No Desire for Streetcars Act
Key claim: HR3822 (No Desire for Streetcars Act) would prohibit funds from the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, CMAQ, Urbanized Area Formula Grants, and Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants from being used to procure, operate, or maintain streetcars.
Abstract
(HR3822 · 119th Congress) No Desire for Streetcars Act This bill prohibits funds provided under certain Department of Transportation programs from being used for the procurement, operation, or maintenance of a streetcar. Specifically, this prohibition applies to the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Urbanized Area Formula Grants Program, and Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants Program. Latest action (2025-06-07): Referred to the Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.
Why this matters
The bill would narrow the eligible use of four core FTA/FHWA funding streams by carving streetcars out of programs that transit agencies rely on for both capital and operating support. If enacted, it would foreclose a specific mode choice at the federal-funding level without altering the broader grant frameworks, shifting streetcar projects onto local or state financing.