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| May
12, 2003; Volume IX, Issue 10 |
| House
Panel Plans Hearings on Administration's SAFETEA
Bill
 Anticipating
submittal of the Administration’s proposal for
TEA-21 reauthorization this week, the House
Highways, Transit and Pipelines Subcommittee has
scheduled a hearing for Thursday, May 15 to
review the long-awaited bill. Department of
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta will
testify. The subcommittee will also hold
hearings next week to receive additional comment
on the legislation. The Administration’s bill,
the Safe and Flexible Transportation Efficiency
Act of 2003 (SAFETEA), is expected to offer a
modest increase in funding, consolidate some
programs, emphasize highway safety, and propose
changes affecting clean air attainment
procedures and project delivery.
Meanwhile, the full
House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee’s leadership continues to focus
their efforts on finding ways to increase
federal highway spending to provide the funds
for their TEA-21 renewal vision.
For more information,
visit TEA3.org
|
Elected
Officials Discuss TEA-21, More Money and
Authority Top List
 On
5/7, the House Highways, Transit and Pipelines
Subcommittee held a hearing to explore what
Governors, Mayors, and other local elected
officials want in TEA-21 reauthorization. In
particular, lawmakers asked Governors and local
elected officials to speak to the ambitious $375
billion funding target identified by Committee’s
leadership. Most witnesses testified in support
of a six-year bill and increased spending with
several specifying the need for visible results
and more resources at the local level.
House Leadership
Priorities for Reauthorization
In opening
statements, Chairman Tom Petri (R-WI) and
Ranking Member Bill Lipinski (D-IL) identified
needs to maintain and improve the nation’s
infrastructure and economic stimulus as the
underlying reasons to increase federal
transportation spending substantially above
TEA-21 levels. Other lawmakers also outlined
system preservation, greater funding at the
metropolitan level, and land use planning as
priorities for reauthorization, while engaging
in customary debates over donor-donee status.
Several Members also described the importance of
investing in freight mobility, intelligent
transportation systems, security, and
traditional and new transit markets.
Governors Split on
Donor-Donee, United on Maintaining ISTEA, TEA-21
Framework
Although Governors were divided over a
controversial proposal by the State Highway
Alliance for Real Equity (SHARE), which seeks to
guarantee all states a minimum 95% rate of
return, they were united in support of the
ISTEA-TEA-21 framework. According to Kentucky
Governor Paul Patton and Chairman of the
National Governors Association, “The Governors
also concur that the current program structure,
which features state and local planning and
decision-making, flexibility, guaranteed funding
levels for highways and transit, and an
intermodal approach is working well and should
be retained.”
Newly-elected Governor
Ed Rendell of Pennsylvania suggested the
creation of a Federal Capital Budget to invest
in transportation at the same level as other G-7
nations. Elected on a smart growth platform,
Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm identified
the state’s Preserve First initiative, which
seeks to bring 90% of roads into good or fair
condition, as a performance-based approach to
transportation that is fiscally responsible.
Local Officials
Build Case for Greater Share of Transportation
Resources
A second panel of local officials,
including Mayors Victor Ashe of Knoxville, Greg
Nickles of Seattle, Elizabeth Flores of Laredo,
and William Brooks of Belle Isle, FL, testified
in support of suballocation, or a greater share
of funding and authority at the metropolitan
level, on behalf of the U.S. Conference of
Mayors, the National League of Cities, and the
National Association of County Officials. In
particular, Mayor Ashe described suballocation
as an answer to state bureaucracies slowing down
project delivery, noting that even after
environmental and public review, states can take
twice as much time to complete a project
compared to local governments.
Mayor Flores also noted
that Metropolitan Planning Organizations in
non-attainment areas should directly receive
CMAQ funding since state transportation agencies
have under spent a total of $2 billion in air
quality funds over the past 10 years. In Texas,
only 72% of CMAQ funds were obligated, despite
demand for air quality improvements in places
like Laredo which handles 40 percent of all
overland trade between the United States and
Mexico.
To read the testimony,
see www.house.gov/transportation.
For more information on
the case for suballocation, click
here.
|
New
Goods Movement Caucus Seeks to Advance Freight
Mobility in TEA-3
In an event
related to the 5/7 hearing, Congresswoman
Millender-McDonald (D-CA) and Congressman Diaz-Balart
(R-FL) launched the “Goods Movement Caucus”
to begin crafting a freight agenda for TEA-21
reauthorization. Mayor Beverly O’ Neill of
Long Beach, CA identified the need to invest in
“critical chokepoints” near major
international trade centers such as the Ports of
Long Beach and Los Angeles, which receives 42%
of all U.S. inbound containers. The Ports
handles goods for every region in the country,
including $2.2 billion in the Northwest, $8.6
billion in the Great Plains, $25 billion in the
Great Lakes states, $34.3 billion in the
Northeast, $10 billion in the Southeast states,
and $98 billion in the Southwest states. The
16-member caucus is gathering input from local
elected officials, transportation agencies, and
stakeholder groups to develop policy initiatives
that support projects of national economic
significance in TEA-21 reauthorization.
For more
information on the Goods Movement Caucus,
contact John Young in Congresswoman Millender-McDonald’s
office at 202.225.7924.
|
|
Joint House Hearing Focuses on Human
Service Transportation Coordination
 On
May 1, the House Transportation and
Infrastructure Committee and the House Education
and Workforce Committee held a joint hearing on
coordinating human service transportation. At
issue are the 62 federal programs that provide a
critical lifeline for the transportation
disadvantaged and the thirty-year effort to make
federal, state, and local agencies integrate an
estimated $4-7 billion worth of human service
transit.
