Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964

Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964
Long titleAn Act to authorize the Housing and Home Finance Administrator to provide additional assistance for the development of comprehensive and coordinated mass transportation systems, both public and private, in metropolitan and other urban areas, and for other purposes
Enacted bythe 88th United States Congress
EffectiveJuly 9, 1964
Citations
Public law88-365
Statutes at Large78 Stat. 302 through 78 Stat. 308
Legislative history
  • Introduced in the Senate as S. 6 on January 14, 1963
  • Passed the Senate on April 4, 1963 (52–41)
  • Passed the House as the 212-189 on June 25, 1964 
  • Signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson on July 9, 1964

The Urban Mass Transportation Act of 1964 provided $375 million for large-scale urban public or private rail projects in the form of matching funds to cities and states. The Urban Mass Transportation Administration (now the Federal Transit Administration) was created. It provided capital grants for up to 50% of the cost of transit improvements. It was the first major federal involvement in public transportation.

Like the earlier Buy American Act of 1933, and the later "Buy America" section of the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, the act contained a provision to encourage U.S. government funds to be spent on U.S.-made products.