Federal ferry funds now flow to private operators—with undefined profit margins
H.R. 8200 — Interstate Ferry Fairness Act · Filed by Nicolas LaLota (R-NY) · 11 cosponsors · Introduced Apr 6, 2026 · Referred to committee
Your members of Congress
Enter a ZIP to see where your representative and both senators stood on this bill.
Looked up on this device — your ZIP is never stored on our servers.
What it does
This bill amends federal transportation law to allow privately owned or majority-privately owned ferry operators and terminal facilities to receive federal funding under the Ferry Boat Program, provided the Secretary of Transportation determines they provide substantial public benefits or meet surface transportation needs. The bill permits the federal government to directly fund construction or purchase of private ferry boats and terminals for interstate routes, and allows private operators to charge fares capped at operating costs plus a Secretary-approved 'reasonable rate of return' on capital.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is federal funding for private ferry assets and operations, coupled with an explicit profit-return clause. While framed as expanding transportation access, the core function is redirecting public capital into private ownership and returns.
What the text implies
- The 'reasonable rate of return' clause is undefined and delegated entirely to the Secretary—no statutory cap, benchmark, or public process specified. This creates discretionary subsidy authority with minimal oversight.
- Federal funds may purchase ferry boats and terminals for private ownership outright, converting public capital into private assets. The bill does not require repayment, equity stakes, or clawback provisions if the operator exits or fails.
- The 'substantial public benefits' standard is vague and not defined in the bill. Operators may argue almost any interstate ferry meets this threshold, creating a low bar for subsidy eligibility.
- Private operators retain all revenues above operating costs and the Secretary-approved profit margin. There is no requirement to reinvest excess revenues, share them with the public, or apply them to underserved routes.
- The bill applies only to interstate ferries, potentially excluding intrastate and urban ferry systems from this subsidy pathway, creating a geographic and operational carve-out favoring certain routes and operators.
Section numbers refer to the bill text the analysis read — linked under Primary records below.
Who it affects
Citizens may benefit from expanded ferry service on underserved interstate routes and improved transportation options. However, the bill creates a subsidy mechanism for private operators—federal funds purchasing assets for private ownership—and introduces a profit-extraction clause ('reasonable rate of return') that shifts public investment into private returns, with minimal transparency guardrails on what constitutes 'substantial public benefits' or a 'reasonable' profit margin.
Who stands to gain
- private ferry operators
- majority-privately owned ferry companies
- ferry terminal operators (private or majority-private)
- maritime construction and shipbuilding contractors
Named in the bill
Secretary of Transportation, Ferry Boat Program, Interstate ferry operators, Title 23 USC (federal highway funding), Title 49 USC (public transit), Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, SO (mapped stock ticker)
Where it stands
11 cosponsors: 6 Democrats, 5 Republicans.
- Apr 6, 2026 — Introduced · Congress.gov: “Introduced in House”
- Apr 6, 2026 — Referred to House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure · Congress.gov: “Referred to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure”
Dates and quoted wording are Congress.gov's action record; the timeline shows status changes, not every procedural step.
Money around this bill
1 lobbying clients named this bill on 1 disclosure filings across 1 quarter, Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. Those filings disclosed $0 in lobbying spend. A filing names 1 bills on average, so that figure is what each filing reported, not a share belonging to this bill.
More lobbying clients named this bill than 0% of bills with at least one filing.
Nicolas LaLota, the sponsor, reported $986,333 in PAC receipts in the 2026 cycle.
- Mormac Marine Group, Inc. — $0 on 1 filing
Lobbying Disclosure Act filings through Jul 16, 2026. A filing shows who paid to lobby on a bill it names, not what changed.
How this was measured
Analysis — Quorum's AI read the bill text published by Congress.gov (3,461 characters) on Aug 15, 2026. Section numbers in the findings refer to that text, linked below; transparency and hidden-provision scores are compared against the median of 16,222 analysed bills.
Status and sponsors — Congress.gov's bill record — actions, committee referrals and cosponsors — loaded nightly. The timeline shows status changes, not every procedural action.
Money — Senate Lobbying Disclosure Act filings whose specific-issue field names this bill for quarters ending Jun 2026 to Jun 2026. A filing's amount is reported whole beside the median number of bills a filing names; it is never divided across them. PAC receipts are FEC-reported contributions to the sponsor's candidate committee in the 2026 cycle.
As of — lobbying records through Jul 16, 2026 · page rendered 2026-10-20.
“Federal ferry funds now flow to private operators—with undefined profit margins” QuorumCivic. https://share.quorumcivic.app/bill/119/hr8200 Report an error
The week in bills
One email, Sunday: what Congress passed, what it changed, and who paid.
One link arrives to confirm the address. It is used for this email and nothing else, and every issue carries an unsubscribe link.