APTA: Washington Report

FY 2004 Appropriations Update

December 4, 2003

The FY 2004 Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill has been added to an omnibus appropriations package that includes six other unfinished bills and is scheduled for consideration when the House and Senate reconvene on December 9. In the meantime, transportation programs will continue to be funded at FY 2003 levels under a Continuing Resolution (CR) that expires on January 31. If Congress does not approve the omnibus appropriations bill the week of December 9, transit programs would continue to operate through January under the CR. Transit is funded at $7.266 billion in FY 2004 under the omnibus appropriations bill.

Funding levels for the major transit programs in the omnibus bill are shown below:

Program	FY 2003 Final Appropriation (a)	FY 2004 House Appropriation	FY 2004 Senate Appropriation	FY 2004 Conference Agreement (b)
	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)
Total All Programs	7,179.03	7,231.00	7,305.00	7,265.88
Formula Total	3,764.36	3,789.00	3,789.00	3,766.64
UZA and Rural Formula	3,662.58	3,686.55	3,686.55	3,664.80
Elderly and Disabled	90.06	90.65	90.65	90.12
Clean Fuels	(c)	(c)	(c)	(c)
Alaska Railroad	4.82	4.85	4.85	4.82
Rural Transportation Accessibility	6.90	6.95	6.95	6.91
Capital Investment (d)	3,110.65	3,156.50	3,190.00	3,188.58
New Starts (e)	1,251.21	1,214.40	1,318.40	1,315.98
Fixed-Guideway Modernization	1,206.51	1,214.40	1,214.40	1,199.39
Bus and Bus Facilities (d)	652.93	727.70	657.20	673.20
Planning	72.50	73.00	73.00	72.57
Research	48.71	49.00	49.00	52.69
Job Access and Reverse Commute	104.32	85.00	125.00	104.38
University Centers	5.96	6.00	6.00	5.96
FTA Operations	72.53	72.50	73.00	75.05
(a) Reflects FY 2003 government-wide across-the-board spending reduction of 0.65%.
(b) Reflects FY 2004 government-wide across-the-board spending reduction of 0.59%.
(c) Transferred to or allocated with Bus and Bus Facilities.
(d) Includes funds transferred from or allocated from Formula Clean Fuels.
(e) Excludes prior-year unobligated balances.

The Conference Report (108-401) on the omnibus appropriations bill essentially maintains the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill finalized by the House-Senate Conference Committee on November 12. Transit would be funded at $7.266 billion, an increase of $40 million over the Administration's request, and $87 million over FY 2003 levels. The bill would fund Amtrak at $1.218 billion; the highway program at $32.8 billion; and aviation programs at $13.9 billion. These amounts and those in the chart above reflect a .59 percent across-the-board reduction in most federal programs included in the omnibus Conference Report; transit funding was reduced by $43 million as a result of the across-the-board reduction.

Special Provisions

The Amtrak funding for the first time includes language providing $59.6 million for directed services to be available to continue commuter rail operations should Amtrak cease operations; such funding would become available to Amtrak if unused by the 4^th quarter. The Conference Report retains a provision from the Senate bill that would establish an FTA purchase pooling pilot program to allow transit systems to collaborate on bus procurements, and directs FTA to report to the Appropriations Committees on the program sixty days after contract award; contains language prohibiting transit systems from accepting advertising that promotes the legalization or medical use of controlled substances; permits FTA to allow operating assistance up to $10 million to be used in UZAs over 200,000 in population for a transit provider with 25 or fewer vehicles for services for the elderly and persons with disabilities; directs the DOT Inspector General to report by March 1, 2004, on FTA's recent interpretations and exemptions under the Buy America program; and directs FTA to ensure the Committees by December 31, 2003, that the charter bus provisions continue to be carried out in accordance with the relevant provisions of federal transit law.

The text of the omnibus Conference Report is printed in the November 25 Congressional Record, which is available online on the THOMAS and GPO websites. Earmarks for New Starts, JARC, and the Bus and Bus Facilities program are available on the Government Affairs section of APTA’s website at www.apta.com.

