SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 2304 words

COMMITTEE: HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

SUBCOMMITTEE: HIGHWAY AND TRANSIT

HEADLINE: LOCAL OFFICIALS VIEWS ON SURFACE TRANSPORTATION

TESTIMONY-BY: HONORABLE KENNETH L. BARR, MAYOR OF

AFFILIATION: FORT WORTH

BODY:
Statement of The Honorable Kenneth L. Barr Mayor of Fort Worth

on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors

before the Subcommittee on Highways & Transit House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure

February 28, 2002

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, I am Kenneth Barr, Mayor of Fort Worth, Texas. I appear today on behalf of The U.S. Conference of Mayors where I serve as Chair of the organization's Transportation Committee. The Conference of Mayors represents more than 1,050 cities with a population of more than 30,000.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and other Members of this panel for holding these hearings today, as we approach reauthorization of "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century" or TEA-21.

Overview

When Boise Mayor H. Brent Coles, the Conference's Immediate Past President, testified before the full Senate Environment and Public Works last month, his statement highlighted a number of issues pertaining to the economic importance of cities in the reauthorization of TEA-21. I speak to these issues and others in more detail in my testimony. As a starting point, I want to emphasize a statement by Mayor Coles, which captures the Conference's broader view on TEA-21 reauthorization. He said, "TEA-21 certainly provides the tools and the laboratory, but it doesn't guarantee success. This is up to mayors and other local elected officials working with citizens, the governors and state transportation officials to use the tools you have provided."

We commend this Committee and others in Congress and the Administration, for providing us with the opportunity under TEA- 21 to meet our surface transportation challenges. Mr. Chairman, I know that in your capacity as Representative of Wisconsin, you are known for your efforts to apply innovative solutions to problems. TEA-21 is that innovative problem solving tool that has improved the quality of life for millions of citizens both in large cities and rural towns across America. Transportation touches every aspect of our modern lives. We thank you for your leadership in this area.

I am here to provide context for our views on where we are today with the reauthorization of TEA-21. Many of the issues highlight the importance of cities to the success of the TEA-21 reauthorization partnership.

Mr. Chairman, we commend this Committee, and the work by others in Congress and the Administration, for providing us with the opportunity under TEA-21 for success in meeting the challenges before us in surface transportation.

New Ideas Influencing TEA-21 Reauthorization Decisions

I would like to call your attention to several emerging issues that have considerable bearing on the Committee's review of TEA- 21 reauthorization.

First, let me talk about the Conference's work on developing information on the role of city/county metro economies in fueling U.S. economic growth. Since 1999, we have released annual data, prepared by Standard & Poor's DRI, which measures the Gross Metropolitan Product (GMP) figures for the nation's city/county metro areas.

As the focal points of economic activity, metropolitan areas are vital to the nation's continued economic development. The contribution of metro areas to the national economy has increased over the last decade, a trend that is expected to continue over the next twenty-five years.

If they were counted as a single country, the gross product of the five largest U.S. metropolitan areas ($1.59 trillion) would rank fourth among the world's economies, trailing only the U.S ($9.96 trillion), Japan ($4.6 trillion) and Germany ($1.87 trillion). The importance of metro area economies can also be illustrated by their size relative to the output of U.S. states. The gross product of the 10 largest metro areas exceeds the combined output of the 31 states. In the study, we found that 47 of the top 100 economies in the world are U.S. city/county metro areas.

To give you a local perspective, Fort Worth/Dallas metropolitan product is larger than Greece, New Zealand, Iraq, and Vietnam combined. Between 1990 and 2000, City/County metro economies contributed 86% or more than $3.6 trillion of the growth in the nation's economy.

The correlation between continued national economic growth and urban transportation investment is clear. Strengthening that correlation is that the fastest growing segments of the U.S. economy, including business services and high-tech are almost entirely located within metro areas. In addition, over the past decade, the majority of new jobs in the financial services and transportation and utilities sectors have been created in our metro areas. Continued economic growth requires strong transportation investment in cities. Our cities have embraced transportation choice provided by ISTEA and TEA-21.

The size of metro area economies illustrates their importance to the nation. Mr. Chairman, the implications of this information for federal and state policy-makers are far-reaching. There is no doubt in my mind that the resources provided by ISTEA and TEA-21 has played a significant role in the economic vitality of cities and metro regions. The Conference stands ready to work with you and this Committee as you craft the reauthorization of TEA-21.

I have attached a summary of the U.S. Metro Economies report to illustrate the point.

Mayors' Views of TEA-21 Reauthorization

ISTEA and TEA-21 success stories are many. The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) has spurred innovative projects in cities across the nation to improve air quality by significantly reducing harmful emissions. In Fort Worth, we were able to use a combination of CMAQ and Surface Transportation Program funds provided by the North Central Texas Council of Governments to promote mixed-use development projects along four key corridors of the city. Approximately $5 million was awarded to fund pedestrian-oriented transportation improvements that enhance the quality of life for local residents. The successful Transportation Enhancements program has created new bicycle facilities and has promoted community-based transportation initiatives.

The Job Access and Reverse Commute program is more important than ever with the Bush Administration proposing revisions to the 1996 law that overhauled the welfare system, by increasing work requirements on people who get government assistance. The Job Access and Reverse Commute program has given cities the resources to provide low-income workers better access to metro-wide employment centers.

The Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Project (TCSP) encourages cities to make new linkages between land use and transportation. Just south of San Francisco in Redwood City, San Mateo County launched an innovative program to provide transportation funds as a reward to local jurisdictions that build new housing in walkable neighborhoods close to jobs. This is one of hundreds of examples of cities utilizing TCSP to develop land use and transit oriented development projects.

ISTEA and TEA-21 has strengthened the connections between transportation and other federal laws, such as the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act. Cities have enjoyed the fruits of ISTEA and TEA-21; yet, despite this progress there are still areas of concern.

Mr. Chairman, The U.S Conference of Mayors surveyed a group of mayors to solicit their general views on how the TEA-21 is working. Let me provide a quick review of the responses from 40 mayors who completed the survey.

Nearly one-half of the mayors indicated that under TEA-21, their state had committed additional funding or planned to commit additional funds to local projects of particular priority to the city or region. When we asked if their metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) had set any targets for fair share funding under TEA-21, one-half of the respondents said yes.

Based on the survey, it appears that states are reaching out to local governments under TEA-21. Seventy percent (70 percent) of the respondents indicated that their governors or state transportation officials had contacted them about new funding available under TEA-21. However, only 40 percent of mayors have been asked to participate in a state process to decide funding priorities for TEA-21 dollars.

When asked to indicate the single most important surface transportation priority in their city or region, the mayors' top three responses were System Preservation at 35 percent, Congestion Relief at 20 percent and New Rail Projects at 15 percent. The remaining 30 percent of the responses included alternative transportation, new freeways, freeway expansion, and transportation access to brownfield sites, safety, bridge repair and major road widening.

The area of concern highlighted by the survey of 40 mayors is that often we are not at the state table when funding priorities are finalized. Let me turn to a local example from the ISTEA period to make the point more clearly. It is about air quality and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) funding.

Congress had wisely provided states with investment dollars for clean air needs in local areas, through ISTEA's CMAQ program. Here Congress provided the tools, both spending authority and actual obligation authority, to address a national problem that affects my region and many others throughout the U.S. While serving as a member of the MPO, we funded a whole set of air quality projects, and we did it with an open accounting system in full disclosure to the public.

To preserve state flexibility, Congress chose not to suballocate the funds to local areas as the STP program does, leaving decisions to the states on how much actual money would be obligated and where funds would be provided to projects in "non- attainment" and "maintenance" areas within the state.

During ISTEA, the Fort Worth-Dallas region was redesignated under the Clean Air Act, from moderate non-attainment to serious non- attainment for ozone. At the same time and in other places, several larger metro areas were being reclassified into more serious categories. Here in Washington, U.S. EPA was finalizing new clean air rules, setting more restrictive standards for ozone and particulate matter.

It was not until the ISTEA period was ending that I learned the State of Texas had unused spending authority for CMAQ. It turns out that, over the six-year life of the Act, we now know, according to U.S. DOT, that the State of Texas had more than $213 million in unobligated apportionments for CMAQ projects in my area and others with clean air problems.

Mr. Chairman, as I indicated previously in this testimony, a theme for the Conference of Mayors over the past three years has been the importance of city/county metro areas in driving the U.S. economy. But, there are side effects that come with the incredible performance of these metro economic engines, such as threats to air quality. In my region, where nearly two percent of the nation's population resides, we are challenged by air quality problems. This explains our intense interest in the subject of CMAQ funding.

TEA-21 is the largest single public works investment program in the nation's history. Mr. Chairman, too often state agencies view TEA-21 as simply state resources. Effective revenue forecast process with the MPOs is about building our investment plans cooperatively, with complete disclosure about where and when TEA- 21 resources will be available.

Mr. Chairman, the one point that I want more than all for you to leave with is when you consider the very impressive economic performance of my region, and the importance of transportation investment in fueling our nation's metro economic engines and their contribution to U.S. economic growth, you can understand why it is so important that we are at the funding decision and priority table. As regional leaders, we work hard to make strategic investments to stimulate economic growth, and being part of this funding and priority process is vital to our decision-making.

Closing Comments

Mr. Chairman, let me make some closing comments.

The issues I have discussed today affect all of our cities. Our cities as neighborhoods -- protecting quality of life -- and our cities as regions -- competing in a world economy -- transportation funds are the tools to carryout our responsibilities within the regional context. In our region, adequate funding and decision priorities continue to hamper our potential success. With TEA-21 reauthorization, you have the opportunity to permit us to respond better to both our responsibility to enhance quality of life and increase competitiveness in a world economy.

Now, Mr. Chairman, the funding shortfall in the President's 2003 highway program is $8.6 billion, or 27 percent. The impact of such a cut will be devastating to state and local transportation programs and the economy. A cut of this magnitude would result in the loss of hundreds of jobs and a disruption of developed long- term transportation plans. Furthermore, it is my understanding that the financial health of transportation programs across the nation will be in jeopardy as credit and bond financing may be at risk. The U.S. Conference of Mayors supports the Highway Funding Restoration Act that would increase the budget to the authorized TEA-21 level of $27.7 billion.

I want to underscore that the nation's mayors believe in the TEA- 21 partnership, and want to build upon this success, today, in regards to the FY 03 budget shortfall and tomorrow, with the reauthorization. Mr. Chairman, as you move forward on these issues, you can count on the mayors' active participation and support. Thank you for this opportunity to present our views.



LOAD-DATE: March 4, 2002