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Volume 101 Number 24
June 15, 2001
Executive Digest

Congress
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States
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States
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AASHTO
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Subcommittee Moves Transportation Spending Bill

    The House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the FY 2002 spending bill on Tuesday, approving a $59.1 billion measure that sticks closely to the funding levels proposed by the Bush Administration.

    The subcommittees of the House Appropriations Committee are amending bills, with the agriculture, interior, and transportation spending measures now awaiting consideration by the full Appropriations Committee. The full Committee may take up the transportation bill next week. Proposed funding levels for specific DOT programs are on the House Appropriations Committee web site, at     www.house.gov/appropriations/news/2002/02transposub.htm.

    The Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee's proposal fully funds the authorized levels for highways, transit and aviation. Discretionary funding is reduced from $16.5 billion in FY 2001 to $14.9 billion in FY 2002. Most, if not all, of that funding is expected to be earmarked for congressionally-designated projects. Highways

    Overall, the Subcommittee's bill adheres to the funding guarantees of TEA-21. Highway funding is $32.7 billion, $1.2 billion more than FY 2001, with the obligation limitation set at $31.7 billion. Programs exempt from the limitation are set at $955 million, including minimum allocation and emergency relief.

    Funding for research activities is set at $447.5 million. The Subcommittee permitted an additional $60 million in RABA funding for research to be awarded, as called for in TEA-21. The House bill traditionally follows TEA-21 in this regard, while the Senate bill typically has not contained the RABA funding for research.

    However, the Subcommittee bill denied the Administration's proposal to provide for a full obligation limitation ceiling for research, which would have provided an additional $39 million. At its Spring meeting the AASHTO Board of Directors approved a policy resolution calling on Congress to provide 100 percent obligation limitation for research funding.

    Also, the Subcommittee will request a report by the General Accounting Office, due in June 2002, on the benefits of the FHWA transportation research program. FHWA is directed to spend $2 million in research funding on environmental streamlining initiatives.

    The Subcommittee funded such initiatives at $1.49 million, far short of the $13 million requested by the administration. The report language in the final bill will indicate what specific activities are to receive the $1.49 million. The Subcommittee directs FHWA to report specific examples of environmental streamlining.

    Some $13.9 million is provided for additional safety inspections at Mexican border facilities, to be paid for through an FHWA administrative takedown. The Subcommittee also approved the administration's proposal to fund $56 million in border inspection stations and infrastructure through RABA.

    Transit

    Funding for all transit programs is identical to the administration's proposal, with $6.7 billion proposed for FY 2002, an increase of $493 million over FY 2001. This is consistent with the TEA-21 guarantee.

    The Subcommittee bill directs that FTA provide at least $28.5 million for project management oversight and $4.6 million for financial oversight reviews. At the same time, it denies the requests by the administration to fund the job-access and reverse-commute programs through a formula, to apportion funding for bus and bus facilities by formula, and to limit federal funds for new fixed-guideway projects to not more than 50 percent, beginning in FY 2004.

    Aviation

    The Subcommittee proposed $13.3 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration, with funding for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP) at $3.3 billion. The Subcommittee denied the Bush Administration's proposal to fund $40 million of the Essential Air Service (EAS) program out of AIP, along with additional money for airport-related research. The Subcommittee increased funding for the EAS program by $13 million above the $50 million provided in FY 2001.

    The new Small Community Air Service Development Pilot Program, created under AIR-21, is slated to get $10 million.

    As expected, there are provisions approved in the markup that address aviation congestion, including one that would let FAA receive funds from airports to hire staff to expedite environmental reviews for major capacity projects.

    Motor Carriers

    The Subcommittee included $298.2 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration. Of that amount, $92.3 million is proposed for motor-carrier safety activities, while $205.9 million is proposed for the National Motor Carrier Safety program.

    The bill would let the Secretary of Transportation reserve up to $18 million in Motor Carrier RABA funds for inspectors at Mexican border facilities.

