House Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee Approves Full Funding for FY 2008 Transit Program
Support Needed for Rail Access Provisions in House Energy Bill
June 18, 2007
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House Transportation Appropriations Bill Provides Transit Funding at Authorized Levels
Last Monday, the Subcommittee on Transportation, Housing and Urban Development, and Related Agencies of the House Committee on Appropriations approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2008 Transportation Appropriations bill. Subcommittee Chairman John Olver (D-MA) and Ranking Member Joe Knollenberg (R-MI) announced during the markup that the bill fully funds the federal transit program, providing at least $9.731 billion, the level authorized and guaranteed by SAFETEA-LU.
Additional details regarding the bill will be available after the full committee markup. The full committee markup was originally scheduled for today, June 18, but the committee has temporarily postponed the session. The committee intended to add transportation earmarks when the bill reached a House/Senate conference, but Democrats and Republicans agreed last week to add earmarks to the bill, with sponsors identified, when the bill goes before the full committee. In order to prepare earmark disclosures for all of the remaining appropriations bills, the committee is likely to delay consideration of the transportation bill until July.
For more information on the FY 2008 Appropriations process, please contact Homer Carlisle of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4810 or email hcarlisle@apta.com.
House Committee to Consider Energy Bill This Week; Rail Access Provisions Under Discussion
The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's chairman James L. Oberstar (D-MN) has introduced the Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2701). The bill contains several provisions that are designed to enhance public transportation services, thus expanding the energy savings that transit creates. The bill authorizes $1.65 billion in new grants for the transit urban and rural formula programs. The grants, which would be subject to appropriation, could be used for operating and capital costs associated with expanded service or operating costs associated with reduced fares.
The bill also contains rail access provisions (Sec. 203) that establish an impartial process, under the authority of the Surface Transportation Board (STB), to settle issues between commuter railroads or transit systems and freight railroads that have been deadlocked after good faith negotiations. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee began a markup on the bill last Thursday, but it has postponed additional action until this Wednesday, June 20, largely to allow for additional consideration of amendments related to the rail access provisions. Prior to last Thursday's initial markup session, representatives of the freight railroads actively lobbied committee members to strike rail access language from the bill.
The access process set forth in Section 203 is fair to both public transit operators and freight railroads. It ensures that the public interest is considered in communities that seek to provide commuter and rail transit service as an efficient transportation alternative. The bill requires the STB to consider a variety of factors in any adjudication so that freight rail needs related to capacity, compensation, and operating conditions are not adversely affected. It requires public rail operators to use non-binding mediation before the formal STB adjudication process may be initiated. The provisions also require STB to consider current and projected demand for capacity on the freight system and ensure that public transportation systems seeking access pay the fully allocated costs of providing such access.
ACTION CALL!
Contact your representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives, particularly members of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure (http://transportation.house.gov), with the following message:
Request that the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee retain the strongest possible rail access provisions in the Transportation Energy Security and Climate Change Mitigation Act of 2007 (H.R. 2701). The nation's rail rights-of-way historically have accommodated both passenger and freight uses; communities seeking new commuter or rail service should have the opportunity to have the Surface Transportation Board consider the public interest and establish fair terms for access when negotiations are deadlocked. Rail access will not shift freight from railroads to our congested highways. Sec. 203 gives providers of commuter rail access only when sufficient track capacity already exists and new service would not adversely impact freight service. |
APTA sent a letter to the leadership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee last week regarding rail access issues. To see the letter, click HERE. For more information on rail access issues or the House Energy bill, please contact Homer Carlisle of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4810 or email hcarlisle@apta.com.
House Approves $400 Million for FY 2008 Transit Security; Senate Committee also Approves $400 Million
The House of Representatives passed the FY 2008 Homeland Security Appropriations bill (H.R. 2642) last Friday, June 15, in a 268-150 vote. The bill includes $400 million for transit, passenger and freight rail security programs, the same amount approved by the House Appropriations Committee earlier this month. Also last week, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Thursday also approved $400 million for transit security programs. The Senate will likely bring the bill to the floor later this summer. If enacted, the $400 million funding level would represent an increase of $125 million over the amount provided in FY 2007.
On a separate front, pre-conference negotiations on transit security authorization legislation continue to advance. The Senate has approved legislation that authorizes $3.5 billion for transit security over a three-year period, and the House has approved similar legislation, H.R. 1401, that would authorize $3.36 billion over a four-year period for transit security. Congressional staff are currently holding pre-conference negotiations to deal with the differences between the two bills. The formal House/Senate conference could take place soon and the conference agreement could be considered on the House and Senate floors before the Fourth of July recess.
For more information on transit security funding, please contact Tom Yedinak of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4865 or email tyedinak@apta.com.
House Committee Marks Up Rail Safety Act; Bill Includes Both Favorable and Unfavorable Provisions
Last Thursday, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up the Federal Railroad Safety Improvement Act of 2007 (H.R. 2095). The bill includes language to preserve current law regarding federal pre-emption of state and local standards for rail safety law but makes a number of changes which apply to commuter railroads, including changes in the current hours of service laws, a mandate for positive train controls, and other modifications. Since the bill would adversely affect commuter rail operations, APTA has been working to make a number of changes and will continue to do so when the bill moves to the Senate.
or more information on rail safety, please contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.
