I. INTRODUCTION
TEA-21 embodies President Clinton's vision of an integrated transportation system helping to ensure Americans' prosperity and quality of life into the new century. TEA-21 reflects the commitment of the Congress and the Administration to rebuild America's infrastructure in a fiscally responsible manner, while increasing safety, providing for a cleaner environment, and expanding opportunity.
Transportation Secretary Rodney E. Slater has established an agenda for the Department to build transportation systems which are international in reach, intermodal in form, intelligent in character, and inclusive in nature. The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), and the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) work together and with others, including State, local, and tribal governments; industry, labor, safety and environmental protection groups; other elements of the Department of Transportation; and the public to implement TEA-21 consistent with the intent of Congress.
This Committee played a key role in enacting TEA-21, and we look forward to continuing to work with you as we implement this important legislation.
The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA), which many Members of this Committee played a major role in shaping, marked a turning point in surface transportation policy. It said the Interstate System was completed, and that there had to be a more balanced and interconnected approach to meeting transportation needs.
In Congressional hearings and Departmental listening sessions, we all heard from a broad range of interests about how important it was to preserve the basic elements of ISTEA as a foundation for reauthorization legislation. TEA-21 does that, and it represents the next step toward meeting a variety of important mobility needs into the next century to serve our people and the communities in which they live. TEA-21 continues and adds programs to enhance safety and the environment. And it preserves opportunities for minority and women-owned businesses to participate in constructing highway and transit projects. It also provides greater equity to long-time donor States.
II. TEA-21 OUTREACH AND EARLY IMPLEMENTATION
TEA-21 was passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on May 22, 1998, and signed into law by President Clinton on June 9, 1998. Because of the importance of the law, we initiated a three-pronged approach to our earliest efforts to implement the statute.
TEA-21 funds were made available to the States and local and tribal governments. We expedited actions necessary to implement important safety provisions of TEA-21. And we conducted an extensive, national outreach to our partners and customers before implementing the new programs and provisions of this landmark legislation.
From July through November 1998, the Department of Transportation conducted 12 formal outreach sessions around the country to consult with partners and customers. Several Members, including Chairman Chafee, participated in these sessions. These included six general listening sessions and six on specific programs, including the Borders and Corridors program, safety programs, the Access to Jobs program, and planning and environment. Other focus meetings were held as well. For example, FHWA held four outreach sessions specifically focused on highway infrastructure safety to gain input from such partners as the Roadside Safety Foundation, the American Traffic Safety Services Association, and the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. FHWA and FTA held five public meetings on the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program. FHWA sponsored 12 meetings with federal land agencies, State transportation agencies, and tribal governments specifically to discuss TEA-21 provisions related to the Federal Lands Highway Program. NHTSA held more than 40 meetings with State and local governmental officials, safety advocates, and stakeholders to discuss TEA-21 safety programs. FTA held a series of workshops in September and October last year. Similarly, the FRA held several outreach sessions across the country on the maglev, high-speed rail, and intermodal flexibility aspects of TEA-21, and has participated in FHWA -- FTA workshops on innovative finance.
The DOT also quickly issued required regulations and necessary guidance to implement important, time sensitive provisions of the Act. For example, NHTSA and FHWA issued interim final rules on 0.08 BAC per se laws, open container laws, repeat intoxicated driver laws, and seat belt use incentive grants by the end of October. FTA and FHWA published interim implementation guidance on the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program in October and on conformity with the national Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS) Architecture and Standards on December 21. FHWA published implementation guidance for TEA-21 discretionary programs, including the discretionary bridge, innovative bridge, ferry boat, Interstate Maintenance, Public Lands Highways, and National Scenic Byways between July and November. This guidance described activities eligible for discretionary funding under each of these programs and the application process and criteria to be used to evaluate candidate projects. In addition, we created a TEA-21 website providing up-to-date information on the status of implementation and have distributed tens of thousands of brochures summarizing the Act and specific programs authorized by the Act, as well as publishing a report in November 1998 of our implementation actions.
III. INVESTMENT FOR THE FUTURE
Transportation plays a critical role in our communities. By providing the means for connecting people with goods, services, and one another, transportation serves as the nation's arteries through which flows all that sustains our people and binds them together as a nation. And, this movement of people and goods must be done in as safe a manner as possible.
Among the most significant features of TEA-21 is its affirmation of the commitment to rebuild America by providing a record level of balanced investment in our highways, transit systems, and intermodal facilities. It does so in a fiscally responsible manner, which protects the landmark 1997 balanced budget agreement and other vital national priorities, including education, child care, and Social Security.
TEA-21 establishes a guaranteed level of federal surface transportation investment through FY 2003 that is linked to receipts into the Highway Trust Fund. Almost $200 billion in obligations is provided by TEA-21 through FY 2003.
A. Fiscal Years 1998 and 1999 Funding
Recognizing the importance of TEA-21 funds to the Nation's overall economic well-being, we made every effort to get Federal-aid highway funds into the hands of the States as quickly as possible. On the day of enactment, FHWA released FY 1998 Federal-aid highway apportionments and Federal-aid obligation limitation to the States. And in accordance with TEA-21 provisions, FHWA apportioned FY 1999 Federal-aid highway funds and Federal-aid obligation limitation on the first day of the current fiscal year.
In addition, FHWA made available over $450 million of discretionary funds for FYs 1998 and 1999 to the States, and will release an additional $140 million in discretionary funds this Spring. These discretionary grants have been made in accordance with criteria we published in the Federal Register. We also used these notices in the Federal Register to solicit project applications for funding. We will soon submit our report to the Congress explaining how each project was selected based on the published criteria.
