It is imperative that Congress protects and enhances core investment programs, such as the Section 5337 State of Good Repair program, which helps ensure our transit systems are safe, reliable, and efficient.
Protect and enhance core federal transit investment programs, including the Section 5337 State of Good Repair program, and preserve and strengthen dedicated transit funding in the Surface Transportation Reauthorization.
Occurrences
introduced the Transit Workforce Development Act, a bill to expand workforce training and strengthen the pipeline of skilled workers needed to support the nation’s public transportation systems
Evidence
“It is imperative that Congress protects and enhances core investment programs, such as the Section 5337 State of Good Repair program,” Garamendi said in a press release announcing a coalition letter urging the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to make strong public transportation investments in the upcoming Surface Transportation Reauthorization. The release says current surface transportation law expires in September 2026 and asks Congress to “preserve and strengthen the dedicated resources that keep these systems in a state of good repair.”
The committee states that the most recent surface transportation reauthorization expires on September 30, 2026, and that passing the next bipartisan, multi-year surface transportation reauthorization before expiration is one of its main priorities for the 119th Congress.
The same release notes that the members wrote: “As Congress considers the next surface transportation reauthorization, we urge you to preserve and strengthen the dedicated resources that keep these systems in a state of good repair. A critical component of this investment is the Section 5337-State of Good Repair program...”
The bill text includes appropriations for public transportation accounts covering 49 U.S.C. 5337, with $14,642,000,000 to be derived from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund for FY2026 obligations under federal public transportation assistance programs.
Congress.gov shows H.R. 6938 became Public Law No. 119-74 on January 23, 2026, indicating Garamendi’s appropriations-related transit funding effort in the same Congress moved through a separate vehicle and was enacted, though not the reauthorization policy itself.
The Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved H.R. 8870, the bipartisan five-year BUILD America 250 reauthorization bill. The release says it invests in transit, rail, roads, and bridges, and the chairman said he wants a final bill before the current law expires on September 30, 2026.
The committee's reauthorization page says the BUILD America 250 Act is the bipartisan five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill and notes the committee marked it up and approved it on May 22, 2026; it also links the text as available.
The Committee Repository page was last updated on June 15, 2026 and added an After Action Report. It lists H.R. 8870 and the official votes and support documents from the May 21 markup, including the final vote package.
The After Action Report states that H.R. 8870, the BUILD America 250 Act, was agreed to and ordered favorably reported to the House, as amended, by a recorded vote of 62 yeas and 2 nays.
Section 3022 amends 49 U.S.C. 5337, the State of Good Repair grants program. Section 3023 rewrites 49 U.S.C. 5338 to make Mass Transit Account funding available for programs including section 5337, with annual amounts for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
The section-by-section summary says Section 3022 amends the State of Good Repair grants program and Section 3023 specifies funding amounts for formula and discretionary public transportation programs for fiscal years 2027 through 2031.
Assessments
The promised outcome has not been fully delivered because the surface transportation reauthorization preserving and strengthening dedicated transit funding, including Section 5337 State of Good Repair, has not been enacted. Garamendi did make a direct same-term effort through advocacy and a coalition letter, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee advanced H.R. 8870 with provisions addressing Section 5337 and FY2027-2031 transit funding. Committee approval and bill text are meaningful progress, but they remain short of final passage into law, so this merits partial credit rather than delivered.
Garamendi made a direct current-term push to preserve and strengthen Section 5337 and dedicated transit funding, including a coalition letter and related committee advocacy. However, the evidence does not show the surface transportation reauthorization becoming law or a Section 5337-specific funding victory; the bill had only advanced through committee and the policy goal remained pending.
The evidence shows Garamendi actively advocated during the current Congress to protect and enhance Section 5337 and dedicated transit funding in the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization, including signing and promoting a coalition letter. However, the key promised vehicle—the next Surface Transportation Reauthorization—was still pending as of the cited committee materials, with current law not yet replaced. Separate appropriations measures continued funding for transit accounts, including Section 5337-related support, but that is not the same as successfully preserving and strengthening those programs in the reauthorization specifically promised. Because there is clear effort but no completed reauthorization outcome yet, the promise is best judged unresolved rather than delivered or never.