{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=05A42970-0840-4E1E-8921-98A6DC404796", "Sens. Moran, Gallego Introduce Bipartisan Legislation to Bolster Small Transit Intensive Cities Program", "2025-11-25", "2025", "2025-11", "Republican", "Senate", "KS", "Jerry Moran", "M000934", "www.moran.senate.gov", "moran", "https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases", "scraper", "WASHINGTON \u2013 U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Ruben Gallego (D-Ariz.) introduced bipartisan legislation to bolster the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Small Transit Intensive Cities (STIC) program by increasing the Section 5307 grant allotment \u2013 which the STIC program utilizes \u2013 from 3 percent to 5 percent to help increase the efficiency and capacity of public transportation in communities with populations between 50,000 and 200,000. The allotment does not necessitate an increase in federal spending; it simply allocates existing funding where it is needed most and rewards high-performing STIC participants.\n\n\u201cPublic transportation provides critical services to communities in Kansas and across the country as people travel to work, doctor\u2019s appointments and more,\u201d said Sen. Moran. \u201cThis legislation will build on the success of the Small Transit Intensive Cities Program and help to make certain high-performing public transit systems in smaller urban or suburban communities can receive the same access to federal investment as higher population areas.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmall urban areas like Flagstaff, Sierra Vista, and Yuma are doing all they can to keep up with demand for affordable, reliable public transportation,\u201d said Sen. Gallego. \u201cThis bill gives these already successful systems the resources they need to expand service and connect even more Arizonans to their jobs, school, and health care. I\u2019m proud to lead this bipartisan bill to support local infrastructure projects.\u201d\n\n\u201cThe Small Transit Intensive Cities program has been critical for Lawrence Transit and many other communities our size,\u201d said Felice Lavergne, Director of Transit for the City of Lawrence. \u201cCollaborating with the University of Kansas provides strong ridership which means we provide levels of service more typical of much larger cities. Continued and increased funding ensures that smaller communities like ours can meet that demand: connecting people to jobs, education, healthcare, and more. We\u2019re grateful for Senator Moran\u2019s leadership in supporting this program.\u201d\n\n\u201cSmall city transit operators are among the most effective and efficient in the nation,\u201d said Scott Bogren, Executive Director of the Community Transportation Association of America (CTAA). \u201cCTAA and its members strongly support S.2957 that further rewards high performance for these agencies. We're pleased to be working with Senators Moran and Gallego on this important legislation.\"\n\nThe STIC Program is an existing FTA program that rewards high transit performance by providing funds to small-urban transit providers. The populations of these communities are between 50,000 and 200,000, and the resources are based on meeting at least one of six measurable performance criteria established annually by the average service levels of larger public transit agencies.\n\nThree Kansas communities fall within the population threshold for STIC, including Lawrence, Topeka and Manhattan. When a public transit agency exceeds the average service level of a large transit agency, it is rewarded with additional federal transit investment. This funding has allowed smaller transit systems to fund projects that increase the efficiency and capacity of public transportation nationwide.\n\nFull text of the legislation can be found HERE.\n\n# # #", 1, "2026-03-30T01:40:41Z", "2026-04-06T19:52:45Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.moran.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=05A42970-0840-4E1E-8921-98A6DC404796"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9070748928934336, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}