119-hr4719

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 4719 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
 H. R. 4719

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program 
to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, and for other 
 purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 July 23, 2025

 Ms. Pressley (for herself, Ms. Adams, Mrs. Beatty, Mr. Bishop, Ms. 
Brown, Mr. Carson, Mr. Cleaver, Mr. Clyburn, Ms. Crockett, Mr. Davis of 
Illinois, Mr. Fields, Mr. Jackson of Illinois, Mr. Johnson of Georgia, 
 Ms. Lee of Pennsylvania, Mrs. McIver, Ms. Moore of Wisconsin, Ms. 
Norton, Ms. Omar, Mrs. Ramirez, Ms. Simon, Ms. Tlaib, and Ms. Williams 
 of Georgia) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
 Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure

_______________________________________________________________________

 A BILL

To direct the Secretary of Transportation to carry out a grant program 
to support efforts to provide fare-free transit service, and for other 
 purposes.

 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

 This Act may be cited as the ``Freedom to Move Act''.

SEC. 2. PURPOSE.

 The purposes of this Act are--

    (1) to invest in State, county, and local municipalities 
 efforts to provide fare-free public transportation; and

    (2) to support State, county, and local municipalities in 
 improving and expanding access to safe, accessible, and 
 reliable mass transit systems in order to improve the 
 livability of communities.

SEC. 3. GRANTS TO SUPPORT FARE-FREE TRANSIT.

    (a) In General.--Not later than 360 days after the date of 
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall award grants (which shall be 
known as ``Freedom to Move Grants'') to eligible entities, on a 
competitive basis, to cover the lost fare revenue for fare-free public 
transportation and improve public transportation.

    (b) Application.--To be eligible to receive a grant under this 
section, an eligible entity shall submit to the Secretary an 
application at such time, in such manner, and containing such 
information as the Secretary may require, including, at a minimum, the 
following:

    (1) A description of how the eligible entity plans to 
 implement fare free transit access.

    (2) A description of how the entity will work to expand and 
 improve bus service, which may include--
        (A) a bus network redesign;
        (B) how such redesign will prioritize consistent 
 and reliable service for low-income and historically 
 underserved communities;
            (C) how such redesign will prioritize connectivity 
 to critical services and improve community livability; 
 and
            (D) how the eligible entity will meaningfully 
 consult with community, community leaders, local 
 stakeholders and advocates, including transit advocates 
 and disability advocates, local education agencies and 
 institutions of higher education, community developers, 
 labor unions, public housing agencies and workforce 
 development boards, while facilitating such redesign.

    (3) A description of how the eligible entity will 
 meaningfully partner and collaborate with community, community 
 leaders, local stakeholders and advocates, including transit 
 advocates and disability advocates, local education agencies 
 and institutions of higher education, community developers, 
 labor unions, public housing agencies and workforce development 
 boards to support outreach efforts to increase awareness of 
 fare-free bus and transit programs.

    (4) A description of the eligible entity's equity 
 evaluation examining any transit and mobility gaps within the 
 current transit system and how the eligible entity plans to 
 significantly improve these gaps, including--
        (A) the average commute times for driver commuters 
 and non-driver commuters;
        (B) public transit ridership rates disaggregated by 
 mode of transportation and demographic group (youth 
 (including youth involved in the foster care system), 
 seniors, individuals with disabilities, and low-income 
 status); and
            (C) average length of bus routes and average delay 
 times.

    (5) A description of the eligible entity's current fare 
 evasion enforcement policies, including--
        (A) the cost of the fine and whether the infraction 
 is considered a civil offense or a criminal offense 
 punishable by imprisonment;
        (B) the number of individuals charged with 
 violating a fare evasion policy, disaggregated by age, 
 race, gender, and disability status; and
            (C) how the eligible entity plans to eliminate fare 
 evasion policies and end the criminalization of 
 individuals evading fares.

    (6) An estimate of additional costs as a result of 
 increased ridership, including--
        (A) fuel;
        (B) personnel;
            (C) maintenance; and
            (D) other operational costs.

