{
  "id": "R44534",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "R44534",
  "active": true,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 453549,
      "date": "2016-06-20",
      "retrieved": "2016-11-28T22:02:31.188978",
      "title": "Public Transportation Capital Investment Grant (New Starts) Program: Background and Issues for Congress",
      "summary": "The Capital Investment Grant (CIG) program, often called New Starts, is a discretionary funding program for the construction of new fixed-guideway public transportation systems and the expansion of existing systems. Eligible projects include transit rail, including subway/elevated rail (heavy rail), light rail, and commuter rail, as well as bus rapid transit (BRT) and ferries.\nThe CIG program is one element of the federal public transportation program that is administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) within the Department of Transportation (DOT). In December 2015, the CIG program was reauthorized from FY2016 through FY2020 as part of the Fixing America\u2019s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act (P.L. 114-94). Funding is authorized at $2.3 billion per year, or about 19% of the overall federal public transportation program budget. Unlike FTA\u2019s other major programs, funding for the CIG program comes from the general fund of the U.S. Treasury, not the mass transit account of the Highway Trust Fund. CIG funding, therefore, is subject to appropriation each year. The CIG program allocates discretionary grants, whereas the other major programs apportion funds by formula.\nThere are four types of CIG projects:\nNew Starts, an operable segment of a new fixed-guideway system or an extension of an existing system that costs $300 million or more and receives $100 million or more in CIG funding. \nSmall Starts, a new fixed-guideway project or a corridor-based BRT that costs less than $300 million and receives less than $100 million of CIG funding. \nCore Capacity, expansion of an existing fixed-guideway corridor to increase capacity by 10% or more.\nProgram of Interrelated Projects, the simultaneous development of two or more New Starts, Small Starts, or Core Capacity projects, or a combination thereof.\nThe five key policy issues with the CIG program are the federal role in funding major transit projects, program funding, the types of projects supported, project delivery speed, and private involvement in project delivery. Although disagreements exist about federal involvement in major public transportation capital projects through the CIG program, and the appropriate level of CIG funding, no comprehensive benefit-cost studies are available on completed CIG projects to evaluate the relative success of the CIG program as federal policy.\nLegislative and regulatory changes to the CIG program over the past decade have led to federal support of more BRT and streetcar projects. Critics have questioned whether some of these projects, particularly streetcars, provide enough transportation benefits to justify the costs. Legislative changes have also sought to reduce the time it takes for projects to be developed and constructed. Little is known about whether these changes have been effective. Private involvement in CIG projects through public-private partnerships (P3s) has been encouraged in federal law for many years, including changes introduced in the FAST Act. To date, however, only a few public transportation P3s involving private-sector funding have been formed.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
      "active": true,
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      "topics": [
        {
          "source": "IBCList",
          "id": 4800,
          "name": "Public Transit & Passenger Rail"
        }
      ]
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Environmental Policy",
    "Transportation Policy"
  ]
}