House Subcommittee to hold New Starts hearing

A hearing of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, chaired by Rep. Tom Petri (R-WI), will examine demands on the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) New Starts program.

FTA’s Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants program, commonly known as “New Starts,” provides a competitive grant process for large transit projects that cannot traditionally be funded from a transit agency’s annual formula funding.

At this hearing, the Subcommittee will focus on the changes made to the program in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and highlight the expansion in available project eligibility and growth in grant applications.

The hearing, entitled “Examining the Current and Future Demands on FTA’s Capital Investment Grants,” is scheduled to begin at 2 p.m. on Dec. 11, 2013. The Witness list includes:

• Peter M. Rogoff, administrator, FTA.

• Gregory H. Hughes, chairman, board of trustees, Utah Transit Authority.

• Chris Bushell, chief infrastructure officer, Chicago Transit Authority.

• Chris Coleman, Mayor, St. Paul, Minn.

• Randal O’Toole, sr. fellow, Cato Institute

More information about the hearing, including written testimony, additional background information and link to a live webcast, will be posted here as it becomes available.