Rep. Garamendi Secures Over $6 Million for Local Transportation in Fiscal Year 2021 Budget Markup

WASHINGTON, DC—Today, Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA03), a senior member of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, secured new funding for public transportation projects his district in the House Committee on Transportation's markup of the Budget Resolution for fiscal year 2021 (S. Con. Res. 5), commonly known as the "budget reconciliation."

The bill, which the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure passed today and the House of Representatives is expected to pass soon, provides new federal funding to state, county, and municipal transportation agencies throughout the nation to help them provide essential services like public busing, airport service, and commuter rail service. Garamendi secured new federal public transportation funding for the following cities in and around his district:

• Davis: $830,150
• Fairfield: $2,527,694
• Vacaville: $787,979
• Woodland: $399,935
• Yuba City: $1,573,407
• Sacramento: $117,799,667
• California (statewide): $27,104,027

Additionally, Garamendi helped secure $47,713,005 to support Sacramento International Airport (SMF) and $192,813,293 to support San Francisco International Airport (SFO).

"American cities are facing significant budget shortfalls due to the pandemic," Garamendi said. "Congress needs to provide the necessary funds for cities and local governments to prevent essential systems from collapsing. "That's why, as a senior member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, I fought to secure $6,119,165 in new transportation funding for our district today as part of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's markup of the 2021 Budget Resolution. California counties, cities, and towns will use this new funding to transport essential workers and frontline health care workers, and bolster and maintain essential transportation services throughout the pandemic. I'm pleased that this critical funding has passed the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and I will urge its swift adoption in the House and Senate," Garamendi concluded.

According to the Solano Transportation Authority (STA), the COVID-19 pandemic created budget shortfalls of:

• Fairfield: $2,795,361
• Vacaville: $894,922

These budget shortfalls resulted in a 45% reduction of service for the SolanoExpress transit service. The funding that Rep. Garamendi secured today will restore this funding to pre-pandemic levels and allow SolanoExpress to transport essential workers and frontline health care workers who rely on SolanoExpress for their commute.

Additionally, Yolo County Transportation District reported that the funds Rep. Garamendi secured will:

• Cover fare revenue shortfalls for Yolobus brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic
• Fix Yolobus route and paratransit operating and capital costs associated with the redesign and reinstatement of transit services that were cut during the pandemic
• Increase peak hour service frequency of the main Yolobus intercity route

You can view today's Transportation and Infrastructure Committee hearing in full here.