Page images
PDF
EPUB
[blocks in formation]

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS

[blocks in formation]

NOTE: Under Committee Rules, Mr. Livingston, as Chairman of the Full Committee, and Mr. Obey, as Ranking Minority Member of the Full Committee, are authorized to sit as Members of all Subcommittees.

JOHN T. BLAZEY II, RICHARD E. EFFORD, STEPHANIE K. GUPTA, and LINDA J. MUIR, Subcommittee Staff

PART 4

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION:

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

National Highway Traffic Safety Administration RELATED AGENCY:

Page

1

991

1

Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.. 1379

Printed for the use of the Committee on Appropriations

[graphic][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][ocr errors][subsumed][subsumed]

United Styles

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS

FOR 1998

HEARINGS

BEFORE A

SUBCOMMITTEE OF THE

COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED FIFTH CONGRESS

FIRST SESSION

SUBCOMMITTEE ON THE DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND
RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS

[blocks in formation]

NOTE: Under Committee Rules, Mr. Livingston, as Chairman of the Full Committee, and Mr. Obey, as Ranking
Minority Member of the Full Committee, are authorized to sit as Members of all Subcommittees.

JOHN T. BLAZEY II, RICHARD E. EFFORD, STEPHANIE K. GUPTA, and LINDA J. MUIR,
Subcommittee Staff

PART 4

Page

DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION:

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

1

991

[blocks in formation]

For sale by the U.S. Government Printing Office

Superintendent of Documents, Congressional Sales Office, Washington, DC 20402

ISBN 0-16-055228-1

FHWA OPENING REMARKS

Ms. GARVEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and Congressman Sabo. It is a pleasure to be here. Thank you for your kind comments. I always go back and report to the Secretary what has happened at hearings so I will, if you do not mind, mention your first comment to him.

Mr. WOLF. I would be shocked if he did not appoint you. Frankly, with the difficulty that the reauthorization of ISTEA will pose and with the good job that you have done, I think they would have a hard time explaining why they did not nominate you. You can tell them that.

Ms. GARVEY. Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Mr. WOLF. And I think he will frankly because I think Secretary Slater is a good person.

Ms. GARVEY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. Joining me here this morning is Tony Kane, our Executive Director, and other key FHWA staff members. We are all prepared to answer any questions that you or members of the committee may have.

OVERVIEW OF ADMINISTRATION PROPOSAL

Yesterday, Mr. Chairman, as you mentioned, President Clinton, Vice President Gore, and Secretary Slater announced the Administration's proposal for reauthorization of surface transportation programs. This budget, the 1998 budget, is as you have indicated the first of the post-ISTEA era and we are very excited about that.

When Secretary Slater appeared before this subcommittee last week, he spoke about three key national transportation priorities— strategic investment in infrastructure, a commitment to safety, a commitment that he spoke about in terms of both a moral commitment and a policy imperative, and a commitment to common sense government and innovation.

We believe the FHWA budget both supports and advances these very important goals. The budget we are submitting is built around the Administration's authorization proposal for surface transportation programs. The reauthorization proposal constitutes a strategic use of limited resources with funding increases for the National Highway System, for interstate maintenance, for congestion mitigation and air quality, and for safety programs-clear national priorities.

Our proposal will also increase the states' ability to use their federal-aid dollars more effectively and more flexibly. We think we need to give the states the flexibility, the options to create the transportation solutions that work for them.

BUDGET HIGHLIGHTS

Our budget proposes $20 billion in obligations for the nation's highways and bridges. This includes a federal-aid highways obligation ceiling of $18.17 billion which is approximately the same level of discretionary funding as the fiscal year 1997 budget. The 1998 budget also includes proposed contract authority for the highway program of $22.8 billion, which is a significant increase over the average annual contract authority authorized by ISTEA.

While the obligation limitation we propose is lower than contract authority for 1998, I want to stress that we are hopeful economic conditions will improve so that budgets in future years will permit the use of funds that cannot be reached this year. I need to say at the outset that we realize that the proposed funding levels do not fully meet the needs of the nation's highway systems but we believe it does represent a continued commitment to investment while at the same time dealing with both the President's and the Congress' efforts to balance the budget and reduce the federal defi

cit.

The budget also advances other national goals. We have asked ourselves whether can we offer the tools to help reduce the tragic toll of highway deaths even in the face of growing traffic. Our budget provides the resources to maintain safety as the highest national transportation priority. Our proposal builds on the strong components of the existing law but streamlines programs, consolidates some categories, creates new flexibilities, and offers incentives for safety agencies to work together more closely in dealing with their safety programs.

And I must say that just as we have consolidated and coordinated the program elements, we have worked very hard with NHTSA to coordinate our staff efforts as well. We have done that both in Washington and the field. We have worked very closely this past year in particular. The goal for both of us is to deliver a safety program that is not only highly coordinated but also complementary, and builds on our individual agencies professional and organizational strengths.

COMMON SENSE GOVERNMENT AND INNOVATION

The Secretary also spoke last week about common sense government and innovation. It is certainly true that cornerstone for the future is a strong emphasis on innovation, innovation that will provide a greater return on our investment. For FHWA, this moves us from a traditional oversight role to one, as the Secretary says, of proactive leadership, leadership in technology, leadership in technical assistance-technical assistance in its broadest terms, from engineering advice to environmental expertise to planning and financial expertise.

INFRASTURE INVESTMENT

In fact, in the area of finance, we are promoting new financial techniques that have the added benefit of leveraging new resources for transportation, including those of the private sector. Our budget proposes a new $100 million credit enhancement program to encourage private sector investment in transportation projects of national significance, projects that may be too large for a state program or even too large for an infrastructure bank.

We are also proposing to continue the funding for state infrastructure banks at a level of $150 million a year. We are proposing significant increases in programs which support technological innovation. Our budget request and our reauthorization proposal recognizes that a strong federal transportation research and technology program is not a trade-off with infrastructure funding, but instead it is a powerful tool to support the investments we have made.

« PreviousContinue »