Secretary of Transportation Norman Mineta told members of the Senate Commerce Committee he could not support a proposal by Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) to have U.S. DOT inspectors go to Mexico to inspect trucks at their home firms there, the Washington Post reported. Murray proposed requiring that requirement among many others before licenses to operate in the U.S. could be granted to those trucks.

Instead, Mineta said, U.S. DOT would prefer being given discretion to determine how to verify whether individual trucking carriers had adequate safety monitoring, including such services as drug and alcohol testing for drivers. The standards should be the same as those for U.S. and Canada-based truckers, Mineta said.

Some members of the committee voiced skepticism, saying Mexican safety standards are less stringent than those in the U.S. Mineta replied that the U.S. standards would carry the day.

The House has voted to block Mexican trucks from going more than 20 miles inside the U.S., a boundary set early in the 1990s following the adoption of the North American Free Trade Agreement, or NAFTA, which covers Mexico, the United States and Canada. The 20-mile limit, in place since shortly after NAFTA took effect, has been struck down by a trade panel as violating access granted to Mexico through NAFTA.

Several senators are considering offering variations on these themes during debate, the Post reported. Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND) may offer an amendment to join the House in banning Mexican trucks in the U.S. Senators John McCain (R-AZ) and Phil Gramm (R-TX) say they will propose safety rules less restrictive than the Murray plan.

Federal funding for transportation research activities in recent years has fallen short of the levels authorized in the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, and much of the funding has been earmarked by Congress for specific activities. As a result state transportation departments have dipped into their own funds to replace the federal shortfall for such programs as Long Term Pavement Preservation SuperPave research.

AASHTO has endorsed full funding of the transportation research and development program, making it one of its top legislative priorities of 2001. This past May the AASHTO Board of Directors approved a resolution supporting a research funding scenario included in the FY 2002 budget proposal submitted by the Bush Administration. The proposal implements the TEA-21 provisions that would provide a share of revenue aligned budget authority (RABA) to research and also full obligation authority for research. For FY 2002, that share would amount to $53 million of the total $4.5 billion in RABA funding.

The House and Senate transportation spending bills fund research at $448 million, short of the $503.7 million proposed by the administration. Both bills have also rejected the administration's proposal to provide full obligation authority for research. While the House version follows the TEA-21 provisions regarding additional RABA funding for research, it sets an obligation total lower than what is made available. The Senate version does not provide any RABA funding for research.

The Senate and House bills also include unprecedented earmarking for specific projects, accounting for nearly all of the discretionary funding available for highways, transit and aviation. Under normal procedures such money would be allocated by the Department of Transportation based on an application and review process.

A possible increase in the current CAFE standards has been one of many issues under consideration as Congress develops a national energy plan. The National Academy of Sciences was asked to examine the effects of raising the fuel-efficiency standard, and the administration and members of Congress are eagerly awaiting the results of the study. It is set to be released by the end of the month.

According to the Times, the draft report recommends that the government set higher mileage standards for cars and light-duty vehicles, such as SUVs. According to the report, that could be achieved through improved engine technology, and the resulting savings in gasoline purchases would offset an increase in the price of the vehicle.

The NAS report states that fuel efficiency could be raised by 8 to 11 miles a gallon over the next 10 years. However, the report does not specifically recommend that the CAFE standard, which is set by the Department of Transportation, be raised. Rather, it states that efforts should be made to revamp the current system of setting fuel efficiency regulations, such as allowing auto makers to trade credits among each other in order to meet an overall goal.

Energy Plans Underway

This week three House committees reported bills that will ultimately make up a comprehensive energy conservation and production package. While efforts to change the CAFE standard were rejected during debate on a bill passed by the House Energy and Commerce Committee this week, a provision was approved that would require a reduction of more than 5 billion gallons of fuel used by SUVs from 2004 to 2010.

During markup of the bill, members of the Committee also rejected an amendment that would have allowed the EPA to grant states waivers from federal reformulated gasoline regulations. California has sought a waiver from oxygenated gasoline requirements since MTBE, the most common fuel additive, has been found to contaminate drinking-water sources and is being phased out of usage in that state. The amendment was defeated by a vote of 22 to 33, largely split along regional lines between ethanol producing states and states mandated to use reformulated fuels.

Meanwhile, the House Ways and Means Committee passed a bill providing tax incentives for energy production and conservation, while the Science Committee approved additional funding for research. House leaders hope to clear on overall energy package by the end of the week.

The Bush Administration also launched a campaign this week to build momentum in Congress for enactment of its proposed energy initiative, stressing the importance of conservation in addition to expanded production.

Vice President Dick Cheney, who headed the task force that devised the recommendations, made appearances in three Pennsylvania cities, and other Cabinet members covered a series of town hall meetings across the country to focus attention on the proposals.

In his remarks Cheney called for construction of more refineries, nuclear power plants, and fuel-efficient hybrid vehicles. But he also stressed a pro-green approach including diverse sources of energy in a "balanced approach."

Saying existing programs only curb about half the pollution earlier predicted, Ralph J. Cicerone, who headed the committee that wrote the report and serves as chancellor at the University of California-Irvine, urged a new focus.

"Inspection and maintenance programs should focus on repairing the worst-polluting vehicles and verifying repairs," he wrote. "We also need better methods of evaluating the impact of these programs."

Cicerone, however, stopped short of suggesting such programs should end. "These programs are absolutely necessary to reduce harmful auto emissions and achieve better air quality," he said.

According to the report, older and malfunctioning vehicles comprise about 10 percent of the nation's fleet but emit half of the worst pollutants. Further, 10 percent of the vehicles required to be put through emissions testing never get it, and another 10 percent - 27 percent of vehicles don't pass emissions tests.

The committee acknowledged that its findings may raise concerns about fairness, in that older, malfunctioning cars are likely to be disproportionately owned by low-income people. As a result, the panel suggested financial relief or other incentives might be provided to get the vehicles repaired or replaced.

According to the report, both state and independent evaluations indicated that the computer models of state agencies and the Environmental Protection Agency overestimate emission reductions actually achieved through inspection and maintenance programs.

The federal General Services Administration has released the results of an environmental review that identifies a vacant commercial site on the waterfront of the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. as the best location for a proposed new U.S. Department of Transportation Building, the Washington Post reported Thursday.

U.S. DOT, now housed in the Nassif Building south of the Capitol Mall and at the Transpoint Building on 2nd Street in the District, rents its current space. The GSA report identifies a site known as the Southeast Federal Center as the best location for a new structure to house U.S. DOT's 7,000 employees.

The GSA's finding may lead to construction on what the Post identified as the largest unused federal parcel left in Washington. Thus far, a contract has not been awarded for the construction work, which is estimated to take about six years.

"As of today, this property represents the best value to the government," said GSA Assistant Regional Administrator Anthony E. Costa. "It's taken a while ... but we're happy to be here."

GSA and the Office of Management and Budget have sparred over the ultimate location of the department, the Post reported, apparently because OMB disagreed with GSA's calculations regarding the construction budget. GSA's environmental findings were released on the same day District of Columbia Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC) had scheduled a hearing in Congress to investigate delays in the decision. Norton told the Post she supports placement of the new DOT building at the Southeast site to provide an anchor for that use and other uses.