TEA 21 Reauthorization Update

House T & I Committee Introduces $375 Billion Bill

As reported in APTA's November 20 Legislative Alert, the bipartisan leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee recently introduced a TEA 21 reauthorization bill that would authorize $375 billion for the federal transit and highway programs over six years, with $69.2 billion for the federal transit program (see chart below). The bill, H.R. 3550, is called "Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users" (TEA LU). A brief overview of the bill follows, with more information available soon on the Government Affairs section of www.apta.com.

TEA LU includes significant funding increases for transit, providing $4.2 billion more than APTA’s reauthorization recommendations. Because the bill does not yet have a budget or revenue title, it does not include guaranteed funding or firewalls; committee members and staff have emphasized that highway and transit programs will be guaranteed - both the General Fund and Trust Fund components.

In an effort to fix an accounting problem resulting from the fact that the transit program is funded with both Trust Funds and General Funds, the bill would fund New Starts, Small Starts (see below), Research, and FTA Administrative Expenses from the General Fund, while all other programs would be funded from the Mass Transit Account of the Highway Trust Fund.

Annual funding levels authorized for the federal transit programs in TEA LU are:

Program	FY 2004	FY 2005	FY 2006	FY 2007	FY 2008	FY 2009	Six-Years
	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)	(Millions)
Total All Programs	8,200.00	9,700.00	10,900.00	12,200.00	13,400.00	14,800.00	69,200.00
Formula Total	4,428.50	5,249.75	5,908.75	6,623.50	7,282.50	8,053.00	37,546.00
Urbanized Area Formula	3,563.03	4,268.20	4,832.63	5,433.53	6,011.39	6,666.66	30,775.46
High Intensity Small Urbanized Area	35.00	38.00	41.00	44.00	47.00	50.00	255.00
Rural Formula	315.18	377.21	426.92	479.82	530.70	588.36	2,718.20
Elderly and Disabled Formula	100.50	120.29	136.14	153.00	169.23	187.62	866.77
Rural Transp. Assistance (RTAP)	6.43	7.70	8.71	9.79	10.83	12.01	55.47
Clean Fuels Formula	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	100.00	600.00
Alaska Railroad	4.85	4.85	4.85	4.85	4.85	4.85	29.10
Rural Transportation Accessibility	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	60.00
Job Access and Reverse Commute	175.00	185.00	195.00	205.00	215.00	225.00	1,200.00
New Freedoms Initiative	100.00	120.00	125.00	150.00	150.00	175.00	820.00
Transit in Parks Pilot Program	10.00	10.00	20.00	20.00	20.00	20.00	100.00
Nonmotorized Transportation Pilot	5.00	5.00	5.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	45.00
Bus Testing	3.50	3.50	3.50	3.50	3.50	3.50	21.00
Capital Investment Total	3,526.00	4,171.00	4,687.00	5,246.00	5,762.00	6,364.00	29,756.00
New Starts	1,350.40	1,596.40	1,790.80	2,002.40	2,196.80	2,425.60	11,362.40
Fixed-Guideway Modernization	1,350.40	1,596.40	1,790.80	2,002.40	2,196.80	2,425.60	11,362.40
Bus and Bus Facilities	675.20	798.20	895.40	1,001.20	1,098.40	1,212.80	5,681.20
Small Starts	150.00	180.00	210.00	240.00	270.00	300.00	1,350.00
Planning Total	102.50	121.25	136.25	152.50	167.50	185.00	865.00
Metropolitan Planning	84.79	100.30	112.71	126.15	138.56	153.03	715.53
State Planning	17.71	20.95	23.54	26.35	28.94	31.97	149.47
Research Total	66.00	77.00	84.00	91.00	98.00	105.00	521.00
TCRP	10.00	12.50	12.50	15.00	15.00	15.00	80.00
National Transit Institute	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	5.00	30.00
National Research	33.00	41.50	48.50	53.00	60.00	67.00	303.00
Project Action	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	24.00
Reports and Audits	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	4.00	24.00
University Research	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	10.00	60.00
FTA Operations	77.00	81.00	84.00	87.00	90.00	93.00	512.00

New Programs

The bill would create new transit programs:

