Elections swing on more than just a few key issues, but voters have made themselves clear: they’re fed up with the federal government’s assault on cities. They’re tired of tariffs that put a tax on everything. And they are ready for the next Congress to make real progress for mass transit.
As the backbone of the nation’s largest regional economy, we know Washington needs a strong MTA. Here are our top emerging priorities for Washington, D.C. in the months ahead.
1. Before the end of 2026, pass an additional extension of the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill that includes Advanced Appropriations funding
Every five years, Congress sets funding levels for transit through a surface transportation bill. This bill has, historically, been deeply inequitable to our riders: the MTA carries 43% of the transit trips in the United States but receives only 17% of the available funding for transit agencies.
If current trends from this Congress continue, it could get even worse.
After a short-term extension of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in September, the current funding bill will expire on December 11, 2026. The short-term extension did not include “Advance Appropriations,” a technical term for extra funds included in the Biden-era IIJA to increase investment in infrastructure. Congress is expected to pass an additional extension of an uncertain length.
Under Gov. Kathy Hochul, the State of New York has stepped up for the MTA’s budget. But this urgent threat demands immediate action from our partners in Washington.
A surface bill extension without Advance Appropriations in formula funds will result in a $265 million cut for Fiscal Year 2027 for the MTA—more than 10 percent of the formula funds the MTA is authorized by Congress to receive. Cutting 10 percent of our annual federal formula funding would have a dramatic impact for riders across the network.
After the new Congress is sworn in on January 3, 2027, work will begin on a new full five-year reauthorization bill. We've always relied on bipartisan support from the New York delegation to support our allocation. We expect any new bill to at least keep our formula funding in place and give the MTA a more equitable share of overall funding. It should also prioritize formula funding over competitive discretionary funding, which takes too long to distribute and is rarely equitably shared with big-city transit systems.
2. Exempt mass transit rolling stock purchases from costly tariffs
The MTA has a plan to purchase $23 billion of new rolling stock—the biggest overhaul of our subway cars, buses, and commuter rail cars since the 1980s.
We comply with Buy America requirements, which means that more than 70% of the parts in our trains and buses are made in the U.S. But rolling stock manufacturing still relies on a global supply chain for certain specialized components that aren't produced domestically. New tariffs and those components make purchasing rolling stock—already an expensive, complex challenge—significantly costlier.
Our analysis shows that high and unpredictable tariff rates will force the MTA to spend an estimated $1 billion in direct tax bills for bus and train replacement programs alone.
Federal tariffs on these components don’t just increase costs. They punish American manufacturers, dilute taxpayer dollars, and leave transit riders stuck for a longer time with slower, less reliable, and less comfortable buses and railcars.
In September, Gov. Hochul asked Commerce Secretary Lutnick and USTR Ambassador Greer to provide an exemption for tariffs implemented since January 2025 for all rolling stock projects that comply with Buy America regulations. There has been no response, and no action has been taken to date.
The White House has taken action to protect domestic auto manufacturers. It should do the same for transit and revise these tariffs immediately to protect American manufacturing and support working class transit riders.
If they refuse to act, Congress should step in. The next surface transportation reauthorization bill should include an exemption for components used in Buy America compliant rolling stock purchases paid for with tax dollars by transit agencies and transportation departments.
3. Restore transit security funding
Federal assistance for transit security has significantly declined over the last two decades. The Transit Security Grant Program (TSGP), created in 2006 to mitigate terrorist threats on transportation infrastructure in the wake of the September 11 attacks, is now severely underfunded. The total program allocation in 2009 was $350 million, of which the MTA received just over $100 million. Today, the nationwide allocation is just $88 million—a 75% decrease—and the MTA’s share has fallen to just $31 million. Taking inflation into account, the true buying power of TGSP funding to the MTA has declined by about 80%.
Traditional security threats have not diminished for New York’s iconic rail and subway network, and new ones like cyberattacks have emerged. Despite these threats, President Trump’s FY27 budget slashes this program in half.
If the Administration isn’t willing to get serious about public safety in transit, then Congress should. This new Congress should take immediate action to increase funding for transit security.
4. Oppose the Trump Administration’s efforts to disadvantage New York by overreaching their rulemaking authority
The Administration has repeatedly overreached their authority in federal rulemaking. One notable example: they have introduced proposals to allow political appointees to award or terminate all federal grants “at their convenience” or with no justification. This pattern has emerged across government and is not exclusive to transit funding. The new Congress is in a position to retain its constitutional power of the purse and block this executive guidance.
More recently, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) proposed guidance for awarding infrastructure grants through the Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Program based on the area’s birth rates and marriage rates. This effort is not supported by any statute or serious policy analysis, nor could it be; Americans’ marital statuses are wholly irrelevant to their need for functioning mass transit.
The proposed guidance would disadvantage larger projects and direct funds away from big cities like New York. The law has not changed since the last guidance, and we anticipate changes to the CIG program in the upcoming reauthorization bill. This guidance should be blocked from implementation.