TABLE OF CONTENTS(Click on Section)

PURPOSE

BACKGROUND

CHAIRMAN'S OPENING STATEMENT

WITNESSES

This hearing is intended to provide Members of the Committee with information on the progress of the Administration’s efforts to implement the recently enacted surface program reauthorization, SAFETEA: LU (P.L. 109-59). This hearing will provide Members with the opportunity to ask questions on the progress of the implementation of new programs and regulatory action.

After nearly unanimous approval in Congress, on August 10, 2005, President Bush signed into law the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA: LU, P.L. 109-59). The $286.4 billion legislation reauthorized highways, transit, and safety programs through fiscal year 2009, with a 42-percent increase over the guaranteed funding provided under TEA 21 (P.L. 105-179). While highway and transit formula funding accounted for a vast majority of spending, Congress and the President also reaffirmed federal commitments to improve safety and efficiency of the nation’s roadways, bridges and transit systems. In addition to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Federal Transit Administration (FTA), SAFETEA: LU reauthorized major programs in three other U.S. Department of Transportation agencies, including the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the Federal Motor Carriers Safety Administration (FMCSA), and the Research and Innovative Technologies Administration (RITA).

The main enterprise of the Federal Highway Administration is highway construction. Construction not only increases physical capacity of our roadways, but creates and sustains American jobs at the rate of 47,500 jobs per $1 billion invested. To support state highway construction programs, SAFETEA: LU distributed to the states a total of $181.9 billion in formula funding at a growing yearly rate through FY 2009, with a guaranteed rate-of-return that grows from 90.5% in FY 2005 to 92% by FY 2008.

In an effort to address efficient movement of goods and people on our highway system, SAFETEA: LU created three new programs: Projects of Regional and National Significance, the National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program, and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program. SAFETEA: LU also created two new FHWA safety programs including the Highway Safety Improvement Program and the Safe Routes to School Program. The implementation of these new programs, and all new programs in SAFETEA: LU require DOT to promulgate rules and regulations on the administration of these new programs.

SAFETEA: LU also required FHWA to make several changes to rules and regulations governing the Federal-aid Highway Program. In an effort to streamline the project delivery process, significant changes were made in the area of transportation planning and project delivery. SAFETEA: LU also mandated changes to rules and regulations governing highway safety and the construction and contracting bid process. FHWA officials will also be available to answer any questions Members may have on the progress of implementing these – and other – changes to FHWA rules and regulations.

Transit

SAFETEA: LU reauthorized all existing Federal Transit Administration (FTA) formula grants programs, including urbanized area grants, rural grants, elderly and disabled grants, grants for modernization of fixed guideway rail systems, and metropolitan and state planning grants. These formula grants programs, along with administrative expenses and research, represent almost 75 percent of the total Federal transit funding, with the remaining funding going to discretionary capital investment grants and bus and bus facilities grants. SAFETEA: LU changed FTA’s program structure, making each program either fully funded from the Mass Transit Account (MTA) of the Highway Trust Fund or from the general fund, in order to fix an accounting problem that was drawing down trust fund balances faster than actual spending rates. If this change had not been made, the MTA would have had a zero balance in fiscal year 2007. Under SAFETEA: LU, 82 percent of the Federal transit program is funded from the MTA and 18 percent is funded by firewalled general funds.

In addition to reauthorizing existing transit programs, SAFETEA: LU authorized four new programs and changed the funding process of one existing grant program from discretionary to formula (the job access and reverse commute grants program). The new transit programs are:

1. Small Starts. This program is funded by a $200 million takedown from the discretionary capital investment grants program (“new starts”). The small starts program will provide grants for fixed guideway projects that are under $250 million in total cost and use less than $75 million in Federal funds. Because these projects are smaller in scope, project development will be faster and the FTA’s evaluation and rating process will be simpler.
2. Growing and High Density States. This new formula program augments the basic urbanized area and rural formula programs to provide funding in anticipation of forecasted growth, to get ahead of transit needs.
3. New Freedom program. SAFETEA: LU strengthens public transportation services for individuals with disabilities with a new program, called the New Freedom Initiative. The New Freedom grant funds are allocated by formula, based on the number of persons with disabilities in a given State or large urbanized area. These grants will be used to provide transportation services for the disabled in areas that are underserved, going beyond the requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act to reach some of the 70 percent of people with disabilities who do not work simply because they do not have a dependable way to get to work.
4. Alternative transportation in parks and public lands program. This new discretionary program is designed to develop public transportation in National Parks and other public lands units, with the goal of improving mobility and reducing congestion and pollution. The program is jointly managed by the Departments of Transportation and the Department of The Interior.

FTA has a particularly heavy regulatory and guidance promulgation schedule to fully implement the transit title of SAFETEA: LU. The agency must promulgate 17 regulations, 29 separate guidance documents, and issue 19 reports. Part of the reason for this heavy schedule is a new provision under 49 USC 5334(l) that directs FTA to follow standard “notice and comment” procedures before issuing a policy statement that imposes a binding obligation on transit funding recipients. This provision adds transparency to FTA’s administrative procedures and gives the agency better feedback from the transit community and other affected stakeholders when substantive policy changes are being considered. FTA has been responsive to this new requirement, and has set an aggressive schedule for fully implementing the new programs and other policy changes embodied in SAFETEA: LU.