According to Congressman
Petri (R-WI), who is the second highest-ranking
Republican member of both committees, “Coordinating
these transportation services would encourage
efficiency and reduce costs through the shared
use of personnel, equipment and facilities,
thereby improving the level of service for
current clients and making an expansion of
services possible. However, coordination can’t
be done alone. A single Department trying to
coordinate alone is like playing a game of catch
with yourself.”
Funded by eight federal
agencies through 25 separate pieces of
legislation, these transportation programs are
typically managed by state and local human
service agencies that provide transit for a
specific destination such as employment, job
training, HeadStart or health care. According to
testimony by Kate Siggerud, Acting Director of
Physical Infrastructure Issues, U.S. General
Accounting Office, although half of all states
are believed to have a coordination initiative
underway, the lack of funding for the DOT/HHS
Coordinating Council on Access and Mobility and
limited guidance at the federal level hampers
transportation, social services, health and
mental health, and area agencies on aging from
providing coordinated transit service.
Recommendations by
witnesses include financial incentives or
requirements to encourage coordination similar
to the DOT’s Job Access and Reverse Commute
program which requires participation by human
service agencies; harmonized criteria for
program eligibility, reporting, and funding
cycles; and technical assistance to help
federal, state, and local providers develop
better service and cost sharing arrangements. In
addition, David Wenzel, President of the
National Council on Disability, recommended
Congress set-aside 5 percent of Surface
Transportation Program (STP) funds and
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ)
funds for making sidewalks accessible to people
with disabilities. Although this use is
currently eligible for CMAQ and STP, witnesses
noted that few states and Metropolitan Planning
Organizations have spent funds accordingly.
For more information,
visit the
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's
website.
|
| Joint
Congressional Committee Holds Hearing on
Reauthorization Funding
 Congress’
Joint Economic Committee held a hearing on May 6
to review potential new sources of highway
funding for a TEA-21 renewal bill. Two new
sources of revenue were suggested: an increase
in the federal gas tax and “congestion
pricing,” a system whereby fees are levied on
users of high-demand roadways, particularly
during peak travel hours. Tolls are not
currently allowed on interstate highways.
Congestion
pricing was broadly supported among the
witnesses as a means for maximizing the
efficiency of the highway system by
simultaneously raising new revenues and helping
to relieve congestion. Most witnesses envisioned
that congestion pricing would begin on existing
HOV lanes and that transit vehicles would be
exempt from fees. Rep. Mark Kennedy (R-MN)
called for construction of a new national system
of “fast lanes” financed by tolls. These
lanes would become general traffic lanes after
the projects are paid off. Michael Replogle of
Environmental Defense questioned roadway
expansion as a long-term solution to highway
congestion, pointing out that what is known as
“induced traffic” quickly fills up new lane
capacity.
|
Polls:
Americans Favor Increased Investment in
Pedestrian, Bicycle Facilities
 Two
separate surveys released this week demonstrate
strong support for improved pedestrian and
bicycle facilities. The first poll, conducted by
the Gallup Organization for the National Highway
Safety Administration and the Bureau of
Transportation Statistics, found that 73% of
respondents believed that communities should
provide bicycle-specific facilities such as
trails, paths and traffic signals, and that 75%
believed that changes were necessary to improve
and expand pedestrian facilities such as
sidewalks, signals, and crosswalks. The survey,
which emphasized the need for improvements in
community planning to accommodate bicyclists and
pedestrians, was released just days before
Congress is expected to receive the Department
of Transportation’s final proposal for the
reauthorization of TEA-21.
 The
second survey, conducted by Beldon Russonello
and Stewart for America Bikes, found that a
majority of Americans want to bicycle more and
are willing to invest tax dollars in creating
better places to bike. According to the poll,
53% of those surveyed supported increased
federal spending on bicycle facilities, even if
it means less gas taxes go to construction of
new roads. Additionally, 50% supported requiring
roads to include bicycle lanes or paths, even if
it means less space for cars and trucks.
Both surveys
follow a recent STPP poll that found that the
American public wants to walk more places more
often, and is willing to invest in making it
possible. That survey, also conducted by Beldon
Russonello and Stewart, found that a majority
(68%) favor putting more federal dollars toward
improving walkability, even within a constrained
budget.
For more
information on the America Bikes poll, visit
http://americabikes.org/resources_media_pollrelease.asp
For more
information on STPP’s pedestrian poll, click
here.
|
GAO
Report Supports Changing Air Quality Analysis
Process
 On
May 9th, the General Accounting Office (GAO)
released their report on the air quality
planning requirements under transportation law,
also known as transportation conformity. The
report shows that the primary problem faced by
metropolitan planning organizations, which are
tasked with doing air quality analysis, is a
shortage of qualified staff and funding for this
complex and important task. To address these
issues, the Association of Metropolitan Planning
Organizations is asking for an increase in the
federal funds set aside for metropolitan
planning in the reauthorization of TEA-21.
The GAO report
has come under strong critique from
environmental organizations. Michael Replogle of
Environmental Defense found that the report
gives little consideration to the environmental
and public health purpose of this law. One of
the core recommendations of the report is to
extend the conformity planning cycle to five
years from the current three-year cycle.
"This would be like balancing your
checkbook once every five years. Conformity
analysis may not be fun, but it protects public
health," said Replogle.
The report
notes that the current conformity process
timeline provides "an incentive to work
cooperatively with other agencies....
Furthermore, frequent updates can help focus
public attention on transportation
planning."
For the full
report, click
here (.pdf format).
For the
Environmental Defense critique of the report, click
here.
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