APTA Honors 5 Congressional Leaders As Champions Of Public Transportation

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) recently announced the winners of the 2023 Advocacy Champion Awards at its Legislative Conference in Washington, D.C. The awards recognize members of Congress who have led efforts to increase investment in the nation’s public transit, passenger rail and multimodal infrastructure and strongly support public transportation.

This year’s recipients were instrumental in enacting the 2022 and 2023 Transportation, Housing and Urban Development (THUD) Appropriations Acts, Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and COVID-19 emergency relief funding.

The 2023 APTA Advocacy Champion Awards winners are:

• Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Chair, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate;
• Senator Susan M. Collins (R-ME), Vice Chair, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. Senate;
• Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL), former Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation and Safety, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. Senate;
• Representative Mario Diaz-Balart (R-FL), former Chair and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, U.S. House of Representatives; and,
• Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Ranking Member and former Chair, Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, U.S. House of Representatives.

“Investment in public transportation remains critical for America’s future strength and prosperity, and we applaud this year’s Advocacy Champions for their extraordinary commitment to infrastructure improvements for passenger connectivity around the country,” APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas said.