Safety

Over the last ten years, an average of 42,000 Americans were killed each year on the nation’s roadways. To combat this troubling problem, Title II of SAFETEA: LU reauthorized a myriad of behavioral safety programs carried out by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) at historic funding levels. Nearly a third of the sums authorized fund the state highway safety programs under 402 U.S.C. 23, formula dollars distributed to all of the states for state safety programs. To fund studies on driver behavior, traffic safety countermeasures, crash causation, and for the development of best practices, SAFETEA: LU authorizes over $500 million for the Highway Safety Research and Development program under 403 U.S.C. 23. To ensure a safe pool of vehicle operators, the activities associated with the National Driver Register database were funded at $4 million annually.

In addition to the highway safety and research programs, SAFETEA: LU provided funding for a series of highway safety incentive grant programs. In all, approximately $1.5 billion dollars in incentive grant funding was provided to increase seatbelt use rates, fight alcohol-impaired driving, increase child booster-seat use rates, and ensure occupant protection.

SAFETEA: LU also reauthorized motor carrier safety programs and regulations governed by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). The legislation authorized $984,480,000 for fiscal years 2005 to 2009 to fund the Motor Carrier Safety Grants which are granted to States through the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP). The bill also authorized $880,000,000 for administrative expenses, $138,000,000 for border enforcement grants, $16,000,000 for performance and registration information system management grants, $95,000,000 for commercial driver's license and driver improvement program grants, and $100,000,000 for commercial vehicle information systems and networks deployment program for fiscal years 2006 until 2009.

Along with authorizing established motor carrier safety programs, SAFETEA: LU authorized and created new programs, including: increased penalties for out-of-service violations and denial of access to records, grants to improve State data in the Safety Status Measurement System (SafeStat), efforts to eliminate patterns of safety violation by motor carrier management, establishment of the Medical Review Board and an evaluation of standards and guidelines for the physical qualifications of operators of CMVs, requiring new regulations for the maintenance of intermodal containers, requiring a modernization plan for the commercial driver's license information system and creation of a grant to improve the Commercial Driver's License (CDL) program, providing State grants for the deployment of the commercial vehicle information system, requiring a change to the FMCSRs relating to person with diabetes to permit them to operate their CMVs in interstate commerce, and some specific exemptions to the Hours of Service regulations for operators of CMVs.

The bill included the "Household Goods Mover Oversight Enforcement and Reform Act of 2005." This Act empowered the States to prosecute rogue interstate household goods movers under consumer protection statutes in State and Federal court, which was later modified by the FY 2006 appropriations bill. Further, the Act required additional household good carriers' registration requirements, penalties for holding household goods hostage and unauthorized transportation, the creation of a State-Federal working group to continue to improve the transportation of household goods, and the establishment of a consumer complaint system.

The bill included the "Unified Carrier Registration Act of 2005." This Act repeals the Single State Registration System (SSRS) and replaces it with the Uniform Carrier Registration System (UCRS). The Act requires FMCSA, in cooperation with States and other stakeholders, to develop a single, on-line system containing all records of U.S. DOT registered CMVs. The Act enumerates the specifics of the rulemaking to create the UCRS and the parameters of the resulting rulemaking.

Research

As congestion and construction costs continue to rise, Congress recognizes that now more than ever, we must strive to make traffic flow, construction and maintenance as cost-effective and efficient as possible. To that end, SAFETEA: LU authorized over $2 billion over the life of the bill to highway research in the form of a transfer from the Federal Aid Highway program.

Under the Surface Transportation Research, Development, and Deployment Program, SAFETEA: LU funds a myriad of applied research projects, including fundamental materials research, construction and maintenance research, safety research, and freight efficiency research. For the advancement of applied research and education of transportation research experts, SAFETEA: LU authorized $486 million under the University Transportation Research and Training & Education programs.

Traffic congestion costs our economy over $67 billion each year and decreases Americans’ quality of life to the tune of 3.6 billion hours of traffic delay each year. Recognizing the limitations on construction of new highway capacity, Congress invested $110 million annually in smarter traffic flow under the Intelligent Transportation Systems Research program. The Bureau of Transportation Statistics received an annual budget of $27 million. Taken together, the programs under Title V of SAFETEA: LU represent Congress’ actions to improve our economy and quality of life through better traffic management and more efficient construction and maintenance.

While the President’s FY 2007 budget closely mirrors what was authorized in SAFETEA: LU, there are some places where the Administration deviated from the authorizing statute. Most significantly, the Administration proposes to earmark $100 million in state highway formula dollars for a new Open Roads Financing Pilot Program. This program will allow up to five states to explore innovative mechanisms that can augment existing sources of highway funding, as well as improve highway performance and reduce congestion. In addition, the Budget proposes to reduce funding for highway programs by $37.8 million in FY 2007 and shift that money to research programs that were under funded in FY 2005 and 2006.

The Administration’s requested level of funding for the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program is $100 million less than the level authorized in SAFETEA: LU. The proposed reduction is taken out of the Small Starts program set-aside from Capital Investment Grants. The Small Starts program is authorized at $200 million a year for fiscal years 2007, 2008, and 2009. Although the Administration questions the level of funding needed for the Small Starts program, which is highly competitive and oversubscribed, this does not justify a reduction in the overall funding level needed for the Capital Investment Grants program.

Under SAFETEA: LU, Federal Transit Administration programs are guaranteed a total obligation limitation of $8.975 billion, with $1.712 billion to be derived from the General Fund. The Administration’s FTA budget request would decrease both the total obligation limitation and the General Fund share $100 million below the guaranteed levels.

The Administration also proposes to fund all of NHTSA’s Operations and Research program from the Highway Trust Fund, using contract authority. Traditionally, vehicle safety activities within NHTSA were funded through the General Fund. To place additional burdens on the Highway Trust Fund during a time when the trust fund is projected to not be able to support its traditional activities is of concern.