For Immediate Release
May 22, 1998
Oberstar Praises Transportation
Agreement As Good Deal for Workers, Environment
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WASHINGTON-As the House prepared to
vote on legislation to fund highway, transit and related programs for the
next six years, the Ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure
Committee had good words for the bill, saying it is good for working Americans
and good for the environment.
Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) also praised
the leadership of Rep. Bud Shuster (R-Pa.), Chairman of the Transportation
Committee and chair of the House-Senate conference which produced an agreement
on the bill early this morning.
"This bill will give our nation a strong
and balanced transportation system which combines highways, transit and
other alternative transportation modes and protects the environment, enhances
safety, and ensures fair treatment for construction and transit workers,
pedestrians, bicyclists, disadvantaged contractors and persons trying to
end their dependence on welfare," Oberstar said.
The Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century, or TEA-21, enhances environmental protection by increasing
funds available to the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program (CMAQ).
The conference also adopted a program to provide $200 million a year for
alternative fuel transit vehicles, and included a provision to allow all
types of low-emission vehicles to use high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes
regardless of the number of occupants in the vehicle.
The conference committee increased funding
to $150 million for programs to help former welfare recipients get to their
job sites.
The bill includes an incentive program
to reward states that reduce the threshold for drunken driving to a blood-alcohol
level of .08 percent.
At the insistence of the House conferees,
the bill includes Davis-Bacon worker protections for new financing and
rail research programs it creates.
Finally, the conference report reauthorizes
the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program, ensuring that disadvantaged
contractors will have the opportunity to bid on and participate in projects
funded by this legislation.
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For additional information, contact:
Jim Berard, Democratic Director
of Communications
House Committee on Transportation
and Infrastructure
2167a Rayburn House Office Building
(202) 225-6260