The budget deal also includes a $1.5 billion cut in high-speed rail funding, which means the Department of Transportation would be unable to redistribute rail money turned down recently by Florida, according to APTA. DoT officials told The Hill earlier this week that the cut would apply to new grants, not ones that have already been awarded.
In addition, the deal includes a $78 million cut to Amtrak’s capital and debt service grants, APTA said. It also places a cap on the number of employees the Transportation Safety Administration can have at 46,000.
However, the deal does include $150 million for the District of Columbia’s Metrorail that Republicans had wanted to cut, which was a small victory for transportation advocates.