We are pleased to report that the States are moving aggressively to take advantage of the increased Federal-aid highway funding available through TEA-21. Even given its enactment eight months into the fiscal year, States were able to use all of the FY 1998 Federal-aid obligation limitation that was subject to lapse if not used by the end of the year. Through 6 months of FY 1999, the States have obligated just over 52 percent of this year's obligation limitation that is subject to lapse. And thus far, based on an informal survey by our FHWA Division Offices, no States are currently facing difficulty in meeting the State/local matching requirements under TEA-21.
FTA issued a Federal Register Notice on June 24, 1998, indicating how TEA-21 changed transit funding for FY 1998. Likewise, FTA issued its annual Notice of Apportionments right after the start of FY 1999. This Notice included information on certain specific program changes, and remains a good reference for FTA grantees on the details of TEA-21.
One of the key changes made in the transit program was the elimination of operating assistance for urbanized areas over 200,000. At the same time, capital costs were redefined to include preventive maintenance, defined as all maintenance costs. This change has gone very smoothly. We have heard of only a few isolated cases where transit operators are having problems coping with the elimination of operating assistance. In nearly all cases, the change in the definition of capital has had the intended effect of providing the flexibility local systems need to easily make the transition to an all-capital program.
Right after TEA-21 passed, NHTSA distributed FY 1998 funds for State and Community Highway Safety Grants (Section 402). On October 29, 1998, NHTSA apportioned the State and Community formula funds for fiscal year 1999. FHWA also distributed fiscal year 1998 Federal-aid highway funds for the 0.08 BAC safety incentive (Section 163, Safety Incentives to Prevent Operation of Motor Vehicles by Intoxicated Persons) on September 13, 1998, and fiscal year 1999 funds for the seatbelt safety incentive (Section 157, Safety Incentive Grants for Use of Seatbelts) on October 26, 1998. NHTSA also distributed funds for Section 411 Safety Data Improvement grants and other occupant protection and alcohol related incentive grants.
TEA-21 also established two penalty transfer provisions (Open Containers and Repeat Offenders). Joint FHWA/NHTSA interim final rules establishing these two programs were published in the Federal Register on October 6 and October 19, 1998, respectively. NHTSA and FHWA have also collaborated in formulating tables showing which States face transfer of Federal-aid construction funds unless suitable legislation is passed and in effect by FY 2001.
B. Fiscal Year 2000 and Beyond
During the formulation of the President's proposed budget for FY 2000 budget, the Department made a conscious effort to be consistent with TEA-21's provisions. In fact, as Secretary Slater has stated, our proposal reflects TEA-21 with just a few exceptions. One of these exceptions is our proposed distribution of the $1.456 billion in revenue aligned budget authority, the amount resulting from increased tax receipt estimates deposited into the Highway Trust Fund.
The Department's budget proposal for FY 2000, consistent with Administration policy, dedicates a portion of revenue aligned budget authority to critically important safety, environmental, and research and technology programs. In addition, the proposal also dedicates a portion of the $1.456 billion to transit, which is consistent with the Administration's priorities and also honors our commitments made during TEA-21 negotiations that transit programs grow equally as highway programs grow.
We know that Congress, and this Committee in particular, worked hard last year to reach agreement on TEA-21 and its provisions on revenue aligned budget authority, and we are not seeking to reopen those issues. The purpose of the Department's budget proposal for FY 2000 is simply to support valuable initiatives that the Administration believes in strongly programs that are critically important to our quality of life and to safety.
Meanwhile, as States continue to manage the greatly increased funding levels available through TEA-21, we anticipate greater use of federal matching flexibility provisions, including several added in TEA-21. The Tapered Match (Section 1302), Surface Transportation Program (STP) Match (Section 1108(c)), Credits for Acquired Land (Section 1301), and Toll Revenue Credits (Section 1111(c)) provisions should serve to assist States in addressing short-term cash flow problems and long-term matching requirements. And again, based on our informal survey of the States, we anticipate the FY 1999 Federal-aid highway construction program to increase by 19.7 percent from FY 1998, and for the "State-only" investment in highway construction projects to increase by 5 percent from FY 1998 levels.
We are moving forward aggressively to implement the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA), a provision of TEA-21 that this Committee was instrumental in developing. TIFIA authorizes the Department to provide direct loans, lines of credit, and loan guarantees to public and private sponsors of major surface transportation projects of national significance. The program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial private co-investment by providing supplemental capital. Based on our current implementation schedule, we hope to publish a final rule for this program later this Spring, and to be in a position to select projects for the initial round of funding in FY 1999 by the end of the fiscal year.
IV. REBUILDING AMERICA
A. Transportation Infrastructure
TEA-21 reauthorized the Federal-aid highway program through FY 2003. States receive federal funds for the basic components of the Federal-aid highway program, the National Highway System (NHS), the Surface Transportation Program (STP), the Interstate Maintenance Program, the Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program, and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ), through application of statutory formulas. Federal funding for highway safety infrastructure largely comes from these core programs as well as the 10% STP safety set-aside. More funds are thus available for infrastructure safety improvements under TEA-21 than under ISTEA due to the increased authorizations. As noted above, FHWA made FY 1998 funds for these programs available to the States immediately after enactment of TEA-21. Similarly, FY 1999 formula funds apportionments were made to the States at the beginning of FY 1999. And FHWA made discretionary grant funding available to States for FYs 1998 and 1999 in accordance with published selection criteria.
We are seeing the results of ISTEA funding on bridge and pavement conditions and are optimistic that we will experience continued improvement with the increased funding from TEA-21. The percentage of deficient bridges on the NHS declined from 25.74 percent in 1994 to 25.39 percent in 1997, the latest year for which data are available. For bridges on all roads, the improvement was from 32.53 percent in 1994 to 30.18 percent in 1997.
Approximately three-quarters of Federal-aid highway expenditures are for pavement-related improvements. And we are seeing improvements in pavement condition similar to the improvement for bridges. The percentage of miles on the NHS that meet Owner-Agency managed pavement performance for acceptable ride quality increased from 89.6 percent in 1994 to 90.4 percent in 1996, the latest year for which we have complete data for pavements.
Two provisions of TEA-21 established the National Corridor Planning and Development Program (NCDP) and the Coordinated Border Infrastructure Program (CBI). Together these programs will provide funds to States to help manage commercial and other traffic as the result of increased trade and economic activity, particularly along our Nation's border. The FHWA published a Federal Register notice on November 12, 1998, asking States to submit FY 1999 grant applications for participation in these programs. The notice also published the selection criteria we would use for these programs. The FHWA received over 140 applications seeking more than $2 billion in FY 1999 funding, far more than the TEA-21 authorized amounts for these programs. We expect to announce later this Spring how the $124 million available this Fiscal Year will be allocated to selected projects for these programs.
Another major area of interest in TEA-21 is the transit New Starts program administered by FTA. TEA-21 authorizes 191 New Start projects, but calls on FTA to rate these projects "Highly Recommended," "Recommended," or "Not Recommended." We recently published our annual New Starts report in which we rated the 40 or so projects now in Final Design or Preliminary Engineering. We used the existing New Starts policy to rate the projects, since TEA-21 made only minor changes in the statutory criteria. We are pleased with the rating process so far. While a number of projects were rated "Not Recommended," most of these are so rated because the local financial plans are not yet far enough along, and local financial commitments are not yet in place. We have always encouraged strong local financial commitments, so this was not a surprise. It should be emphasized that the ratings are for FY 2000; they can be changed next year if the financial plans are completed, and commitments are made.
For FY 2000, the President's budget proposes to fund six of the projects which were rated best for new Full Funding Grant Agreements, committing about $1 billion of the New Starts commitment authority made available by TEA-21. Nearly $3 billion remains available for commitments in future years.
One of the key factors in choosing which projects to fund (besides obtaining a rating of "Recommended" or better) was readiness. Our intent is to sign Full Funding Grant Agreements only when costs are well defined. Projects which were "Highly Recommended" and "Recommended" also had to be in a position to have their cost estimates complete, local funding sources established, and local priorities set before we recommended a project for a Full Funding Grant Agreement in the President's budget.
We have also just issued a notice of proposed rulemaking on New Starts. This NPRM, issued April 7, 1999, begins the formal process of issuing the regulation, required by TEA-21, to define the New Starts rating process in more detail, and put the other TEA-21 New Starts changes into place.
TEA-21 also created the Magnetic Levitation Transportation Technology Deployment Program, which provides competitively awarded planning grants. FRA published an interim final rule establishing regulations governing the program in October 1998. Eleven applications for planning funds have been received and FRA will announce the recipients for FY 1999 funding in the near future. The Administration shares with the Congress the ultimate goal of deploying cost effective magnetic levitation systems. To achieve this end, the Administration has requested $ 20 million in FY 2000 for additional magnetic levitation research.
B. Transportation System Operations
The Department's mission is to ensure a safe, efficient, productive, environmentally sensitive, and convenient transportation system. TEA-21 strengthens the emphasis in ISTEA on improving the efficiency of our transportation system by improving its operation. During the 20th Century, great progress was made in transportation through the construction of our transportation system. In the 21st Century, increased mobility, improved safety, an enhanced environment, and a higher quality of life will come from our use of technology and improvements in the operation of the transportation system. As we implement TEA-21, we have begun to emphasize the need to improve the operation of the national transportation system.
We have issued a call for a national dialogue on management and planning guidelines for the use of intelligent transportation systems. One of the keys to effective operations using ITS technologies is integration. Integration of the systems, integration of the institutions, and integration of the geo-political regions within urban areas. The principal means of accomplishing this is through the use of the National System Architecture. Following intensive review and consideration by an internal task force, interim guidance on consistency with the national ITS architecture was developed and issued internally by both the FTA and FHWA on October 10, 1998. This led to the commencement of a national dialogue with the publication on December 21, 1998, in the Federal Register of the interim guidance on consistency. We are currently in the process of developing final guidelines, based on this dialogue, which we will have in place in the Spring of 2000.
To better ensure that systems integration conforms with the national architecture, several training courses have been developed by FHWA and FTA. These courses vary in detail from an introductory course to an intensive 3-day course. We have now trained hundreds of system integrators and field staff on the use of this important approach to deploying systems, and we now stand ready to train thousands more in State and local government.
Another opportunity to enter into a national dialogue for the effective deployment of intelligent transportation systems is to identify which standards are critical to ensuring national interoperability or critical to the development of other standards, and specifying the status of the development of each standard identified. By using an advisory group, we were able to quickly converge on preliminary recommended criteria for making a determination of standard criticality, as well as our list of critical standards. Again, to broaden the opportunity for listening to States, local governments and systems integrators, we published on December 22, 1998, in the Federal Register proposed criteria and a draft list of critical ITS standards. A final report to Congress is currently being prepared and should be ready for delivery within the next two months.
Finally, with the establishment of a new focus within FHWA, we are beginning a national dialogue to raise the level of consciousness of the critical need that currently exists to improve the management of the operation of our nation's infrastructure. We will begin working with institutions, associations and the public and private sectors to develop concepts for improved operations and to establish a framework for improving the management of the performance of transportation resources to deliver integrated transportation services to the traveling public and those responsible for the movement of freight, under varying conditions.
Under ISTEA, we began to develop intelligent transportation systems in earnest. TEA-21 recognizes the need to integrate technology and promote ITS standards and operational consistency in our transportation system. While the discretionary ITS funds made available by TEA-21 were subsequently earmarked by Congress, we believe the guidelines established in TEA-21 for the use of those funds are sound. As we implement TEA-21, even in making policy and programmatic decisions unrelated to funding, we will act in accordance with those guidelines. We intend to use ITS deployment as a bridge to incorporate the use of this technology in the mainstream of transportation planning, construction, and operation. For example, we have urged the Federal Communications Commission to dedicate an N11 number for use nationwide by transportation system operators who will use ITS technologies employing radio waves to improve the safety and efficiency of transportation system operations.
ITS holds great promise for enhancing safety, and we will work to realize this potential. One of the foremost examples of this is in the Intelligent Vehicle Initiative (IVI). The primary goal of the IVI is to accelerate the development, introduction, and commercialization of driver assistance products to reduce motor vehicle crashes and incidents by working jointly with the motor vehicle and trucking industries, State and local transportation agencies, and other stakeholders.
The following are a few recent examples of some of the potential life saving work that is being undertaken in IVI.
Under a recent broad area announcement inviting proposals for operational tests, we have received several proposals for heavy vehicles, transit vehicles, specialty vehicles and light vehicles. The successful proposals, over the next few years, will see the introduction and operation of driver assistance technologies that will provide an extra measure of protection using technologies that should be commercialized within the next five years.
A conference is scheduled for later this month on the technology that appears very promising for eye-based measures of driver alertness known as PERCLOS. The purpose of this conference is to serve as a venue to present and learn the most recent research and technological developments.
The Advanced Law Enforcement and Response Technology (ALERT) strategic plan is under development. The ALERT vehicle technologies has brought a greater degree of safety to operators of police and other emergency vehicles by integrating many functions so that the vehicle operator can focus on the driving tasks. In order to advance the ALERT capabilities into other vehicle types, this program has been included in the IVI program.
We recently completed a successful study that resulted in rear-end collision warning alert algorithms and the development and validation of procedures for testing them in light vehicles.
For transit vehicles, we have just begun three efforts that will produce performance specifications documents: The Change/Merge Collision Avoidance System for which research will start this month and beginning in May are the Rear Impact Collision Warning and Mitigation work and the Rear End (Forward) Collision Warning and Mitigation work.
C. Expanding Opportunities
TEA-21 continues the Department's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program. While we have made much progress towards ensuring true equal opportunity, much remains to be done. The DBE program has been the Department's most important tool for promoting equal opportunity in federal transportation contracting since it was first signed into law by President Reagan in 1983. We greatly appreciate the bipartisan support that we received from Congress and from this Committee in reauthorizing this program.
On January 29, 1999, the Department issued the final regulation that will guide the administration of the DBE program. This regulation has three major goals:
--to create a level playing field on which DBEs can compete fairly;
--to mend, but not end, the DBE program; and
--to make the DBE program more effective and efficient for all participants.
This regulation responds to over 900 public comments on two previous proposed rules. It also scrupulously adheres to the points raised in numerous recent court cases dealing with the DBE program, including the Supreme Court's decision in Adarand v. Pena. And it addresses issues raised by Congress. Specifically, the rule:
--explicitly prohibits quotas;
--requires recipients to set goals based on local evidence of the actual availability of qualified DBEs;
--requires recipients to use race-neutral methods (like outreach and technical assistance) to meet as much as possible of their overall goals; and
--establishes a personal net worth cap of $750,000 for participants in the program.
The result is a program which will do more to promote equal opportunity and will fulfill the President's promise to "mend" but not "end" affirmative action.
The Appalachian Development Highway System (ADHS) is a regional program to improve infrastructure and enable economic development. Congress has authorized 3,025 miles for the ADHS. About 2,400 miles are open to traffic and another 70 miles are under construction. Projects to complete the remainder of the systems are in preliminary or final design stage. FHWA administers the program similar to the National Highway System (NHS) program.
The Appalachian program has been critical to the economic development of the Appalachian States. The Appalachian region has been bypassed in large measure by the Interstate System, and has been struggling for decades to overcome the economic consequences of its geographic location. The ADHS is envisioned as an instrument of economic development, connecting Appalachia to the Interstate System, providing access to the region, and stimulating local job creation. Completion of the Appalachian Development Highway System will help ensure Appalachian residents have access to health care and education, as well as jobs.
The economic impetus to expand the existing roadway system has never been more compelling. A modern system of highways is an essential first step toward fostering economic growth and enabling Appalachia to become a net contributor to the national economy.
TEA-21 created the Job Access and Reverse Commute program administered by the FTA. This program provides for grants for transportation services for people getting off welfare, and to improve reverse commute services to allow central city residents better access to suburban jobs. We have issued a solicitation for grants, and received a positive response, with applications for over $111 million in funds. In FY 1999, $75 million is available. We are now completing our review of the applications, and we plan an announcement soon.
V. SAFETY
A. Initial Safety Activities
As Secretary Slater has stated repeatedly, safety is the Department of Transportation's top priority. TEA-21 expands and strengthens successful highway safety programs.
TEA-21 reauthorized all of NHTSA's programs and added several new ones. In doing so, it supplemented our occupant protection and drunk driving prevention efforts, chiefly by providing new incentive programs to increase the use of seat belts and to promote the enactment and enforcement of 0.08 percent blood alcohol concentration standards for drunk driving.
We have issued implementing regulations for all of the new and amended highway safety programs in TEA-21 that Congress intended to be in effect in FY 1999. Moreover, we issued them in time for the State legislatures to consider responsive legislation in their 1999 legislative sessions. As a result of our quick response to the Congressional directives, we have maximized the States' chances of qualifying for highway safety grants and avoiding penalties. We issued the regulations as interim final rules, so that they would take effect before the legislatures convened but could be quickly amended in response to comments. These programs and the status of their implementation are discussed below.
