Senate Bill Sets Public
Transportation Funding at $7.3 Billion
September 5, 2003
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The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the FY 2004 Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations bill September 4. The bill funds the federal transit program at $7.305 billion, an increase of $126 million from actual transit funding in FY 2003.
The following table compares the FY 2004 Senate Committee-approved bill with the House-approved bill; the FY 2003 TEA 21 guaranteed funding levels; and actual FY 2003 appropriation funding levels:
|
Program |
Guaranteed Authorization FY 2003 |
Actual Appropriation After Reduction FY 2003 (a) |
House Committee Bill FY 2004 |
Senate Committee Bill FY 2004 |
|
FY 2004 Amount |
Change from FY 2003 Guarantee |
Change from FY 2003 Actual Appropriation |
|
(Millions) |
(Millions) |
(Millions) |
(Millions) |
(Millions) |
(Millions) |
|
Total All Programs |
7,226.00 |
7,179.03 |
7,231.00 |
7,305.00 |
79.00 |
125.97 |
|
Formula Total |
3,839.00 |
3,814.05 |
3,839.00 |
3,839.00 |
0.00 |
24.95 |
|
UZA and Rural Formula |
3,686.55 |
3,662.58 |
3,686.55 |
3,686.55 |
0.00 |
23.96 |
|
Elderly and Disabled |
90.65 |
90.06 |
90.65 |
90.65 |
0.00 |
0.59 |
|
Clean Fuels |
50.00 |
(b) 49.68 |
50.00 |
50.00 |
0.00 |
0.32 |
|
Alaska Railroad |
4.85 |
4.82 |
4.85 |
4.85 |
0.00 |
0.03 |
|
Rural Transportation Accessibility |
6.95 |
6.90 |
6.95 |
6.95 |
0.00 |
0.05 |
|
Capital Investment |
3,036.00 |
3,060.97 |
3,106.50 |
3,140.00 |
104.00 |
79.03 |
|
New Starts |
1,214.40 |
1,251.21 |
1,214.40 |
1,318.40 |
104.00 |
67.19 |
|
Fixed-Guideway Modernization |
1,214.40 |
1,206.51 |
1,214.40 |
1,214.40 |
0.00 |
7.89 |
|
Bus and Bus Facilities |
607.20 |
603.25 |
677.70 |
607.20 |
0.00 |
3.95 |
|
Planning |
73.00 |
72.50 |
73.00 |
73.00 |
0.00 |
0.50 |
|
Research |
49.00 |
48.71 |
49.00 |
49.00 |
0.00 |
0.29 |
|
Job Access and Reverse Commute |
150.00 |
104.32 |
85.00 |
125.00 |
-25.00 |
20.68 |
|
University Centers |
6.00 |
5.96 |
6.00 |
6.00 |
0.00 |
0.04 |
|
FTA Operations |
73.00 |
72.53 |
72.50 |
73.00 |
0.00 |
0.47 |
|
(a) Reflects FY 2003 government-wide across-the-board spending reduction of 0.65%. |
|
(b) Transferred to Bus and Bus Facilities. |
Formula Grants, New Starts, and Bus and Bus Facilities Receive Increases
Under the bill, Formula Grants would receive $3.839 billion, a $25 million increase over the FY 2003 enacted funding level. The Bus and Bus Facility grant program would receive $607.2 million, an increase of $4 million from the FY 2003 enacted level. It provides $1.318 billion for the New Starts program, an increase of over $67 million over the FY 2003 enacted funding level. It provides $1.214 billion for the Fixed Guideway Modernization program, a slight increase over the FY 2003 enacted level. APTA will list New Start, Bus, and Job Access earmarks on its website as soon as they become available in final form.
Buy America
The bill includes report language directing the DOT Inspector General to review, by September 30, 2003, recent FTA Buy America interpretations and exemptions for consistency with the law and other practices within DOT.
Amtrak
The Senate bill sets Amtrak funding at $1.346 billion for FY 2004. Amtrak funding was increased from $900 million during subcommittee markup under an amendment offered by Senator Murray (D-WA).
Appropriations Debate Moves to House Floor
As the Senate Appropriations Committee was approving its version of the FY 2004 Transportation bill, the full House of Representatives was considering its version of the bill (H.R. 2989) on the House Floor. Although the House was unable to conclude debate on the bill and is expected to take up the bill again on September 9, it took a number of actions on the federal transit and highway programs.
The House bill would fund federal transit programs at $7.23 billion in FY 2004, $52 million more than the FY 2003 level and $5 million more than the President’s request. Overall funding for transit programs under the House bill remained unchanged from the bill approved by Committee in late July. The House version funds transit formula programs at $3.839 billion. The New Starts program and the Fixed Guideway Modernization program are each funded at $1.214 billion. The bill increases funding for the Bus and Bus Facilities program by $70 million over the FY 2003 level, to $677.7 million. For more detailed information on the bill, please see the July 25 Legislative Update on the Government Affairs section of APTA’s website at www.apta.com.