A new program for transit intensive urbanized areas under 200,000 in population would grow from $35 million a year to $50 million a year. It would be funded through a set aside from the formula program and is nearly identical to APTA’s reauthorization proposal.
A New Freedom Initiative program would provide funding for people with disabilities for activities beyond those required by ADA. It would grow from $100 million in FY 2004 to $175 million in FY 2009. The New Freedom Initiative would be allocated using a formula based on the disabled population in a state, with 60% of the funds allocated to urbanized areas with populations larger than 200,000, 20% to states for use in urbanized areas of less than 200,000, and 20% to states for use in rural areas. The program contains language mandating coordination of transportation services with other federal human service programs.
A new Small Starts program would be created, funded by a take down from the capital investment program. It would provide funding for smaller projects with a federal New Starts share of between $25 million and $75 million, including streetcar, trolley, bus rapid transit (BRT) (if more than half of the project includes exclusive right-of-way), and commuter rail projects. Funding would double over the life of the bill from $150 million to $300 million annually.
The bill would also create a Transit in the Parks pilot program, designed to develop transit in National Parks with the goal of improving mobility and reducing congestion and pollution. It would be funded at $10 million annually in FY 2004 and 2005 and $20 million annually in subsequent years.

Other Provisions

The bill would retain the New Starts federal share of 80%. The bill would significantly increase funding for the rural program from 6.5% to 8% of the transit formula program. Intercity bus facilities would be eligible as capital projects if the facility serves as a connector to public transportation. Security and emergency preparedness projects, including training and drill expenses, would be eligible for capital funding. New criteria are added to the formula of the Clean Fuels Grant program. The bill would require coordination between private, non-profit, and public transportation providers and other federal programs in JARC, the New Freedoms Initiative, and the Individuals with Special Needs/Disabilities program. The bill would add "safety and security management" to project management and oversight review requirements, and grant the Secretary some ability to permit transit systems complying with more than one DOT drug and alcohol testing to simplify the varying requirements. The bill also contains a provision that would allow transit agencies in urban areas reclassified as being larger than 200,000 in population after the 2000 census to continue to use formula funds for operating expenses in 2003 and 2004 at the same level as 2002. The bill would change all references in transit law from "transit" to "public transportation."

The bill would not change the Fixed-guideway Modernization formula to add an 8^th tier as recommended in APTA’s reauthorization proposal, but would distribute all additional funding under the existing 7^th tier, which allocates funds on a 50-50 basis between "old" and "new" cities. APTA had recommended that new funds be distributed on a 60-40 basis between "old" and "new" cities. The bill would also strike language in the existing Fixed-guideway Modernization program that excludes rail lines in service after 1997; which means all rail lines in operation more than 7 years would be counted in the formula. The bill extends the current exemption from axle-weight limitations for transit buses through FY 2009, but does not expand the current exemption to inter-city buses.

Highway Program

The bill would preserve the existing structure of the highway program, and would not change flexible funding provisions that permit highway funds to be used for transit projects. Funding for the Ferryboat program would rise to $100 million in FY 2004 and receive annual increases to $125 million in FY 2009.

Upcoming Action

T&I Committee Chairman Don Young (R-AK) would like to approve the bill in Committee during February and move it to the House floor in mid-March. Funding remains a key issue; the House Ways and Means Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax issues, must weigh in before the bill is ready for the floor.

For further information on TEA LU, please visit the Committee’s website at www.house.gov/transportation, or visit the Government Affairs section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Rob Healy at (202) 496-4811.

Senate Committee Introduces $255 Billion Highway Title Reauthorization Bill

On Wednesday, November 12, the Senate Environmental and Public Works (EPW) Committee approved a bill to reauthorize the highway title of TEA 21. The bill, the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA) of 2003" (S.1072), reflects the name of the Administration's TEA 21 reauthorization proposal. The bill maintains the funding flexibility of the highway title currently in TEA 21, and does not make major changes to the structure of the highway program.

Funding

As noted in our October 31 Legislative Update, the EPW bill would authorize $255 billion in funding for the highway program over the next six years; the table below shows program funding levels. As in the House T&I Committee’s TEA-LU bill, the Committee did not designate how the increased funds would be raised; provide specific allocations to the states; or set a highway program minimum guaranteed rate of return, currently 90.5%. Committee leadership have indicated they intend to increase the minimum guaranteed rate of return from 90.5% to 95% by the end of the six-year bill.

Environmental Provisions

The bill would make several changes to environmental provisions in current law. It would make changes to the frequency of required environmental reports, include new stakeholders and would designate the DOT as the lead agency for the environmental review process. Changes to conformity requirements would mandate that several criteria, such as population growth, employment, transit ridership and congestion be included in the development of travel and emissions models. The bill also creates a new Infrastructure Performance and Maintenance Program which targets funds to existing highway projects for system preservation, maintenance, or operational improvements that are already eligible under ISP, NHS, or STP.

Safety

Concerning safety, the bill contains most of the language included in the Administration’s SAFETEA proposal. The bill would provide new flexibility in the use of program funds, including making pedestrian safety projects eligible for CMAQ funding. The bill would eliminate the 10 percent set-aside in the STP program for safety and instead create a new fund, the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), dedicated to highway safety.

Planning

The bill would make changes to the planning process. It would mandate that states include land use as a factor in developing projects, and add habitat and hydrological mitigation activities during construction. It provides that federal funds may be used to cover no more than 20 percent of environmental restoration and pollution abatement planning. An amendment by Senator John Warner (R-VA) increased the planning set aside to 1.5 percent from 1 percent, on the basis that 36 new MPOs would be created by the bill (with some Senators arguing that only 24 would be created).

Other Provisions, Maglev

The bus axle weights exemption would be continued, made permanent, and extended to intercity buses. The bill adds new definitions of operating costs and operational improvements for which federal funds are eligible to be used; allows CMAQ funds to be used for systems management and operations, including for transit; and allows more STP funds to be used for regional operations collaboration. The bill contains a non contract authority authorization of $2.5 billion over the six-year life of the bill to fund planning, design, and construction of eligible Magnetic Levitation (Maglev) projects; in addition, $90 million in contract authority, from the highway account of the Highway Trust Fund, would be available for a Maglev deployment program over the life of the bill.

Changes in Committee Markup

After the bill was introduced and before its markup by the full Committee, APTA wrote to the Committee in support of the bill but identified a few concerns about it. That November 10 letter is available on the Government Affairs section of www.apta.com. APTA expressed concern about the reduction in the section 130 railroad crossing safety program; in markup the reduction in railroad crossing program was eliminated and the program authorization was doubled to $200 million a year. APTA also expressed concern that the bill appeared to assume authorization from the Mass Transit Account of $75 million a year for a new Intermodal Passenger Facilities Program, noting that this was properly the jurisdiction of the Senate Banking Committee; in markup the reference to funding from the Mass Transit Account was deleted. APTA also commented on a new program permitting the collection of highway tolls for congestion relief, recommending that tolls so collected be eligible not just for highways but also for transit and other innovative activities such as station cars; the provision was taken out during markup. Finally, APTA noted that under the bill the Ferryboat Discretionary Program would be maintained at $38 million year, and recommended that it be increased to $75 million year; in markup the Committee maintained the program at the $38 million level.

Other Committee actions during markup affecting transit -

An amendment by Senator Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) amended the definition of the term transportation enhancement activity to include historic battlefields.
An amendment by Senator Hillary Clinton (D-NY) maintained the present suballocation of STP funds; the bill had originally increased the share to rural areas and decreased it to urban areas.
An amendment by Senator Tom Carper (D-DE) added passenger rail to the National Surface Transportation System Study.
Two amendments by Senator Bob Graham (D-FL); one included the operation and maintenance of transit facilities as a purpose for which certain funds may be used; and one added MPOs to the stakeholder list in the planning process.
An amendment by Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR) makes transit-oriented development eligible to receive funds as part of a $35 million pilot project called the Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program.

Upcoming Action

EPW Committee leadership and most members want the bill passed and the reauthorization process completed before the current TEA 21 extension expires on February 29. The Senate Banking Committee, with jurisdiction over the transit title of the bill, has indicated it will not release its reauthorization proposal until they reach agreement with the Senate Finance Committee on how the bill will be financed. EPW and the Banking Committee must therefore complete negotiations on funding with the Senate Finance Committee, which has jurisdiction over tax law changes required to raise the necessary revenue. Several changes are likely to be made to the bill on the floor of the Senate, as Committee members indicated they will offer more amendments. Many of these EPW amendments will deal with environmental streamlining provisions, a key issue to many Committee members.

For more information on the EPW Committee’s SAFETEA bill, please visit the Committee’s website at http://epw.senate.gov. Further information, including the October 31 Legislative Update, is available in the Government Affairs section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Josh Fudge in APTA’s Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4810.

Rail Enhancement Legislation Introduced

On November 25, a group of Senators introduced legislation that would authorize $42 billion in spending over six years to improve high-speed rail corridors, provide additional funding for Amtrak, and improve freight mobility. The bill, the "American Railroad Revitalization, Investment, and Enhancement Act" or ARRIVE 21, would create a non-profit, public-private partnership that would issue $30 billion in bonds to partially fund the program. The partnership would then award grants to states and to Amtrak for capital projects. A formula grant program would also provide funds to all states for capital projects, and an average of $1.5 billion annually would be authorized for Amtrak’s capital and operations expenses. For further information, please visit the Government Affairs section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Art Guzzetti at (202) 496-4814.

30 Transit Authorities to Share $50 Million in Security Funds

On November 13, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the allocation of $50 million from its FY 2004 appropriations bill in the form of grants to 30 public transit authorities across the country for security purposes. The transit systems were determined based upon the number of annual riders and overall track mileage. The transit grants are part of $725 million in discretionary funding in the Fiscal Year 2004 Homeland Security Appropriations bill for the Urban Area Security Initiative, the high threat, high density urban areas grant program.

Transit authorities will be allowed to use the funds for purposes including physical barricades; area monitoring systems, such as video surveillance, motion detectors, thermal/IR imagery, and chemical/radiological material detection systems; integrated communications systems; and prevention, planning, training, and exercises. If not already completed, each transit system would be required to conduct an assessment and preparedness plan on which to base resource allocations by January 31, 2004. The funds, according to DHS, will be allocated to the states, which have until December 15th to apply for the funding.

The remaining program funds, $675 million, are being allocated as grants through the states to 50 urban areas selected by the Department of Homeland Security to enhance their overall security and preparedness level. Transit authorities in the 50 urban areas are eligible to apply for these funds through their State Administrative Agency (SAA). All transit systems are also eligible to apply for $1.7 billion in formula-based grants, and the $500 million in law enforcement terrorism prevention grants for overtime expenses that go to the states.

The following are the allocations to transit agencies under this program, as announced by DHS on November 13:

NY – MTA – NYC Transit	$10,000,000.00
Chicago – METRA	$3,034,969.91
Washington, D.C. – WMATA	$2,809,312.95
New York – LIRR	$2,732,103.14
New York – Metro-North	$2,695,327.39
Chicago Transit Authority	$2,484,059.46
Boston – MBTA	$2,122,121.24
Los Angeles – Metrolink	$1,982,809.18
San Francisco – SF Bay Area Rapid Transit District	$1,622,456.51
Boston, MA – Mass. Transportation Bay Authority	$1,604,437.27
Philadelphia – SEPTA	$1,594,967.82
Philadelphia – SEPTA Subway	$1,530,683.33
Atlanta – Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit	$1,491,848.08
NY – Port Authority of NY/NJ	$1,257,150.82
Maryland – MARC	$1,037,752.88
Northern Indiana Commuter Trans District- NICTD	$800,000.00
San Francisco – Caltrain	$800,000.00
Virginia – VRE	$800,000.00
San Jose, CA – ACE	$800,000.00
Los Angeles – LA County Metro Transportation	$800,000.00
Miami – Tri-Rail	$800,000.00
Miami – Miami – Dade Transit Agency	$800,000.00
New Haven – Shoreline East	$800,000.00
Maryland DOT – Mass Transit Administration	$800,000.00
San Diego – Coaster	$800,000.00
Seattle – Sound Transit	$800,000.00
Philadelphia – NJ – PATCO	$800,000.00
Cleveland – Greater Cleveland Regional Transit	$800,000.00
Dallas – Trinity Railway Express	$800,000.00
NY – MTA – Staten Island Railway	$800,000.00

These funds are in addition to the $65 million in funds to transit systems provided by the FY 2003 Emergency Wartime Supplemental Appropriations bill earlier this spring. For more information on these programs, the list of urban areas, the list of the transit authorities, and the grant application used by the states, please visit the DHS website at http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/docs/fy04uasi.pdf. For further information, visit the Government Affairs section of www.apta.com; or contact Tom Yedinak at (202) 496-4865.

