVID relief package, and I look forward to seeing it pass Congress and be signed into law by the President.”

The House T&I Committee’s portion of the FY 2021 budget reconciliation bill includes:

• FEMA’s Disaster Relief Fund: $50 billion for reimbursement to state, local, tribal, and territorial governments dealing with ongoing response and recovery activities from COVID-19, including vaccination efforts, deployment of the National Guard, providing personal protective equipment for critical public sector employees, and disinfecting activities in public facilities such as schools and courthouses.
• Transit: $30 billion to help assist with operating costs, including payroll and personal protective equipment.
• Airports: $8 billion, including $800 million for airport concessionaires.
• Economic Development Administration: $3 billion to provide economic adjustment assistance to help prevent, prepare for, and respond to economic injury caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
• Aerospace manufacturing: $3 billion for a temporary payroll support program to retain or rehire workers.
• Amtrak: $1.5 billion to recall and pay employees furloughed due to the COVID-19 pandemic through the end of fiscal year 2021 and to restore daily long-distance service.

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SOURCE: House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure