Copyright 2002 eMediaMillWorks, Inc.
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Federal Document Clearing House
Congressional Testimony
February 11, 2002 Monday
SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY
LENGTH: 3035 words
COMMITTEE:
SENATE ENVIRONMENT AND PUBLIC WORKS
SUBCOMMITTEE: TRANSPORTATION, INFRASTRUCTURE AND
NUCLEAR SAFETY
HEADLINE: FISCAL 2003 BUDGET:
TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
TESTIMONY-BY: MARY E.
PETERS,, ADMINISTRATOR,
AFFILIATION: FEDERAL HIGHWAY
ADMINISTRATION
BODY: Statement of
Mary E.
Peters, Administrator, Federal
Highway Administration
Donna McLean, Assistant Secretary for Budget and Programs and Chief
Financial Officer United States Department Of Transportation
Before the
Committee On Environment And Public Works Subcommittee On Transportation,
Infrastructure, and Nuclear Safety
United States Senate Hearing on the
Department of Transportation Fiscal Year 2003 Budget and the
Highway Trust Fund
February 11, 2002
Mr.
Chairman and Members of the Subcommittee, thank you for the opportunity to
testify today in support of the President=s Fiscal Year (FY) 2003 Budget
proposal for the Department of Transportation and to discuss the status of the
Highway Trust Fund. We would also like to thank you for your
leadership in scheduling a series of hearings in preparation for the
reauthorization of the surface transportation program. We are looking forward to
working with this subcommittee and with Congress to achieve the goals outlined
in the FY 2003 budget request and to shape reauthorization proposals. Working
together, we can meet the transportation challenges facing our Nation and
provide the American people with a transportation system that is safe,
efficient, and accessible, while remaining respectful stewards of the
environment. Overview
As a whole, the strong but flexible multi-modal
system developed under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of
1991 (ISTEA) and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) is
working well in supporting our Nation=s economic growth and improving the
quality of life for all our citizens. Our Nation=s
highways and
intermodal connectors are the critical link in the national intermodal
transportation system. The challenge is to maintain our high-quality network
while achieving our goals to increase safety, ensure national security, improve
mobility, and promote environmentally responsible and efficient project
delivery. The $24.1 billion
funding level, proposed by the
President for the Federal
Highway Administration (FHWA) for FY
2003, provides
funding essential to meet this challenge. This
includes a Federal-aid
Highway obligation limitation of $23.2
billion. The FY 2003 request reflects the
funding levels
enacted in TEA-21, as adjusted to reflect the latest
Highway
Trust Fund revenue figures, and honors the
highway category
guarantees in that Act.
The key to ensuring that
highway-related receipts are spent is that the
highway
funding level is adjusted each year to reflect the latest information
on
Highway Trust Fund (HTF) receipts. At the time of the
enactment of TEA-21,
highway program
funding
levels were set based on estimates of HTF receipts. Each year, the level is
adjusted using a formula specified in TEA-21. This adjustment ensures that
highway spending remains aligned with HTF receipts.
In
fiscal years 2000, 2001 and 2002, our Nation reaped the benefits of record-level
funding for surface transportation as authorized in TEA-21. The
guaranteed
funding level, tied to HTF receipts, has provided
the States with much needed resources to support the Nation=s
highway infrastructure, as Congress intended. In FY 2003,
however, declining HTF receipts will, for the first time, trigger a downward
adjustment, in the amount of $4.369 billion, in the
highway
program level, in order to keep
highway spending aligned with
the status of the
Highway Trust Fund. Even with this negative
calculation, over the life of TEA- 21, these adjustments will provide a net gain
of almost $4.7 billion in
highway spending.
The
calculation of the adjustment is not a policy call--it is a calculation based in
law and reflected in the budget. As we discuss the reauthorization of the
surface transportation program, we need to look for ways to smooth out current
positive and negative swings that result from this adjustment. What we should
not do is abandon this adjustment concept. Linking
highway
spending to receipts is a fundamental principle of TEA-21.
The budget
proposes to fund most Federal-aid
highway programs from within
the obligation limitation, including our major programs: the Surface
Transportation Program, the National
Highway System, Interstate
Maintenance, the
Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation
Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program.
Other TEA-21 programs include the National Corridor Planning and Border
Infrastructure Improvement programs and the Transportation and Community and
System Preservation Pilot Program. The Emergency Relief program and a portion of
the Minimum Guarantee program will continue to be exempt from the limitation.
The estimated obligation level for exempt programs in FY 2003 is $893 million.
In the face of declining revenues into the
Highway
Trust Fund, we continue to strongly support creative financing solutions.
Consequently, the 2003 budget includes $99 million to leverage our Federal
investment in transportation infrastructure under the Transportation
Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act Program (TIFIA). This investment will
translate into over $6 billion in nationally significant surface transportation
projects.
