# Plain Language Summary: No Desire for Streetcars Act

This bill would prevent the federal government from using money from four major transportation funding programs to pay for streetcars—those rail-based vehicles that run on tracks laid into city streets. Essentially, it's a blanket ban that says if a city or state wants to build, operate, or maintain a streetcar system, they cannot use federal transportation dollars to do it.

The bill targets four specific federal funding sources that cities and states normally tap into for transportation projects. The first is the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, which gives states money for various road and transit projects. The second is the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, designed to help reduce traffic and pollution in areas that don't meet air quality standards. The third is the Urbanized Area Formula Grants program, which funds public transit in cities. The fourth is the Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants program, which typically funds rail and bus rapid transit projects. By blocking streetcars from all four programs, the bill essentially cuts off the main federal funding pathways these projects would normally use.

For most people, this would mainly affect cities considering or already operating streetcar systems—places like New Orleans, Portland, or Washington D.C. If a city wanted to expand its streetcar system or build a new one, it would have to find alternative funding sources, likely meaning local taxes, bonds, or private investment. Cities that already operate streetcars could still maintain them, but they'd need to find non-federal money to do so. The practical effect is that streetcar projects become significantly more expensive and harder to fund, which could slow or prevent new streetcar development in American cities.

No Desire for Streetcars Act

Perry, Scott

No Desire for Streetcars Act This bill prohibits funds from certain programs to be used for the procurement, operation, or maintenance of a streetcar, including the surface transportation block grant program and fixed guideway capital investment grant program.