Espaillat, Gillibrand Introduce the Resilient Transit Act.
Espaillat, Gillibrand Bill Provides First Stream of Federal Funding Dedicated to Upfront Public Transportation Resilience. WASHINGTON, DC -- Today, U.S. Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced legislation that would provide the first-ever dedicated stream of resiliency funding for our nation’s public transportation systems.
The Resilient Transit Act of 2022 would authorize $300 million for each fiscal year from 2023 through 2026 for resilience improvement grants to mitigate the impact of severe weather events on public transportation systems. The apportionment of funds would be in accordance with the existing State of Good Repair formula and recipients would be able to utilize these critical resources to finance both stand-alone resilience projects and resilience components of larger system improvement projects as needed.
“As we see extreme weather events and climate change heavily impact the lifecycle of public transportation, we must act to ensure the integrity of these systems, the protection of vulnerable communities, and the investments of taxpayer dollars,” said Rep. Espaillat. “Many Americans rely on public transit as their primary means of transportation, and when these systems are disrupted by extreme weather events, their ability to commute is hampered or even removed. In 2012, Hurricane Sandy flooded much of New York City, including the subway system, rendering tracks unusable. Whereas, measures have been taken to reduce this risk, more can still be done. Our legislation aims to bolster federal funding to increase resiliency of transit systems so communities will be ready when these unforeseen disasters occur.”
"Ten years ago, Superstorm Sandy crippled the New York City subway, leaving millions without a reliable way to get around,” said Senator Gillibrand. “We’ve all seen videos of water cascading down subway stairs and commuters wading through stations with water up to their waist; we can't wait until the next devastating storm to fix the weaknesses in our transit system that these storms have exposed. The Resilient Transit Act will help the MTA and transit agencies across the country make proactive upgrades to subways, trains, buses, and ferries so that they can prepare for future severe weather events and natural disasters and continue to provide the services millions rely on each day. Americans deserve transit systems that can weather any storm, and this bill will take us one step closer to making that a reality.”
The Resilient Transit Act of 2022 would provide direct resiliency funding for public transportation systems to help reduce the vulnerability of transit systems before emergencies, natural disasters, and climate-related events occur. Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/. | 
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