    Rail

    Under the bill, total funding for the Federal Railroad Administration is $110.4 million, $8.7 million more than FY 2001. Appropriators denied a request by the administration to impose new user fees for railroad-safety activities.

    Amtrak is funded at $521 million, which matches the federal commitment set for Amtrak to reach self-sufficiency in 2003.

    Next Steps

    Upon approval by the Appropriations Committee, the measure will move to the House floor for a vote. Prospects in the Senate are unclear, as organizational issues are still being worked out. At press time negotiations over final details had stalled.

    In the meantime, Sen. Robert Byrd (D-WV), the new chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, has announced his intentions to revamp 302(b) allocations for various federal programs to add funds to Democratic priorities. While he intends to keep within the $661 billion included in the FY 2002 budget resolution, there are reports that he and his fellow Democrats may move in a different direction than President Bush's budget proposal.

Baucus: Finance to Focus on Transportation Funding

    Sen. Max Baucus (D-MT), the new head of the Senate Finance Committee, told a group of transportation industry representatives that transportation funding initiatives will receive greater priority under his chairmanship. Among the legislation that may get immediate attention is a proposal to give Amtrak bonding authority and one that would shift 2.5 cent of the ethanol tax from deficit reduction to the Highway Trust Fund.

    Baucus will still remain a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee and the Subcommittee on Transportation and Infrastructure, both of which he formerly served as Ranking Member. In that role Baucus was a key player in the development of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.

    In remarks to transportation industry lobbyists on Wednesday, Baucus said that transportation "has always been missing from the Finance Committee." Baucus noted that Dawn Levy will be assisting him full time, the first time a Finance Committee staffer will be dedicated to transportation funding issues alone.

    Baucus outlined some proposed transportation legislation the Committee will consider in the near future. A hearing has been tentatively set for July 11 on S. 250, which would provide $12 billion in bonding authority to Amtrak for capital improvements. In addition, Baucus is working on legislation, titled the "Highway Trust Fund Recovery Act of 2001," regarding the treatment of the federal tax rate for ethanol.

    Currently, while federal fuel tax rate for regular gasoline is 18.4 cents, ethanol is taxed at 13 cents per gallon. Of that amount, 6.94 cents goes into the Highway Trust Fund, while 2.86 cents is deposited in the Mass Transit Account. In addition, 2.5 cents of the ethanol tax is directed to the General Fund for deficit reduction. The Baucus proposal would reimburse 2.5 cents to the Highway Trust Fund from the General Fund each year.

    Of primary concern to Baucus is defending attacks on the Highway Trust Fund and attempts to reduce the federal motor fuel tax, he said.

Bush Declines to Exempt California from Clean Air Act Fuels Requirement

    The Bush Administration has declined to exempt California from an air-pollution reduction rule requiring the use of reformulated gasoline.

    The Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 require use of oxygenating agents in motor fuel in the nation's most heavily ozone-polluted cities. In California, about 70 percent of the gasoline sold must be oxygenated. While an additive known as MTBE has been most prevalent, concerns about its potential contamination of groundwater have prompted a ban in California, which will end its use there by 2003. Concerned that ethanol supplies would be inadequate to meet the state's demand for reformulated fuel, the state had requested a waiver of the federal requirement.

    On Tuesday the Environmental Protection Agency announced it could not grant the waiver of the federal statute. While expressing concern over possible health risks associated with MTBE, EPA Administrator Christie Todd Whitman added that there was an equal concern for clean air, which had not been addressed in the waiver request.

    Critics have said continuing the oxygenate requirement could add as much as 5 cents per gallon to the pump price of gasoline in California, because of inadequate supplies of oxygenation agents. Others contend that oxygen additives actually increase air pollution through increased emissions of nitrogen oxides.

    Midwest Gears Up to Increase Ethanol

    Last week, speaking in Iowa, the president said use of ethanol - an alcohol product derived from corn - would not only "reduce dependency on foreign sources of energy" but also "clean the air."

    Several Democratic senators from farming states, including Sen. Majority Leader Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Agriculture Committee Chairman Thomas Harkin of Iowa, back broader ethanol use as a benefit to their states' economies. Daschle, joined by former GOP Sen. Robert Dole of Kansas, inserted the oxygenate requirement into the Clean Air Act several years ago.

