No Desire for Streetcars Act

No Desire for Streetcars Act would explicitly prohibit using funds from several major federal transportation programs to fund streetcars. By adding new prohibitions to four programs—the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG), the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), Urbanized Area Formula Grants (Section 5307), and Fixed Guideway Capital Investment Grants (Section 5309)—the bill would prevent procurement, operation, or maintenance of streetcars with federal money from these sources. The gist is to steer federal transit funding away from streetcar projects, potentially pushing cities to rely on other funding sources or to cancel streetcar plans that would otherwise be supported through these programs. Introduced in the House on June 6, 2025 by Representative Perry, the bill would apply across the specified programs and would override other provisions within those sections for streetcars. It does not create a universal ban on streetcars, nor does it address funding from other federal programs, private funding, or state/local funds beyond the listed programs.