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≡ METRO KEEPS SWINGING ≡
Requests by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority to the Federal government for $3.2 billion in funding to support added transportation programs related to the 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games in Los Angeles have gone nowhere.
Nothing from the Biden Administration. Nothing so far from the second Trump Administration.
But Metro continues to push for funding, with another lobbying effort detailed during Thursday’s Executive Management Committee hearing, with a new proposal to be included in a possible bill that would replace the expiring, $1.2 trillion “Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill” (also known as the “Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,” P.L. 117-58) passed in 2021 during the Biden Administration.
The Olympic funding concept is a part of a much larger, “USA Build Initiative” to get the Federal government to agree to build and support surface transportation infrastructure (and give billions to Metro). The Olympic-related elements include:
● “2028 Games Recommendation #1 – MEGA Program Eligibility
“Eliminate the requirement in the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (‘MEGA’) Program that public transportation projects must be part of another eligible project to receive assistance under the program.
● “2028 Games Recommendation #2 – MEGA Program Prioritization
“Prioritize funding provided under the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (‘MEGA’) Program to projects that will support a designated National Special Security Event.
● “2028 Games Recommendation #3 – Transportation Assistance for Olympic Cities
“Update the dates and include S.4348 (117th Cong.), the Transportation Assistance for Olympic Cities Act of 2022, in the surface transportation reauthorization bill”
The MEGA program is administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation, which has so far rejected any Olympic funding assistance to Metro, but it is designed for “large, complex projects that are difficult to fund by other means and likely to generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits.”
The 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games certainly fits within the description. However, as the 2021 Act was heavily criticized by Republicans, it is not clear whether a new bill will be considered.
The “Transportation Assistance for Olympic Cities Act of 2022” was introduced by California Senator Alex Padilla in June 2022, was assigned to committee and died there. It directed the Secretary of Transportation to assist with planning and technical assistance for the 2028 Los Angeles Games and 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City and to provide “such sums as are necessary.”
Whether the Congress will pay attention is an open question, but the Trump Administration has continuously reiterated its support for the success of the LA28 Games.
Metro Executive Officer for Government Relations Michael Turner explained that an advocacy program for 2026 is in development, and “top of mind on everything is obviously the [FIFA] World Cup and the Olympics that we will soon be hosting.”
Director of Federal Affairs Raffi Hamparian talked about the ongoing efforts for at least some Olympic-related funding to come to Metro. He said of the current inter-party fight over spending:
“The fiscal 2025 spending bills are a bit of a wreck on Capitol Hill … right now, we’re looking at a Continuing Resolution, taking the Federal Government and keeping it funded through November 21st. …
“For us, there were provisions, especially in the Senate THUD [Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act] bill that were of particular interest.
“We were able, working with our Congressional delegation in the House and with the leadership of Senator Padilla and Senator [Adam] Schiff, we were able to get $68 million in mobility funding for the 2028 Olympic Games. There was also $78 million for transportation related to the World Cup.
“Whether those provisions will survive [in] the Continuing Resolution remains to be seen.”
Observed: To its credit, Metro refuses to take “no” for an answer on Olympic and Paralympic Games funding from Washington, D.C.
The overarching question is what the Trump Administration will choose to do: support Metro, take over the spectator transportation program itself through the Department of Transportation and possibly the military – 1,000 military drivers were used to support the 1996 Atlanta Games – or some composite.
So far, no direction has been announced. But the clock is ticking.
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