As the events of September 11 so graphically demonstrated, a
safe and secure surface transportation system is vital to all Americans. We must
keep our infrastructure secure and we must strengthen our commitment to reducing
highway injuries and fatalities, even as we squeeze additional
capacity from the system. To meet this challenge, the FY 2003 Budget for FHWA
emphasizes four priority areas: safety, mobility, environmental stewardship and
streamlining, and oversight.
Safety
Safety continues to be the
Department of Transportation=s most important priority. While the number of
highway fatalities in recent years has been held relatively
flat, despite significantly rising numbers of vehicles on our roads, more than a
quarter of a million people have been killed on Americas roadways in the past
six years, 41,000 deaths each year. There are also more than 3 million
police-reported injuries annually.
Highway safety improvements
are critical to improving these numbers. Success will depend on a balanced
approach that addresses the behavioral, vehicular, and roadway infrastructure
and operations safety problems. We can, we must, and we will strive to do
better.
FHWA works closely with States and other partners to improve our
ability to analyze roadway safety challenges and to direct investments to
specific projects and programs, which will deliver the most value in terms of
lives saved and injuries minimized. For example, construction programs continue
to contribute to safety by correcting unsafe roadway design and removing roadway
hazards. States mayCand doCuse their Surface Transportation (STP), Interstate
Maintenance, and National
Highway System (NHS) funds for safety
improvements. Safety can be built into every interchange upgrade, intersection
redesign and new facility through safety conscious planning and design. Signing
and pavement improvements can enhance the safety of existing and new facilities
for all users of the
highway system.
Within the STP, 10
percent of funds are reserved under TEA-21 for
highway-rail
crossing improvements and hazard elimination. The Hazard Elimination program
supports efforts to resolve safety problems at hazardous
highway locations. Since the enactment of TEA-21, States have
obligated $489.3 million in Hazard Elimination funds, and another $707.4 million
in optional safety funds have been obligated primarily for Hazard Elimination
purposes. These Hazard Elimination expenditures are estimated to have saved
7,200 lives since 1998. The
Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety
program is designed to reduce crashes at public grade crossings, and $499
million in
Highway-Rail Grade Crossing funds have been
obligated. The grade crossing safety program is estimated to have saved 2,000
lives since 1998.
To meet its
highway safety goal, FHWA
will focus its safety programs on reducing the most frequent types of fatal
crashes through technical assistance, research, training, data analysis, and
public information.
From the $359.8 million requested for research and
technology programs for FY 2003 budget, significant resources will be invested
in improving safety. Part of the research
funding will support
innovations, such as brighter traffic signal lights which are more visible to
drivers, to improve safety at or near intersections. Research
funding also supports speed management techniques, which are
designed to reduce the 30 percent of fatal crashes in which speed is a factor.
Rumble strips help prevent run-off-the-road crashes, which account for 38
percent of all fatal crashes. FHWA provides technical assistance to States like
Maryland, whose 1999 data show a $182 safety benefit for every dollar spent on
rumble strip installation.
National deployment of wireless enhanced
9-1-1 (E-9-1-1) will be accelerated this year. E-9-1-1 is an emergency cellular
telephone service that automatically routes calls to the closest public safety
answering point and informs the dispatcher of the caller's location. It will
save lives. About 25 percent of 9-1-1 calls come from wireless phones. Without
automatic location, when callers are unable to describe their location, response
times dramatically increase. Response time is a critical factor in determining
the survivability of a crash. Also, more timely and accurate information will
aid police, fire, and other emergency responders in protecting victims and
property and in reducing traffic congestion surrounding the scene.
Recent events have focused attention on the need to ensure the security
of our Nation=s transportation system and ITS technologies offer many
opportunities to significantly improve transportation security. The ITS program
is developing and deploying technologies to help States and localities improve
traffic flow and safety on streets and
highways and address the
need for emergency notification and response. This budget proposes to focus the
FY 2003 ITS Deployment Program resources of $93 million on ITS technologies that
enhance the security of our surface transportation systems.
A major
emphasis in ITS will continue to be in the area of intermodal freight. The
Department is conducting several ITS operational tests that are designed to
improve the efficiency and security of the intermodal movement of freight. The
Chicago O=Hare cargo project, which is an operational test, uses a "smart card"
and biometric identifiers to identify the shipment, vehicle, and driver during
transportation from the shipper to and through the air cargo terminal. Another
project, Cargo-Mate, has particular applicability to port and container
security, in addition to enhancing efficiency of freight movement. The system is
designed to perform real-time processing of asset and cargo transactions,
provide for the surveillance of cargo movement to and from ports, and provide an
integrated incident and emergency response capability.
To improve safety
of motor carriers operating on our
highways, as well as
national security, a total of $47 million is requested for construction of motor
carrier safety inspection facilities on the Southern Border within the
Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program. This builds on
funding provided in FY 2002 and supports infrastructure
improvements necessary to accommodate permanent facilities.
Mobility
Congestion is one of the most obvious results of the mismatch between
the growing demands for transportation and the capacity of our systems,
particularly in metropolitan areas. Congestion is a complex problem involving
many factors. This budget works to address the causes of frustrating delays that
face travelers and shippers and impact the Nation=s economic efficiency.
