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[Page: S12348]  GPO's PDF
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   Mr. JEFFORDS. Madam President, as chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, which is the lead authorizing committee for many of the programs authorized in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, I would like to comment on the pending FY 2002 transportation appropriations conference report.

   Overall, this is an excellent bill and I intend to vote for it. However, there are a few provisions in the highway portion of this legislation that concern me. TEA-21 represented a carefully negotiated compromise between many different points of view, numerous committees, and the entire House and Senate. One key provision of this compromise legislation was Revenue Aligned Budget Authority--RABA--which ensured that obligations from the Highway Trust Fund would equal revenues into the fund, called TEA-21. TEA-21 determined a carefully negotiated breakdown between the share of RABA funds that would flow to the States through the apportionment formulas and the share that would be competitively distributed through the allocated programs.

   Unfortunately, the conference report makes significant changes to the authorization for RABA funding. As it has done in each of the past 2 years, the conference report ignores the authorized distribution of funds for allocated programs under RABA. However, this time, rather than giving the money back to the States through the formulas, this legislation earmarks it for special projects. In addition, the conference report earmarks nearly $500 million that was supposed to be distributed to States through the apportionment formulas. As a result, some States will lose significant amounts of highway funding. In essence, I am very concerned that the appropriators are rewriting the apportionment formulas that were so carefully negotiated in TEA-21.

   I do not mean to begrudge the appropriators their prerogative to earmark funding for specific projects. In fact, I am very pleased that some of the funding is set aside for Vermont. However, at some point we do have to draw the line on earmarking when it threatens the very fabric of a carefully negotiated authorization. Unfortunately, this year we may have finally crossed that line.

   I look forward to working with the appropriators next year and throughout the reauthorization process to make sure we do a better job of maintaining the integrity of TEA-21 while providing the appropriators flexibility within the guidelines set forth in that law. TEA-21 is a delicately balanced piece of legislation and we must be careful not to upset that balance.

   I yield back any time I have.

   The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. DURBIN). The Senator from Michigan is recognized.

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