B. Improving Safety
TEA-21 continues the 10% Surface Transportation Program (STP) set-aside for safety construction, providing more than $630 million to States in FY 1999 and approximately $3 billion over 6 years. Project eligibility is expanded to include off-roadway safety and bicycle improvements. In FY 1999, FHWA has made available $154.8 million to States to be used exclusively for rail-highway crossing improvements or elimination. Another $ 162 million in FY 1999 has been made available exclusively for hazard elimination. The remainder of the STP safety set-aside, $314 million, is available for either of these two programs, at the States' option. In addition, other categories of federal highway funding, for example, National Highway System (NHS), Interstate Maintenance, and general STP funds, may be used by States for safety improvements.
In addition, on December 11, 1998, FRA and FHWA published a notice in the Federal Register implementing the TEA-21 funded program to eliminate highway-railroad grade crossing hazards in designated high-speed rail corridors. The notice solicited applications related to the designation of additional high-speed corridors and applications for Fiscal Year 1999 funding. FRA and FHWA are currently reviewing applications from States for the $5, 250,000 that is available for Fiscal Year 1999.
TEA-21 designates safety and security of the transportation system as one of seven newly established areas to be considered in the overall transportation planning process, both at the Statewide and metropolitan levels. This is the first time safety has been named as a planning factor and it has great potential to increase highway safety. Safety now can be built in from the start of the planning process.
TEA-21 increased the funding FHWA provides to Operation Lifesaver from $300,000 to $500,000. Operation Lifesaver is a non-profit organization whose mission is to educate the public about grade crossing hazards and the dangers of trespassing. The increased funding in Operation Lifesaver is particularly welcome since this program funds countermeasures against rail trespassers. We have made progress combating grade crossing deaths, but have not seen the same gains in reducing trespasser fatalities. In 1997, for the first time, the number of people killed while trespassing on train tracks was greater than the number killed at highway-rail grade crossings.
TEA-21 made substantial improvements in the motor carrier safety program. It increased motor carrier safety funding by 30 percent over ISTEA levels. It established dedicated funding for motor carrier safety information systems for the first time. This dedicated funding will allow us to make needed improvements to the federal and State information systems designed to identify the high-risk motor carrier. It will allow us to get more complete and timely information on carriers and drivers. It will also enable FHWA to expand the Performance Registration Information Systems Management (PRISM) program with 20 States expected to participate by the end of FY 2000. PRISM links safety data with State vehicle registration information to help identify carriers prone to crash involvement and applies a progressive set of sanctions, including loss or denial of vehicle registration privileges, to those carriers that do not improve their safety record. The information system funds will also be used to improve the commercial driver program, an area where there has been little federal investment since the implementation of the Commercial Drivers' License Program in 1992. We will be examining improvements to the CDL licensing and testing program and examine a graduated license for truck drivers.
In FY 1999, we have distributed $90 million in Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) funds to States. About 80 percent of these funds support the salaries of State safety inspectors who conduct more than 2 million roadside driver and vehicle inspections each year. Each year, FHWA trains approximately 100 State employees to conduct compliance reviews; 1,000 State motor carrier enforcement personnel to perform commercial motor vehicle inspections; and 500 State MCSAP officers to conduct motor coach inspections. The federal government funds 33,000 bus inspections a year. FHWA has been working closely with the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) and the State of New Jersey in investigating recent bus crashes in New Jersey.
With TEA-21, Congress has moved MCSAP from an activity-based program to a performance-based one. The program will now be based on crash reduction outcomes. This approach, pilot tested by FHWA and the States beginning in 1996, is now implemented in all States, ahead of the TEA-21 year 2000 requirement. FHWA recently published a notice of proposed rulemaking to implement the MCSAP changes, creating for the first time incentive funding to encourage States to reduce crashes.
The Act also made changes to the enforcement program. Two of these changes are particularly noteworthy. Any motor carrier determined to be unfit will be prohibited from operating in interstate commerce. This provision expanded authority that was only available in the past for passenger and hazardous material carriers. We expect to issue an interim final rule shortly implementing this provision. TEA-21 also increased penalties for violations of any motor carrier safety regulations up to $10,000 per violation. This change will allow us to use penalties more effectively to sustain carrier safety compliance.
Federal-State Partnership and Safe Communities. TEA-21 continues ISTEA's recognition of the importance of the Federal-State partnership in the highway safety area. States use their NHTSA Section 402 funds for programs in priority areas determined by the State. At least 40 percent of these funds are required to be used by States and communities to address local highway safety problems. TEA-21 also provides new and significant flexibility in the use of State highway safety incentive funds to advance this partnership. For the first time, a considerable portion of highway safety incentive funds are available for a wide range of traffic and roadway safety projects, as well as highway construction projects.
State and local efforts to implement TEA-21's safety programs require the development of new partnerships. Federal, State, and local officials are working with private and public partners to determine the best uses of the newly authorized transportation funds.
Safe Communities is a community-based injury prevention initiative that establishes community ownership and support for transportation safety programs. This initiative stresses the need for coordination and collaboration among civic leaders, community activists, local businesses, the media, law enforcement, health, and medical practitioners. Communities are encouraged to examine their injury and fatality data and associated costs and create effective strategies tailored to the specific needs of a given community. For example, Florida, among other States, is strongly supporting community programs with the Section 163 incentive funds it received for adopting and enforcing a 0.08 BAC law.
The Safe Communities initiative is growing rapidly. It has become a top Departmental priority and all of the DOT agencies are engaged in its implementation. As these efforts bear fruit, they reduce injuries and health care costs and move in the direction of becoming economically self-sustaining. The program now includes over 620 American communities, exceeding our 1999 goal of 600 Safe Communities. By the end of 2000, we hope to have 1,000 Safe Communities in the program. Our ultimate goal, of course, is for every American community to be a "Safe Community," and the funding authorized in TEA-21 will assist us in achieving our goal.