    The Associated Press reported that ethanol plants in the Midwest are gearing up to meet heavy demand. Monte Shaw, spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association in Washington, D.C., told AP, "You're going to see the number of ethanol plants across the Midwest jump from the current 56 to over 100 in a few years."

    Hearing Addresses Waiver Denial

    In a hearing Thursday before the House Subcommittee on Energy Policy, Natural Resources and Regulatory Affairs, Representative Henry Waxman (D-CA) accused the Bush Administration of caving in to special interest groups in its decision not to approve California's waiver.

    Appearing before the Subcommittee, Rob Brenner, acting assistant administrator of the Office of Air and Radiation in the Environmental Protection Agency, defended the decision not to grant a waiver. Brenner contended that "there is significant uncertainty over the change in emissions that would result from a waiver. California has not clearly demonstrated what the impact on smog would be from a waiver of the oxygen mandate."

    The act requires that such oxygenated fuel be sold in cities with the worst smog, including Los Angeles, New York, Baltimore, Chicago, Hartford, Houston, Milwaukee, Philadelphia, Sacramento and San Diego. Some areas use it year-round, others only during the winter when weather conditions promote excess formation of carbon monoxide.

Bill Preempts State Approval for Airport Projects

    Rep. Bill Lipinski (D-IL) has introduced legislation that would preempt state laws requiring a certificate of approval, or other form of approval, prior to the construction or operation of some airport development projects.

    Titled the "End Gridlock at Our Nation's Critical Airports Act of 2001," the bill (H.R. 2107) essentially elevates the decision to build new runways at critical airports to the federal level if they meet all federal safety and environmental standards. According to the bill, critical airports include any that have at least .25 percent of the total boardings in the United States.

    In a statement, Lipinski cited the systemwide effects of delays originating at O'Hare and other major airports across the country. "Congestion is plaguing our national aviation system," he said. "The long-term solution to congestion at O'Hare and throughout the country is clear -- build more runways."

STB Sets New Requirements for Railroad Mergers

    Following the expiration of a moratorium which resulted from a wave of proposed rail mergers in recent years, the federal Surface Transportation Board on Monday announced new rules that will make such mergers more difficult.

    Major "Class I" railroads seeking to merge must now demonstrate to the STB that the merger is in the public interest and will increase competition. At the time the new requirements were announced, the STB also made public that a waiver had been granted to the Kansas City Southern Railway from application of the new rules.

    STB regulators said they will view "with skepticism" promises of benefits made by railroad merger applicants in the future. STB Chairman Linda J. Morgan said merger proposals must "address fully the impact of the transaction on service, including plans for service reliability."

    The Washington Post, in its report on the STB announcement, described the numerous rail mergers of the 1990s as resulting in "chaos." Some mergers were followed by hangups in freight movement and complaints about service.

    Currently there are six major railroads in North America - Canadian National, Canadian Pacific, Burlington Northern Santa Fe, CSX Transportation, Norfolk Southern and Union Pacific. Late in 1999, BNSF and Canadian National announced a planned merger, prompting the STB to impose a moratorium while it considered new rules. The moratorium expired Monday.

    The board said a new major merger might set in motion an "end game" that would leave North America with only two large rail systems.

    Morgan, in written comments attached to the rules, said "While mergers have their place, recent events have shown that no major merger takes place in isolation ... Once a round of mergers begins, it can be all-consuming, distracting, and disruptive, to the detriment of the nation's transportation system, rail shippers, rail employees and communities across the country."

Mineta: President Won't Allow American Airlines Strike

    U.S. Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta said on Wednesday that President Bush will act to block a possible strike by American Airlines flight attendants, using "all the tools available to him" to prevent the potential walkout on the eve of the July 4 weekend.

    But Mineta told the Washington Post he is "cautiously optimistic" that the airline and its flight attendants' union would resolve their differences next week, before federal law clears the Association of Professional Flight Attendants to strike American on June 30. The union's earlier rejection of arbitration set a 30-day timetable toward a possible strike tolling.

