After uncertainty, a good sign for 2028 Games transportation funding
WASHINGTON— The House Appropriations Committee approved $875 million to fund public transportation for the 2028 Olympic Games; This is a positive sign for LA28 following the exclusion of Olympic transit funding from President Trump’s fiscal year 2027 budget request this spring.
The fund must be passed in the next spending bill from Congress as part of the lengthy 2027 budgeting process currently underway, but its approval in committee last week is a crucial signal of investment from Washington after weeks of uncertainty.
“We are encouraged by the House Appropriations Committee’s action,” Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority spokeswoman Maya Pogoda said in a statement, “and we look forward to continuing to work with the Senate and the White House to make America’s Games the best in history.”
LA Metro has requested $2 billion in federal funding for public transit service planned for the Games, which includes bus rentals, driver rentals and building temporary warehouses. The absence of any funding in Trump’s April budget request as the clock ticks down to launch projects that require significant lead time to complete before the Games. expressed concerns among lawmakers and other stakeholders.
In recent weeks, the transit authority, the city and LA28 had publicly pushed for federal funding; LA28 Chief Executive Officer Casey Wasserman It was reported that it was discussed On Capitol Hill with lawmakers in April.
“The House Appropriations Committee’s latest transportation bill is another positive signal of continued bipartisan support in Congress for providing federal transit money for the Games,” LA28 spokeswoman Jacie Prieto Lopez told The Times.
Inclusion of financing in the program invoice There was bipartisan support for the games; This event is something that Trump – which he attaches great importance to – displays of patriotism – will probably want to see good progress during his term.
“This is on the American stage,” said former Los Angeles County Executive Zev Yaroslavsky, who was on the City Council during the 1984 Olympic Games. “The success of the games is the success of the country.”
The Olympics clause was included in the fiscal year 2027 transportation funding bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee last week. The funding is intended for all host cities, including those outside California, the committee noted in its report.
“The 2028 games will put our country at the center, and this investment will help us be ready to meet the moment and show why the United States is the best country in the world,” Rep. Steve Womack (R-Ark.), who chaired the subcommittee that introduced the bill, said in a statement.
The Games in Los Angeles are expected to draw large crowds and will be the first Summer Olympics to be held in the United States since Atlanta hosted them in 1996. More than 4 million tickets were sold during LA28’s initial ticket sales; A. second ticket drop It’s coming in August.
The massive event requires federal involvement not only in funding but also on issues such as athlete visas and the import of Olympic horses.
LA Metro planned to rent 1,700 buses from transit agencies across the country, build three temporary transit depots and create special traffic lanes for athletes, officials and others, as required by the International Olympic Committee. Metro estimates there will be 1 million additional trips per day during the 16-day Games.
Yaroslavsky said it is vital that federal funding is secured in a timely manner, especially given the scope of security and transportation considerations for the expanded Games.
“The city and the LA28 committee need to know that this money will be made available,” Yaroslavsky said. “This needs to be in place long before the Games start.”