Section 157--Seat Belt Incentive Grants. Beginning in FY 1999, TEA-21 authorized $500 million over 5 years for incentive grants to encourage States to increase seat belt use rates. States will receive funds based on projected annual savings in federal medical costs resulting from the State's increased seat belt use rate. States may use these grant funds for any eligible Title 23 project. If any unused funds remain available during fiscal years 2000 through 2003, the Secretary is directed to select plans submitted by the States for innovative projects that promote increased seat belt use rates and to allocate those funds to the selected States. For FY 1999, however, TEA-21 directs that any unused funds that remain available are to be apportioned to the States for the surface transportation program.
As President Clinton has noted, the proven importance of this program to highway safety is considerable. In addition, State belt-use surveys are more accurate and comprehensive, thanks to the criteria required by this program.
After we issued the interim final rule for the Section 157 program, we made FY 1999 grants to 38 States, D.C., and Puerto Rico, totaling $52.648 million, representing the savings in federal medical costs in those States. State proposals for the program's seat belt innovative grants for FY 2000 were due to NHTSA on April 7, 1999. We have received 46 proposals.
Section 163 0.08 BAC Per Se Incentive Grants. Beginning in FY 1998, TEA-21 authorizes $500 million over 6 years for incentive grants to States that enact and enforce laws that make operating a motor vehicle with a blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of 0.08 or greater a per se offense of driving while intoxicated. Grants are based on the amount a State receives under the Section 402 highway safety program and may be used for any eligible Title 23 project.
Pursuant to our interim final rule, we made grants in FY 1998 to 15 States whose 0.08 laws were in effect, totaling $49.005 million. In FY 1999, grants will be awarded to at least 17 jurisdictions: the 15 States that received grants in FY 1998, Washington State, where an 0.08 law became effective on January 1, 1999, and the District of Columbia, where an 0.08 law was signed into law on March 27, 1999.
We are pleased that Senators Lautenberg and DeWine have introduced S. 222, the "Safe and Sober Streets Act of 1999," a bill to adopt uniform .08 BAC standards nationwide. The bill helps focus national attention on a national problem: the deaths and injuries of our citizens in highway crashes involving alcohol.
President Clinton has repeatedly given his strong support to establishing .08 BAC as the per se standard for driving while intoxicated. In 1997 alone, more than 16,000 people died, and more than 327,000 were injured, in alcohol-related crashes on our nation's roads. We can do much more to stop this needless tragedy. By securing the enactment of .08 BAC laws, S. 222 will enable law enforcement officers to get drinking drivers off our roads.
There are many good reasons for making .08 BAC the per se standard. Research has shown that virtually all drivers are substantially impaired at .08 BAC in tasks critical to driving, such as braking, steering, lane changing, and judgment. As a driver's blood alcohol content approaches .08 BAC, the risk of being involved in a crash increases significantly. The experience of States that have adopted a .08 BAC limit shows that this measure against drunk driving has the potential, when applied nationwide, to save hundreds of lives each year. NHTSA documented the scientific basis for .08 BAC in a 1992 report to Congress.
The Administration strongly supports S. 222 as an appropriate means for ensuring that .08 BAC is adopted as the per se standard for drunk driving throughout the nation. We are pleased to see that S. 222 expressly incorporates the grant program established by TEA-21 to encourage the States to adopt .08 BAC laws.
Over the 6 years of the grant program, we expect to see a number of States join the 16 States and the District of Columbia that have already adopted .08 BAC laws. The effect of the sanctions contained in S.222, which would take effect October 1, 2003, should be to persuade the remaining States to adopt a .08 BAC limit.
Funding Transfer Programs: Section 154--Open Containers; Section 164--Repeat Offenders. Beginning in FY 2001, TEA-21 established penalties for States that fail to: (1) enact laws prohibiting open alcoholic beverage containers in the passenger area of a motor vehicle; and (2) provide certain minimum penalties for repeat intoxicated drivers. A State that does not enact and enforce each of the required laws will trigger a funding transfer of a portion of the State's federal highway construction funds to its Section 402 highway safety program. The penalty is the transfer of 1.5 percent of the State's funding for those programs for FY 2001 and FY 2002, and 3 percent for each year thereafter. The funds transferred to the safety program are to be used for alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures, or directed to State and local agencies for enforcement of related laws. The Act provides that States may elect to use all or a portion of the transferred funds for hazard elimination activities under Section 152 of Title 23.
The States have until September 30, 2000, to comply with the requirements of the transfer provisions. NHTSA has received laws and proposed legislation from more than 30 States in each category for our review to assist these States in determining whether existing or proposed legislation will help them to comply with the Section 154 and Section 163 requirements. A joint FHWA/NHTSA interim final rule on these programs was published in early October 1998.
In addition, TEA-21 amended and reauthorized or newly authorized the following NHTSA highway safety grant programs.
Section 405--Occupant Protection Incentive Grants. Beginning in FY 1999, TEA-21 authorized $83 million over 5 years for a two-part program to target specific occupant protection laws and programs. Under Part One, a 5-year program beginning in FY 1999, States will receive grants if they demonstrate that they have in place certain occupant protection laws and programs, such as primary seat belt use laws and special traffic enforcement programs. Under Part Two, a 2-year program in FY 2000 and 2001, States will receive grants if they carry out child passenger protection and education activities. States may use the grants for occupant protection programs.
Pursuant to NHTSA's interim final rule, applications for grants under Part One are due on August 1, 1999. Guidance for Part Two, which will be implemented in FY 2000 and FY 2001, is in process.
Section 410--Alcohol-Impaired Driving Countermeasures. TEA-21 substantially revised the Section 410 alcohol-impaired driving countermeasures incentive grant program, and authorized $219.5 million over 6 years to continue the program. Under the revised program, States can receive up to 2 basic grants, plus supplemental grant funds. To qualify for one of these basic grants, States must demonstrate that they have in place certain laws or programs, such as administrative license revocation laws and graduated licensing programs for new drivers. To qualify for supplemental grant funds, States must meet certain performance criteria based on their alcohol-involved fatality rates. States may use these grant funds to implement and enforce alcohol-impaired driving programs.