    The President can forestall a strike for another 60 days by creating an emergency board to hear the case and recommend settlement terms. If no agreement is reached within that 60 days, the union can strike, though Congress could block it by law.

    Mineta said the president doesn't want strikes to "inconvenience the traveling public and hurt the economy." American Airlines has said it will shut down all operations if a strike is called. Karen Watson, a spokeswoman for American, said "All of our efforts are focused on reaching a settlement with the APFA."

    Lori Basani, a spokeswoman for the union, termed it "premature" to discuss government intervention when both sides have agreed to continue talks. She declined to discuss unresolved points.

    Sources, however, told the Post the major issue is how money from American's profit-sharing program could be integrated into the base wages of flight attendants. A higher wage offer from the airline apparently has already been made.

Tentative Deal in Comair Talks with Pilots

    A tentative agreement was reached Thursday between the airline Comair and its pilots, who walked out 2-1/2 months ago, shutting down the second-largest regional carrier in the nation, the Associated Press reported.

    Neither side would discuss details. However, J.C. Lawson, chairman of the union, said in a joint statement with Comair that "Our negotiating committee and elected leaders endorse this agreement" and recommend its adoption by the union membership. Comair President Randy Rademacher said "We're eager to redirect all of our energies toward our customers, and rebuilding our relationship with them."

    The 1,350 pilots affected had sought increases in pay and benefits, and work rules more similar to those found at larger carriers.

    The airline is based at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport; the airline also has a hub in Orlando, Florida.

Schimmoller Places First 511 Call


Airlines will Install High-Speed Internet Connections

    Three airlines announced Wednesday they are working with the Boeing Co. to develop a system that will let passengers in flight log onto the World Wide Web with high-speed connections, the Associated Press reported.

    American, Delta and United Airlines said the service is expected to be available next year on an initial 1,500 planes, and the system will be up for sale to other airlines as well.

    The satellite-based system would cost passengers about $20 an hour for a hookup, which they would make from their own carry-on computers.

New York Expected to Ban Cell Phones For Drivers

    Three counties in New York have already established bans on cellular phone use by drivers, and now a statewide measure is expected to win approval.

    The Associated Press reports New York is poised to establish a statewide law once Governor George Pataki and the legislature settle an impasse over the state budget. A poll by Quinnipiac University of New York showed 87 percent of voters support banning hand-held cell phone use by motorists.

    The National Conference of State Legislatures reports bans on using a hand-held cell phones while driving are experiencing broad public support; such measures have been proposed in 40 states.

    Two federal lawmakers introduced cell phone ban legislation last month. Sen. Jon Corzine (D-NJ) introduced S. 927, titled the "Mobile Safety Act of 2001," on May 22, while a counterpart version (H.R. 1837) was introduced in the House by Rep. Gary Ackerman on May 15. Both bills direct the Secretary of Transportation to withhold federal-aid funding from states that fail to enact and enforce a law that prohibits individuals from using a mobile telephone while operating a motor vehicle (June 1, 2001 AASHTO Journal).


Johnson of FHWA: ITS Key in Squeezing Efficiency from Existing Roads

    In a recent keynote speech to the Intelligent Transportation Society of America, Christine M. Johnson, Program Manager for Operations with the Federal Highway Administration, said progress in ITS is on the cusp of transforming the processes and organization of transportation delivery in the U.S.

    With vehicle miles traveled massively outstripping highway capacity additions since 1980, construction must be supplemented with more efficient management of road use through ITS, Johnson said.

    Construction will be part of the answer, but will be "terrifically expensive" in part because a considerable amount of capacity will need to be added in already-built-up urban areas.

    Transit also will help, but much of it will use the already overtaxed road system, she said.

    Further, roads currently in service periodically lose lane-mileage to accident clearance, road work, weather (such as snowfall - "75 percent of the National Highway System is in the snow belt," she said) and such events as disasters requiring mass evacuations. Properly deployed ITS systems can help soften the impact of such inroads on roads, she said.