Funding will support the identification and implementation of a
mix of locally preferred investments, including selective additions of new
capacity, to improve traffic flow and system reliability. Our progress toward
our goal of supporting mobility is tracked by measures such as improvement in
pavement and bridge condition and by reduction in the growth of traffic
congestion.
States may direct 2003 Federal-aid
highway
funds, according to their priority needs and goals, to a variety of system
improvement and congestion relief purposes. In recent years, approximately 50
percent of Federal funds were obligated for system upgrading purposes, including
reconstruction, widening, restoration and rehabilitation, and resurfacing.
Consequently, overall
highway system conditions, as measured by
pavement condition, ride quality, alignment adequacy, and bridge ratings, have
steadily improved. In 2001, 91 percent of travel on the NHS occurred on
pavements rated acceptable or better. In FY 2003, the Department's goal is to
increase this to 92 percent.
For FY 2002 and beyond, the FHWA has
modified its bridge performance measures in order to take into account the
actual area and average daily traffic on the bridge. This measure more
accurately reflects progress toward meeting our mobility goal. The previous
measure of reducing the number of deficient bridges considered all bridges as
equal, therefore large bridges with higher average daily traffic were considered
the same as smaller bridges with lower average daily traffic. Since the
enactment of TEA-21, the condition of NHS and non-NHS bridges has improved
significantly. In 1998, the percentage of the Nation's total bridge deck area
that was on deficient NHS bridges was 32.6 percent and 32.5 percent on non-NHS
bridges. In 2001, the percentage of deck area on deficient NHS bridges was 30.6
percent and 32.3 percent on non-NHS bridges. Our goal for FY 2003 is to improve
the condition of bridges so that the percentage of deck area on deficient
bridges is reduced to 27.5 percent for the NHS and 29.8 percent for the non-NHS.
The development and deployment of longer lasting materials will mean
that facilities will need repair or improvement less often, thereby reducing
congestion and safety problems associated with work zones. Research and
Technology program funds support multi- year initiatives in pavements,
structures, and asset management.
Along with improved condition and
strategic expansion of infrastructure, we must address congestion through
improved operation of the
highway system. In the last year we
developed and tested a system reliability index in 10 cities that we call the
"buffer index," the amount of time you have to add to your trip because of
system unreliability. It will help cities gauge how well they are doing in
responding to incidents, managing their work zones, and responding to weather.
The measure will be applied in 22 cities this year.
In the area of
congestion mitigation, we have a number of other initiatives underway that will
continue in 2003, including three that have great potential for long term
impact:
We will be piloting a national campaign to rethink the way we
look at work zones. The focus will be on managing the work zone from the
perspective of the
highway user, emphasizing the concept of
getting in, getting out, and staying out.
We are sponsoring a national
conference on incident and emergency management that brings together
transportation and public safety communities to focus on ways to improve traffic
incident response time and traffic incident management methods.
We are
working with our State partners to help each make use of the roadway operations
self assessment diagnostic tool at least once during the year. The purpose of
this tool is to help the operating agencies to identify ways that they can
improve the operation and management of their roadway networks.
Other
strategies to improve operations include the deployment of ITS to provide more
information to drivers faster, enabling them to take the most efficient route of
travel. Significant progress has been made in ITS deployment since the enactment
of TEA-21. We have seen a 37 percent increase in the number of freeway miles
with real-time traffic data collection technologies, a 55 percent increase in
the coverage of freeways by closed circuit television, a 35 percent increase in
the number of buses equipped with automatic vehicle location systems, and an 83
percent increase in traveler information dissemination on our freeways. However,
only 22 percent of the freeways in major metropolitan areas are instrumented for
real time monitoring. Therefore, ITS deployment must continue to be a high
priority for the Department. The search for new technological and innovative
solutions to our mobility challenges will be supported by the 2003 budget
request for $359.8 million for research and technology.
We are
committed, along with our partners at the State and local levels, to maintain,
operate, and improve transportation systems to reduce congestion and improve
mobility, thus allowing our Nation to compete globally and Americans to enjoy a
higher standard of living.
Environmental Stewardship and Streamlining
Implementation of environmentally responsible transportation
improvements, delivered on time and within budget, is an important component of
the Department=s vision for all its programs. TEA-21 gave States and communities
additional tools and opportunities to enhance the environment and quality of
life for their residents, while directing us to streamline the environmental
review process. Within the Federal-aid
highway program, NHS and
STP funds support programs that also protect the environment. There is also a
mandatory 10 percent set-aside from each State=s STP apportionment for
Transportation Enhancement projects that support historic preservation,
bicycle/pedestrian travel, scenic easements, and other enhancements. The CMAQ
program supports projects to reduce emissions, that often reduce traffic
congestion. To minimize the impact of transportation on air quality, FHWA will
continue to work with the Environmental Protection Agency and other partners to
continue to reduce on- road mobile source emissions.
LOAD-DATE: February 13, 2002