The House did make several important changes to the bill. By a vote of 327 to 90, the House agreed to an amendment offered by Rep. Petri, Chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines, that eliminated language in the bill that would have made the longstanding requirement to use 10% of Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds for transportation enhancements discretionary on the part of states. The bill now retains current law on transportation enhancements. In addition, language changing current Buy America law which was included in the Committee-approved bill, was eliminated under a parliamentary point of order. The Committee-approved bill would have clarified and tightened the definitions of "manufactured product" and "microprocessor;" restricted the usage of waivers; and required that federal regulatory Buy America decisions be subject to review under the Administrative Procedures Act. The measure now retains current law on Buy America.
Once the respective versions of the House and Senate FY 2004 Transportation, Treasury and Independent Agencies Appropriations bills are approved by the full House and Senate a conference committee of members from both chambers will be established to reconcile differences. The conference agreement must then be taken back to both Houses for approval of a final bill that can be sent to the President for his approval. It is likely that a bill can be sent to the President before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
TEA 21 Reauthorization
While the focus is on the bipartisan House T&I, and Senate Banking Committee reauthorization efforts, much of the attention during September will center on legislation to temporarily extend authorizing language for TEA 21 programs and on the length of that temporary extension. Among the options being discussed are bills to extend TEA 21 programs for six months or for two years. A six-month extension is viewed as more likely to force consideration of a six-year bill early next year. A two-year extension would delay decisions on how to finance a longer-term bill past the Presidential election next year.
Leaders on both sides of Capitol Hill are wrestling with how to finance a long-term reauthorization bill that adequately addresses transit and highway needs. The leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has been working on a six-year, $375 billion bill that would be funded by adjusting the current motor fuels user fees for inflation. Senate authorizers have been working on a six-year, $311 billion bill that adheres to the Senate-passed budget resolution and could rely on a variety of mechanisms to raise funding.
Homeland Security
On June 24 the House passed its version of the FY 2004 Homeland Security appropriations bill. The Senate followed suit by passing its version on July 24. With Congress returning from the August recess, the next step is to form a Conference Committee to reconcile the differences in the two bills.
The Senate version of the bill would provide $5.4 billion for Transportation Security Administration, $200 million more than the measure that passed the House. The bill includes $750 million for high-threat urban area discretionary grants through the Office of Domestic Preparedness (ODP), which can go to transit authorities. The House version of the bill provides $5.2 billion for TSA and provides $500 million in grants for high density urban areas and $200 million in grants for high-threat infrastructure. The measure also includes $10 million for transit security and training. The Senate and House bills both include $10 million for intercity bus security.
The Senate has named its Conference Committee members, and House leadership is expected to name its members soon. APTA sent a letter to likely conferees urging them to retain the House provision that includes $10 million for transit security and funding, and adopt the Senate provision that clarifies that transit authorities are considered units of local government eligible for the ODP discretionary grants.
A specific timeframe for the Conference Committee is as yet unclear. However, Homeland Security is a top priority for Congress and with FY 2004 beginning on October 1, Congress is expected to complete the bill over the next few weeks so that it can be signed into law before the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
Workforce Investment Act
The House has passed legislation, H.R. 4, to reauthorize the Workforce Investment Act (WIA), called the "Personal Responsibility, Work, and Family Promotion Act of 2003". Currently, Senate staff is working on a draft of its WIA reauthorization legislation, the "Workforce Investment Act Amendments of 2003". The Senate draft is likely to be very different from the bill passed in the House. A tentative markup date for WIA in the Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions is September 10. APTA has been working closely with Senate staff to incorporate language into their bill that would encourage states and localities to coordinate workforce investment activities with transportation programs. The most recent version of the Senate draft contains language requiring states and localities to outline strategies for coordination in their state and local plans. The language specifically calls for coordination with providers of public transportation.
Energy Bill
As noted in APTA’s Washington Report of August 5, Congress is currently working on comprehensive energy legislation that contains several provisions related to transit, including pilot projects for alternative fuel vehicles and credits for the purchase and sale of such vehicles. The legislation is currently in Conference Committee, where members from the House and Senate are working on reconciling differences between the versions passed in each chamber. Given the blackout that occurred in August, there is increased focus on energy legislation, but it remains to be seen whether long standing disagreements can be resolved so that a final agreement can be enacted anytime soon.
For More Information
Visit the Government Affairs section of the APTA website at www.apta.com, or contact Rob Healy at (202) 496-4811 or Josh Fudge at (202) 496-4810. For information on Homeland Security issues, contact Tom Yedinak at (202) 496-4865. For issues related to Amtrak or workforce investment legislation, contact Art Guzzetti at (202) 496-4814.
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