Congresswoman Bush, Secretary Buttigieg, Rep. Budzinski, Senator Durbin, Mayor Jones Announce Transit Funding
Washington D.C. (July 31, 2023) — Today, Congresswoman Cori Bush (MO-01) joined Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Congresswoman Nikki Budzinski (IL-13), Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL), and St. Louis Mayor Tishaura Jones in announcing the allocation of the $196.3 million granted to Bi-State by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Federal Transit Administration (FTA). This funding will replace 48 light rail vehicles, as a part of 2023 Rail Vehicle Replacement (RVR) Program, helping transit systems with much-needed capital improvements. In addition, the lawmakers are celebrating $27.675 million allocated to Bi-State from the $214 million for public transportation systems impacted by climate disasters secured by Congresswoman Bush alongside former Missouri Senator Roy Blunt (R-MO).
“Across this country, our communities rely on public transit to get to work, school, doctor’s appointments, and all of life’s important events. As lawmakers, we have a mandate to ensure our nation’s commuters and travelers have access to safe, reliable, and equitable transit systems,” said Congresswoman Bush. “I’m proud to have worked with the Biden Administration and former Missouri Senator Roy Blunt to secure this funding for Bi-State. Access to public transit is essential, and we will continue advocating in Congress to deliver funding for St. Louis’s transit infrastructure.”
“After the record rainfall and flash flooding in July 2022, we turned to our federal partners and friends like Congresswoman Cori Bush, for help. Their support at the time was so appreciated and continues to be even more important now as we continue to recover from that devastating weather event,” said Taulby Roach, Bi-State Development President and CEO.
This funding marks the latest win in Congresswoman Bush’s continuous advocacy to improve and invest in public transportation infrastructure in the St. Louis region.
- In December 2022, Congresswoman Bush worked with then-Senator Roy Blunt to deliver $214,000,000 in investments for public transportation systems nationwide, including for Bi-State Development in St. Louis, to aid recovery needs following natural disasters. This funding came via the passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act 2023, or Omnibus Package, which is legislation that fund the federal government for fiscal year 2023.
- In December 2022, Congresswoman Bush introduced pieces of legislation that would fund transformative grant programs designed to elevate US transit infrastructure, including the Light Rail Transit Act which would create a light rail grant program to provide grants to public entities to design and implement light rail projects.
- This March 2023, Congresswoman Bush secured $82,259,000 in disaster recovery for the St. Louis region through Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) grant funds, which would rebuild disaster-impacted areas and provide crucial seed money to start the long-term recovery process.