WASHINGTON\u00a0\u2014\u00a0The House Appropriations Committee has approved $875 million to fund public transportation for the 2028 Olympic Games, a positive sign for LA28 after the exclusion of Olympics transit funding from President Trump\u2019s fiscal year 2027 budget request this spring.<\/p>\n
The funding must be passed by Congress in a future spending bill \u2014 part of a lengthy 2027 budgeting process that is underway now \u2014 but its approval in committee last week is a crucial signal of investment from Washington after weeks of uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are encouraged by the House Appropriations Committee\u2019s action,\u201d spokesperson Maya Pogoda of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority said in a statement, \u201cand we look forward to continuing to work with the Senate and the White House to make America\u2019s Games the best ever in history.\u201d<\/p>\n
LA Metro has sought $2 billion in federal funding for the planned transit service for the Games, which includes leasing buses, hiring drivers and building temporary depots. With the clock ticking to start projects that require significant lead time to be completed before the Games, the absence of any funding in Trump\u2019s budget request in April had raised concerns<\/a> among lawmakers and other stakeholders.<\/p>\n In recent weeks, the transit authority, the city and LA28 had publicly pressed for federal funding; LA28 Chief Executive Casey Wasserman reportedly met<\/a> with lawmakers on Capitol Hill in April.<\/p>\n \u201cThe House Appropriations Committee\u2019s most recent transportation bill is another positive signal of the continued bipartisan support in Congress to provide federal transit money for the Games,\u201d LA28 spokesperson Jacie Prieto Lopez told The Times.<\/p>\n The inclusion of the funding in the bill<\/a> conveyed bipartisan support for the Games, an event that Trump \u2014 who places an outsize importance on displays of patriotism<\/a> \u2014 is likely to want to see go well during his tenure. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is on the American stage,\u201d said former Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, who was on the City Council during the 1984 Olympic Games. \u201cThe success of the Games are the success of the country.\u201d<\/p>\n The Olympics item was included in the fiscal year 2027 transportation funding bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week. In its report, the committee noted that the funding is intended for all host cities, including those outside California.<\/p>\n \u201cThe 2028 games will put our nation on center stage, and this investment will help ensure that we are prepared to meet the moment and showcase why the United States is the best country in the world,\u201d Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who chairs the subcommittee that put forth the bill, said in a statement.<\/p>\n