Transit Leasing Provisions Update

On November 26, the Treasury Department’s Assistant Secretary for Tax Policy, Pamela F. Olson, wrote to Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta, asking that the U.S. Department of Transportation, until otherwise advised, no longer permit transit agencies to enter into tax-advantaged leasing transactions. On the same day, the FTA notified transit agencies with lease transactions under active review that it was suspending consideration of such transactions.

The Treasury letter was in response to the attention that has been focused on the use of leasing transactions by transit agencies and other public entities to generate revenue to meet capital needs. The Senate Finance Committee approved legislation (S. 1637) on October 2, 2003, that addresses trade issues and potential sanctions on U.S made goods sold in European markets; among the revenue raisers in the bill are provisions that would effectively eliminate the ability of transit agencies to enter into such lease transactions. If these provisions are included in tax law, U.S. transit agencies and other public entities would no longer be able to lease finance their assets, depriving them of an effective, legitimate financing tool that has provided transit agencies and municipalities with an important source of funding for capital and operating purposes for more than 25 years. Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley further discouraged the approval of lease agreements when in a recent press release he said he would offer an amendment to the Committee-approved bill to make the prohibition on lease agreements effective November 18, 2003.

APTA has weighed in on this issue in a number of places: with the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee and its staff; with House and Senate authorizing committee staff; and most recently via letters to Secretary Mineta and FTA Administrator Dorn urging them not to delay leasing transactions now pending before the FTA. A number of APTA-member transit systems have conveyed their concerns about the bill to their elected representatives in both Houses of the U.S. Congress. House Speaker Dennis Hastert recently stated that he opposes the Senate Finance Committee effort. APTA will continue to press the case on this issue when Congress returns next year. In the meantime, well-known tax lobbyist Ken Kies, head of a coalition in favor of continuing such leasing, will speak at APTA's Legislative Committee meeting on December 5. For further information, please visit the Government Affairs section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Rob Healy at (202) 496-4811.

Transit Benefits Bill Moves Forward

Rep. James McGovern (D-MA) has introduced H.R. 2614, the Commuter Benefit Equity Act of 2003. Current law allows an employer to take a tax deduction by offering employees up to $100 per month for transit passes and $190 per month for parking. The bill would place transit on an equal footing with driving by increasing the monthly limit for both transit passes and parking to $190. For further information, please visit the Government Affairs Section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Josh Fudge at (202) 496-4810.

Senate Workforce Investment Act Legislation Contains Coordination Language

On November 14, the Senate approved amendments to legislation that would reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA). The bill, S. 1627, is titled the "Workforce Investment Act Amendments of 2003". The bill contains language that would require state and local agencies that administer WIA programs to describe how existing public transportation services would be used to provide transportation services to program clients. APTA staff worked with Congressional staff to include this language in the bill. The bill now faces a vote in the Senate in the next session. For further information, please visit the Government Affairs Section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Elissa Dodge at (202) 496-4827.

Energy Bill Shelved Until Next Year

On November 22, the Senate failed to block a filibuster on the Conference Report of the comprehensive energy bill (H.R. 6). Action on the bill will be put off until next year, as the issue remains a top priority for President Bush and Congressional GOP leadership. Among many other things, the bill would have mandated increased amounts of renewable fuels, mostly ethanol, over the next 9 years; and added a new tax credit for ethanol producers. The bill included two pilot programs for which transit systems would have been eligible: a $20 million competitive grant program for acquisition of alternative fueled vehicles, including public transportation buses; and a $10 million program to fund 5 fuel cell transit bus demonstration projects. There will be efforts in the next session of Congress to move the energy bill. For further information, please visit the Government Affairs Section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Josh Fudge at (202) 496-4810.

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