Senate to Vote on TEA-21 Package 
posted February 11, 2004

Senate Debate Restricted – Few Amendments Allowed

Votes Expected on Clean Air, Intercity/Freight Rail Investment, and Stormwater Management on Thursday, Feb. 12

Senate leaders are now pushing to complete legislative work on TEA-21 renewal (S. 1072) before the end of this week, with the potential that only relatively small number of amendments that will actually be offered and voted on by the Senate.

Key to moving quickly is the growing desire by Senators to complete action on the bill by tomorrow evening, if possible, so members can adjourn for the Presidents’ Day recess. To help achieve this outcome, the first item for consideration tomorrow morning – Thursday, February 12, 2004 – will be another Senate vote that would limit further Senate debate and force Senators to dispose of pending amendments to S. 1072.

Several amendments that STPP is concerned about may come up for a vote.  Message points:

• Oppose Sen. Kit Bond’s (R-MO) amendment that will strike the current bill’s provisions that reserves 2% percent of the Surface Transportation Program (STP) for stormwater projects on the federal aid system.

• Support Sen. Barbara Boxer’s (D-CA) amendment to strike provisions in the bill that would weaken the air quality conformity process by shortening the planning horizon for transportation plans from current law of 20 to about 10 years.

• Support Sen. Tom Carper’s (D-DE) bipartisan amendment to provide $2 billion in federal tax credits over six years to support collaborative state/railroad investments in freight and passenger rail facilities.  

STPP and its coalition partners have communicated extensively on the first two issues, but the proposal on rail investment is relatively new.  Here are a few points on the Carper bipartisan amendment.

A bipartisan floor amendment, to be led by Sen. Carper (D-DE), would establish new tax incentives to fund rail infrastructure improvements, including track improvements, intermodal facilities, and other eligible freight and passenger rail investments.  The package would allow states and railroads to jointly develop rail projects.  The funding to support these credits would not take money away from the highway trust fund, and would be entirely offset.

Today, in concert with the rail industry’s “Rail Day on the Hill,” STPP released a new analysis illustrating two emerging trends that underscore the need to expand rail capacity.  First, freight shipments are expected to increase tremendously as the economy and population grow, as much as 57% by 2020.  The second trend the report looks at is the shrinking of the nation’s air service.  The report cites an AASHTO analysis concluding that dedicated federal investment in the nation’s rail infrastructure could take 15 million trucks per year off our highways and save drivers nearly $20 billion per year in time and fuel costs.  In addition, reduced wear and tear on highways would save $17 billion in repairs, and shippers would enjoy $25 billion in costs savings which could be passed on to consumers.  Visit www.transact.org for the full text of the Decoder.

ACTION NEEDED:

Call your Senate offices and advise them of your interest in these amendments. The Carper amendment is a new issue and one that will require specific attention.

RESOURCES:

For a sample letter to Members of Congress about the new STPP report, “The State of the Nation’s Intercity Rail,” visit http://www.transact.org/library/rail_sample_ltr.doc

To see the language of the Carper amendment, visit http://www.transact.org/library/senate_rail_amendment.pdf

Find the updates on TEA-21 renewal and links to key Congressional committees at Tea3.

Join the ANTC coalition to receive updates and find other groups in your state, along with other state-specific statistics, at http://www.transact.org/states/default.asp 

TO REPORT BACK OR For More Information: Contact Andrea Broaddus at the Surface Transportation Policy Project at 202-466-2636.