Significant features of TEA21 (i.e., the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century) include:

• Authorizations: For fiscal years 1998-2003, TEA21 authorizes approximately $174 billion for highways, a little more than $2 billion for highway safety programs, $41 billion for mass transit, and $1 billion for miscellaneous activities. Total highway funding is $52 billion more than TEA21's predecessor, ISTEA (Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act), authorized for the previous six years.

• Guaranteed Spending: Annual highway investments are now protected by a "firewall" that guarantees that fuel taxes will be dedicated toward their intended purpose. In practice, the firewall sets an annual floor for highway investments by stipulating that funding must match, at a minimum, the amount of taxes deposited in the highway account of the federal Highway Trust Fund during the previous year. Based on current tax revenue projections, this provision will guarantee that at least $168 billion will be appropriated in federal highway and highway safety programs over six years. By comparison, annual appropriations for those programs totaled $118 billion in the previous six years.

• Program Structure: Congress fashioned TEA21 in the image of ISTEA. Funds will continue to be distributed through core programs that include Interstate Maintenance and the National Highway System, roadway safety and rail/highway crossing improvements, the Surface Transportation Program, Bridges, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) programs.

  Formula: Although the formula used to distribute highway funds among the states was changed substantially under TEA21, 49 states will receive more federal dollars than they did under ISTEA.

For a more detailed summary of TEA21, including program-by-program and state-by-state funding tables, please check the U.S. Department of Transportation's TEA21 website.