The Biden administration’s fiscal year 2025 budget proposal submitted to Congress on March 11 requests $109.3 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation, an increase of 2.7% over the fiscal 2024 budget of $106.4 billion, which was enacted as part of the minibus appropriations bill the president signed March 8. Additional funding for specific agencies would also be available from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
The president’s budget request includes $16.8 billion for the Federal Transit Administration, including $2.4 billion for major capital projects through the Capital Investments Grant program and $14.3 billion for transit formula grants. The IIJA would add $4.25 billion for a total of $21 billion for the FTA.
A new provision in the administration’s proposed budget would allow FTA grant recipients to directly fund shared micromobility systems to provide communities with transportation options such as bikes and scooters. “By improving access to transit, shared use micromobility can reduce transportation emissions while improving equitable access to transportation,” a DOT budget document states.
The Federal Railroad Administration would get $3.2 billion, including $2.5 billion for Amtrak, plus $13.2 billion from the IIJA, for a total of $16.4 billion. Noting the Norfolk Southern Railway freight train accident in East Palestine, Ohio, last year, the budget proposal includes more funds for improved rail safety, such as adding more FRA safety inspectors and increasing funding for the agency’s automated track inspection program.
The largest funding block would provide $62.8 billion to the Federal Highway Administration, including $30.2 billion for roadway maintenance, $3.2 billion for the Highway Safety Improvement program and $102 million for the Reconnecting Communities pilot program.
“President Biden’s Budget allows us to continue advancing vital work underway across the country — making travel safer on every mode of transportation, strengthening supply chains to keep costs down, and modernizing our infrastructure to serve Americans for generations,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a press release.
American Public Transportation Association President and CEO Paul Skoutelas said in a statement on the 2025 budget request that APTA applauds the administration’s “steadfast commitment to providing critical investments in infrastructure improvements for passenger connectivity around the country.”
The White House’s proposed 2025 budget for the FTA is $166 million below the enacted fiscal 2024 amount, while the FRA’s proposed budget is $207 million less. The FHWA’s proposed 2025 budget is $68 million below the final 2024 amount. The largest increase of $2.7 billion would go to the Federal Aviation Administration to hire and train more air traffic controllers and to enable the Office of Aviation Safety to oversee aircraft production, air carrier surveillance and operational safety.