    ITS deployment is still somewhat behind the curve, but is catching up, Johnson said. For full and rapid deployment, a nationwide network of data would be preferable to the currently existing local and regional data pools, she said.

    Horsley Outlines 511 Coalition Objectives

    AASHTO Executive Director John Horsley moderated a panel discussion at the ITS conference on plans for implementation of the national 511 traveler information phone number. He said that AASHTO is chairing the 511 Deployment Coalition, on which APTA and ITS America serve as vice-chairs. The 27-member policy committee includes representation from a broad spectrum of public and private organizations. Key issues under consideration, he said, are content of the system, consistency and cost. Other important areas to be addressed are marketing and outreach and technical assistance. The Coalition hopes to have developed guidance on the key issues by this fall, with adoption by organizations in January.

International Scanning Tour Examines Freight Movement

    A tri-national team sponsored by the Federal Highway Administration and AASHTO completed a two-week International Freight Logistics Study Tour on June 10. The 11-person team visited marine ports and inland intermodal terminals and discussed freight-movement policies, trends and technologies in five countries: the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Switzerland and Germany.

    Discussions with European Commission transportation officials dealt with issues such as highway congestion, modal shift, infrastructure investment and ITS deployment in the context of a unified Europe, in which differences among the member countries remain significant. The team met with both government officials and representatives of private-sector intermodal freight companies. A report will be issued within six months that will present the results of the team's investigation and relate the findings to both domestic U.S. freight movement and North American freight movement under NAFTA.

    The state DOT participants in the tour were were: Randy Halvorson of Minnesota; Ysela Llort of Florida; Jeff Honefanger of Ohio; and Leo Penne of AASHTO. The team also included representatives of the national ministries of transportation from Mexico and Canada as well as two FHWA officials, a representative of the Intermodal Association of North America , an MPO official and a freight-transportation researcher.

Court Allows Atlanta Transportation Projects to Move Forward

    The U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Georgia on June 6 denied a preliminary injunction filed by the Sierra Club to stop $1.9 billion in roadbuilding projects in the Atlanta metropolitan area.

    If granted, the injunction would have halted planning and construction on 137 highway projects worth $400 million.

    In 1998, Metro Atlanta could not meet federal air-quality standards, and its proposed solutions were deemed inadequate. Last year, federal authorities approved the area's three-year Transportation Improvement Plan as having met federal air regulations. But last February, a coalition of environmental groups headed by the Sierra Club filed suit in order to stall the projects, claiming the Atlanta Regional Commission used flawed data when drafting the plan.

    Governor Roy Barnes said a court-imposed freeze on the proposed construction projects would cost the state $400 million in federal transportation funds, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports. U.S. District Judge Beverly Martin will likely rule on the case within the next few months, after briefings from lawyers for the Sierra Club and the three government transportation agencies named as defendants.

Tippett Calls for Increase in North Carolina Drivers' Fees

    North Carolina Secretary of Transportation Lyndo Tippett on Tuesday called on legislators to raise drivers' license and car-registration fees, as well as tolls for using state ferries, to boost the state's highway fund.

    Increases to drivers' license and registration fees would generate an additional $16.6 million per year under Tippett's plan, and toll increases would annually raise $2.1 million. Tippett told the Raleigh News & Observer that an increase in transportation revenue is necessary, and it makes sense for transportation users to help pay for the services. He said, "We're just trying to operate it on a business basis. It's my best judgment. I don't particularly want to compromise what I think is best for the state of North Carolina."

    The last time registration fees were increased in North Carolina was in 1983.

    Tippett also urged lawmakers to keep the Division of Motor Vehicles' headquarters and administrators of the Governor's Highway Safety Program afloat; the state Senate budget proposal has recommended eliminating the two.

    Tippett's proposals are part of the North Carolina DOT's response to the $14.7 billion budget plan passed by the Senate.


BTS Releases National Transportation Statistics 2000 Report


Arkansas' "Pave The Way" Campaign Featured on AASHTO Web Site




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