NHTSA made Section 410 grants to 38 States and the District of Columbia in FY 1998, totaling $34.5 million. Implementation of the impaired driving programs supported by these grants will bring us closer to our goal of reducing alcohol-related traffic fatalities to 11,000 by 2005.
Section 411 State Highway Safety Data Improvement Grants. Beginning in FY 1999, TEA-21 authorized $32 million over 5 years for highway safety data improvement incentive grants, to encourage States to improve their highway safety data.
NHTSA issued an interim final rule to begin implementing this program. In FY 1999, grants were made to 47 States, D.C., and all territories, totaling $4.807 million. With these grant funds, States will be able to participate in our national program to improve the consistency of crash data.
Section 402 State and Community Highway Safety Grants. TEA-21 authorized $932.5 million over 6 years to continue the keystone of NHTSA's efforts in highway safety, the Section 402 State and community highway safety grant program. Section 402 provides for a highway safety program in every State and territory. Under this program, NHTSA gives formula grants to States, set by statute, to conduct programs to reduce traffic crashes and resulting deaths, injuries, and property damage. NHTSA also gives technical assistance to States and local communities to develop and implement their highway safety programs.
The States use their Section 402 grants to address their key safety problems. In FY 1999, the Section 402 grants made to all States, D.C., and the territories totaled $142.5 million.
Of the total of the available RABA funds in FY 2000, DOT has proposed using $125.5 million to fund highway safety activities within NHTSA.
VI. ENVIRONMENT
A. Protecting the Environment and Building Livable Communities
President Clinton announced a Livability Initiative earlier this year to help communities across America achieve strong, sustainable economic growth while ensuring a high quality of life for our citizens. In support of this initiative, DOT is pursuing a Livability Agenda that aims to help citizens and communities: preserve green spaces, ease traffic congestion, restore a sense of community, promote collaboration, enhance economic competitiveness, and highlight transportation safety. The transportation safety component has been added through the Safe Communities initiative.
Comprehensive planning, rooted in decision-making at the local and State levels, with transportation as a key element, is precisely the means to achieving better communities that the Clinton-Gore initiative contemplates. Just as transportation planning relies on State and local decision making to achieve transportation goals, the Livability Initiative recognizes that different communities face different circumstances and provides resources so that they can plan and achieve their own development goals.
This Committee is to be commended for its leadership role in preserving the best of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and shaping a new comprehensive measure. TEA-21 supports communities and States as they choose transportation facilities and services that best meet local transportation priorities, through the metropolitan and Statewide transportation planning processes. Communities can choose how to use federal transportation dollars in conjunction with other community efforts to achieve new, more livable patterns of growth. A balanced transportation system is only one of a number of ingredients in community viability. Transportation planning works side by side with the development of decent housing, commercial investment, parks and recreation areas, good schools, and effective public safety to make our localities good places to live, work, and raise families.
TEA-21 gives communities and States many opportunities that can be used to meet the Nation's mobility needs and improve its quality of life. National Highway System, Surface Transportation Program, and transit programs each have broad eligibility and flexibility. This means that States and local areas can tailor the use of federal funds to best meet their needs whether they be for transit, bicycle/pedestrian facilities, highways, ride-sharing programs, safety projects, intermodal connections or other improvements. We are committed to helping State and local transportation agencies develop projects and services that reduce pollution and are more compatible with the environment.
Specific TEA-21 programs give States and communities even more tools to carry out projects for enhanced livability. These include:
--New and enhanced safety programs that already have been noted.
--Transportation Enhancements and Transit Enhancements funds can be used to help communities improve the cultural, aesthetic and environmental qualities of their transportation systems.
--The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program (CMAQ) can be used to fund transportation projects to help communities meet nationalmbient air quality standards or to maintain compliance with the standards.
--The Transportation and Community and System Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) provides grants to demonstrate ways to make communities more livable and research funds to help investigate relationships between transportation and land use.
--Intelligent transportation system technology will help make communities more livable by reducing traffic congestion, managing traffic flows of people and goods, and assisting with local responses to transportation emergencies.
--Transit programs strengthen opportunities for alternative forms of transportation and accessibility. In particular, the Job Access and Reverse Commute program will fund transportation projects that help lower-income workers and those making the transition from welfare rolls to payrolls get to their jobs.
Elected State and local officials are pursuing smart growth and revitalization initiatives that can use these federal tools. The growing interest in smart growth was demonstrated by the successful ballot initiatives in over 200 communities last year. The Congress has also acted by establishing bi-partisan task forces on livability and smart growth in both the House and the Senate.
The Department of Transportation's programs and activities work in close partnership with those of other federal agencies to provide States and communities with a combination of resources and tools. For example, State and metropolitan transportation plans must conform to State air quality plans approved by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to ensure that our air is getting cleaner. Cities and counties that have established enterprise communities and empowerment zones to spark new life in long dormant and neglected areas know how transportation can contribute to getting workers to jobs and customers to goods and services. Communities seeking to preserve the heritage of the past and to build a prosperous future can bring together such programs as DOT's Transportation Enhancement Program and Treasury's historic preservation tax credits with HUD's Community Development Block Grant program to turn deteriorated neighborhoods into attractive places to live and work. Such local partnerships give added power and reach to any single agency's contribution.
The Livability Initiative, particularly its transportation components, combines what we can do now with what we must do in the future to make sure that the places in which we live will remain the places in which we will want to live. The Administration is proposing several important enhancements to existing transportation programs and initiatives.
