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Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
February 11, 2002 Monday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 834 words
COMMITTEE:
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
SUBCOMMITTEE: TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND
NUCLEAR SAFETY
HEADLINE: FISCAL 2003 BUDGET:
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
TESTIMONY-BY: HARRY REID, SENATOR
BODY: Statement of Senator Harry Reid
EPW
Subcommittee on
Transportation, Infrastructure and Nuclear
Safety
Hearing on FY 2003 FHWA Budget
February 11, 2002
Welcome to today's hearing on the Federal Highway Administration's
fiscal year 2003 budget proposal and budget issues related to the
reauthorization of TEA-21, the
Transportation
Equity Act for the 21st Century. The President's budget raises some important
short and long-term concerns and I welcome the opportunity to discuss these
issues today with Federal Highway Administrator Mary Peters and our other
distinguished witnesses.
I will get right to the point - the President's
budget cannot be sustained. A 27 percent cut in highway funding is a move in the
wrong direction given our nation's
transportation needs. It
will also mean the elimination of hundreds of thousands of good jobs and be a
drag on our economic recovery. I am pleased that Tom Stephens, our fine Director
of the Nevada Department of
Transportation, is here to testify
on behalf of state Departments of
Transportation across the
nation. I am sure that Mr. Stephens will speak to the negative impact these cuts
will have on Nevada. Nevada is the fastest growing state in the nation and we
have huge needs for new road capacity, not to mention new transit and rail
initiatives. A $50 million dollar spending cut in Nevada next year will force my
state to cut back on critical
transportation projects. The
result will be more congestion, reduced productivity, worsened air quality, and
lost jobs. This is not an acceptable outcome. My state has significant unmet
transportation needs and these cuts cannot be allowed.
The Revenue Aligned Budget Authority - or RABA - mechanism was created
to ensure that spending from the Highway Trust Fund was tied to revenues into
the trust fund. This is a goal that I fully support. However, the RABA mechanism
clearly needs to be fixed so that we can avoid the dramatic swings in spending
that we have seen over the past few years.
One of the reasons that we
authorized TEA-21 for six years and created the budget firewalls for highways
and transit was to provide states with some certainty as to the level of funding
they would receive each year. A stable and dependable funding stream is
essential for states to develop long-term
transportation plans
and efficiently manage projects. I agree with the philosophy behind RABA -- that
spending from the Highway Trust Fund should be connected to revenues, but I do
not think it necessary for us to follow a broken mechanism off a spending cliff.
Regardless of the spending adjustment mandated by RABA, we cannot allow
a 27 percent drop in highway funding next year. Adequate funding of our nation's
highways is important not only for obvious short-term economic stimulus and
highway improvement needs, but for long-term reasons as well. This Subcommittee
will be working with the chairman and ranking member of the full Environment and
Public Works Committee to put together a TEA-21
reauthorization
proposal early next year. One of my priorities is to ensure that adequate
funding is available to meet our nation's significant
transportation needs.
With this in mind, it is
important to understand that the funding level Congress enacts for FY 2003 will
serve as the baseline from which our Committee's
reauthorization proposal will be scored. Therefore, if we base
reauthorization on the President's FY 2003 budget proposal, we
will have $28 billion dollars less available to us than if FY 2003 spending
equals the amount authorized in TEA-21.
A spending baseline that is $28
billion below the TEA-21 baseline would spell disaster for our
transportation system. In fact, my focus is on doing just the
opposite and finding a way to increase funding for all of the components of our
surface
transportation system - highways, transit, and rail.
This is why the leaders of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
have worked on a bipartisan and bicameral basis with the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to introduce the
"Highway Funding Restoration Act."
This legislation, which every member
of this Committee cosponsored, will ensure that funding in fiscal year 2003 is
at least at the level authorized in TEA-21. Rest assured that I will be
advocating for the highest funding level possible, but I will not accept a penny
less than the amount authorized in TEA-21.
I know that Administrator
Peters shares some of my concerns about the impact of these proposed
highway-funding cuts. Administrator Peters, welcome, and let me tell you how
pleased I am that someone so familiar with the
transportation
challenges faced by fast growing western states is at the helm of the Federal
Highway Administration. I look forward to working with you to develop a
top-notch
reauthorization bill.
I also welcome
Assistant Secretary for Budget Donna McLean and look forward to further
discussion on these important budget issues.
LOAD-DATE: February 13, 2002