Congress quietly defunds transit-oriented housing, favoring sprawl
H.R. 8230 — NO TOD Act · Filed by Scott Perry (R-PA) · Introduced Apr 9, 2026 · Referred to committee
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What it does
This bill removes transit-oriented development (TOD) projects—mixed-use developments designed around transit hubs—from eligibility for two federal transportation financing programs: TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation) and RRIF (Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing). It also eliminates a TOD planning pilot program. The effect is to bar federal financing support for projects that combine housing, commercial space, and transit infrastructure, redirecting those funds away from this development model.
Why we flagged it
The bill's operative mechanism is straightforward: it removes an entire class of projects (TOD) from two federal financing programs and eliminates a pilot program. The functional effect is defunding/deauthorization of a specific development model, not a complex regulatory reform.
What the text implies
- Removal of TOD financing may shift development patterns toward car-dependent sprawl, as projects that integrate housing, retail, and transit become harder to finance federally.
- The definition of TOD in the bill is extremely broad ('designed for commercial or residential use'), potentially capturing mixed-use projects that are not primarily transit-oriented, creating ambiguity in implementation.
The full analysis lists 4 implications of this text.
Who stands to gain
automobile manufacturers and related industries (increased car dependency); suburban real-estate developers (sprawl-oriented projects become relatively more competitive); highway construction and maintenance contractors (shift away from transit-oriented development favor