Proposals in the President's Fiscal Year 2000 Budget would increase funding for transit, CMAQ, transportation enhancements, the TCSP pilot program, and Job Access/Reverse Commute grants. These additional funds will encourage transportation alternatives, and support critically important environmental, safety and research and technology programs. The proposed increase in funding reflects our commitment to reduce air and water pollution and make transportation more compatible with the environment. It will help maintain a balance in funding between highway and transit, consistent with TEA-21. Increased CMAQ funds will help our communities carry out activities that help them meet and maintain air quality standards. The increased TCSP pilot program funds will help us meet the tremendous popular demand for the program DOT had over 500 applications, which totaled over $400 million, for Fiscal Year 99 TCSP funds.
Other elements of the Livability Initiative the Better America Bond program and the Regional Connections program complement the existing programs of DOT. By providing added financial power to States and localities to preserve open space, rehabilitate parks, and reclaim brownfields, the new bond program will enhance the quality of community life, while transportation programs can make sure that people have the access they need to these spaces. By improving regional cooperation and fostering public-private partnerships, the Regional Connections program will boost the effectiveness of regional planning, which can lead to better decisions about transportation and land use choices.
In too many places, Americans have become disconnected from their communities-- from being able to walk quietly and peacefully in neighborhoods without enduring the roar of traffic or unsafe road conditions; from getting to their jobs and shopping areas and back to their homes easily without sitting for hours in gridlock; from living close to the places where they work and play, worship and learn; from experiencing the nation's heritage in its historic buildings and places; and from enjoying clean air, pure water, and green open spaces. The Livability Initiative is about helping Americans reconnect with these essential values.
We are particularly excited about the changes made by TEA-21 to the tax code's provisions related to employer-provided transportation benefits. We are taking an aggressive role in encouraging implementation of these changes, which we are calling "Commuter Choice." We are extremely grateful for the leadership taken by this Committee in this area. As you know, TEA-21 allowed transit benefits up to $65 per month to be provided in lieu of compensation, increasing the incentive for employers to provide transit passes to their employees. It also will raise the level for tax-free transit benefits to $100 per month in 2002. We have developed a program of outreach and technical assistance and plan to increase our efforts in this area later this year.
Many other DOT programs also contribute significantly to the quality of life. Approximately 30 percent of travel is driving for pleasure and recreation. Recreational travel is increasing 5 percent annually. With increased TEA-21 funding, the Federal Lands Highway Program is better able to improve recreation access to National Forests, National Parks, Public Lands, and Wildlife Refuges. The economic viability of travel and tourism in communities adjacent to federal lands is enhanced through improved transportation provided by this program.
B. Environmental Streamlining
TEA-21 directs the Department of Transportation to develop and implement a coordinated environmental review process for highway and mass transit projects by focusing efforts on better and earlier coordination among the federal agencies that must review and approve these projects.
As part of its overall TEA-21 implementation outreach efforts, the Department sponsored three information exchange meetings in Chicago, IL., Washington, D.C., and Portland, OR., that generated suggestions on how to implement environmental streamlining. On November 6, 1998, the Department sponsored a One-DOT Conference on Planning and Environment in Providence, RI., that also provided us with ideas that we can use.
Secretary Slater wrote to his counterparts in other federal agencies in February soliciting their cooperation in a multi-agency effort to develop joint environmental review processes. A federal interagency meeting was convened April 6, 1999, to initiate the development of a streamlined environmental review process, and consensus was reached on the content and scope of a national memorandum of understanding. We expect to complete this memorandum of understanding within the next two months.
We met with the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) on April 8, 1999, to listen to the concerns of our State partners about streamlining the environmental review process. We have received views on this important issue from other stakeholders as well, including the American Public Transit Association (APTA), the American Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO), and the Coalition to Defend NEPA. Rulemaking will be required to change existing requirements, and we expect to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking within the next 120 days, incorporating much of what we have learned from our partners and customers. We expect that this rulemaking will take some time to complete due to its importance and complexity, the great interest in it, and the wide diversity of views we must be sure to consider.
VII. ADVANCING RESEARCH AND TECHNOLOGY
Building upon ISTEA, TEA-21 continues the strong multi-year authorizing foundation for Research and Technology with provisions addressing surface transportation research, technology deployment, training and education, State planning and research, ITS, and university centers. TEA-21 highlights the importance of strategic planning for R&T;, evaluation, and the value of partnerships among federal, State, and local governments, academia, and the private sector. The rich set of R&T; programs provided by this legislation provides an excellent foundation to achieve the benefits of innovation for the traveling public and economic productivity. The ultimate purpose of FHWA's R&T; program is to deliver, with our partners, innovative technologies and services which add value to current practices and applications. This includes a broad array of transportation innovations and solutions in the areas of highway safety, infrastructure renewal, operations and mobility, planning and environmental protection, and policy evaluation and system monitoring.
TEA-21 also changed the way R&T; funding is determined, and this has presented challenges to us in carrying out a comprehensive R&T; program. Due to a combination of factors, including application of obligation limits and increased designations within the legislation, we have experienced a reduction in the amounts of funds available at the federal level to carry out important program initiatives. Recognizing the need to assure a viable R&T; program to support innovation and deployment, FHWA, AASHTO, and TRB are providing the leadership and facilitating a national partnership initiative to "maximize the contribution of research, development, and technology transfer toward a safe and efficient transportation system" and to identify increased resources to assure that critical priority needs are addressed. These expanded partnership initiatives will serve us well in the future, but we also recognize that increased FHWA R&T; funding resources from the RABA increase are an important ingredient.
VIII. CONCLUSION
This Committee has played a pivotal role in developing and refining so many of the newer programs in ISTEA and TEA-21 and in solidifying the core transportation programs. Members are to be commended for their leadership on CMAQ, enhancements, TCSP, the DBE program, ITS, intermodalism, a range of safety initiatives, and other visionary accomplishments.
To conclude we are working hard to implement TEA-21 as quickly and effectively as possible. Implementation has gone smoothly, and we look forward to working with you to ensure that remaining issues are also addressed in a timely, effective, and responsive manner.