    (7) Information and statistics on assaults on transit 
 employees and a description of trainings and policies to 
 protect employees, which may include de-escalation training.
            (c) Duration.--Grants awarded under this section shall be for a 5-
year period.
            (d) Selection of Eligible Entities.--In carrying out the program 
under this section, the Secretary shall award grants to eligible 
entities located in both rural and urbanized areas.

    (e) Uses of Funds.--An eligible entity that receives a grant under 
this section shall use such grant to support--

    (1) implementing a fare-free transit program; and

    (2) efforts to improve public transportation, particularly 
 in underserved communities, including costs associated with 
 efforts to provide more safe, frequent, and reliable bus 
 service, including--
        (A) bus stop safety and accessibility improvements;
        (B) pedestrian and bike shelters;
            (C) signage;
            (D) painted bus lanes;
        (E) signal priority systems;
        (F) street redesign;
        (G) operational costs to meet demands of increased 
 ridership, including hiring and training of personnel; 
 and
        (H) conducting a bus network redesign.

    (f) 

=== Definitions. ===
-In this section:

    (1) Eligible entities.--In this section, the term 
 ``eligible entity'' means--
        (A) a State, county, local municipality;
        (B) a transit agency;
            (C) a private nonprofit organization engaged in 
 public transportation in rural areas; or
            (D) a partnership between entities described in 
 subparagraphs
        (A) through
            (C) .

    (2) Underserved community.--The term ``underserved 
 community'' means--
        (A) a community not served by existing bus routes 
 or infrequent service; and
        (B) a community located in an area within a census 
 tract that is identified as--
            (i) a low-income community; and
            (ii) a community of color.

    (3) Low-income individuals.--The term ``low-income 
 individuals'' means an individual whose family income is at or 
 below 150 percent of the poverty line (as that term is defined 
 in 

section 673

    (2) of the Community Service Block Grant Act (42 
 U.S.C. 9902

    (2) ), including any revision required by that 
 section) for a family of the size involved.

    (4) Foster care youth.--The term ``foster care youth''--
        (A) means children and youth whose care and 
 placement are the responsibility of the State or Tribal 
 agency that administers a State or Tribal plan under 
 part B or E of title IV of the Social Security Act (42 
 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et seq.), without regard to 
 whether foster care maintenance payments are made under 
 

section 472 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 672) on behalf of 
 such children and youth; and
        (B) includes individuals who were age 13 or older 
 when their care and placement were the responsibility 
 of a State or Tribal agency that administered a State 
 or Tribal plan under part B or E of title IV of the 
 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 621 et seq. and 670 et 
 seq.) and who are no longer under the care and 
 responsibility of such a State or Tribal agency, 
 without regard to any such individual's subsequent 
 adoption, guardianship arrangement, or other form of 
 permanency outcome.

    (5) Public transportation.--The term ``public 
 transportation''--
        (A) means regular, continuing shared-ride surface 
 transportation services that are open to the general 
 public or open to a segment of the general public 
 defined by age, disability, or low income; and
        (B) does not include--
            (i) intercity passenger rail transportation 
 provided by the entity described in chapter 243 
 of title 49, United States Code (or a successor 
 to such entity);
            (ii) intercity bus service;
            (iii) charter bus service;
            (iv) school bus service;
            (v) sightseeing service;
            (vi) courtesy shuttle service for patrons 
 of one or more specific establishments; or
            (vii) intra-terminal or intra-facility 
 shuttle services.

    (g) Report.--

    (1) In general.--Not later than 3 years after the date on 
 which funds are made available to carry out this section, the 
 Secretary shall collect data from eligible entities receiving a 
 grant under this section on the progress of meeting the targets 
 described in the application of such entity.

    (2) Requirements.--The report required under paragraph

    (1) shall--
        (A) collect data on demographics of communities 
 served under this Act, disaggregated and cross-
 tabulated by--
            (i) race;
            (ii) ethnicity;
            (iii) sex; and
            (iv) household median income; and
        (B) progress towards significantly closing transit 
 equity gaps as described in subsection

    (b)

    (4) .

    (h) Authorization of Appropriations.--There is authorized to be 
appropriated to carry out this section $5,000,000,000 for each of 
fiscal years 2026 through 2030.
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