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This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on S.1143, the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies
Appropriations Bill, FY 2000, as reported by the Senate Appropriations
Committee. Your consideration of the Administration's views would be
appreciated.
The Administration appreciates the Committee's efforts to accommodate many
of the Administration's priorities within the 302(b) allocation and the
difficult choices made necessary by that allocation. However, the
allocation of discretionary resources available under the Congressional
Budget Resolution is simply inadequate to make the necessary investments
that our citizens need and expect. The President's FY 2000 Budget proposes
levels of discretionary spending that meet such needs while conforming to
the Bipartisan Budget Agreement by making savings proposals in mandatory
and other programs available to help finance this spending. Congress has
approved and the President has signed into law nearly $29 billion of such
offsets in appropriations legislation since 1995. The Administration urges
the Congress to consider other similar proposals as the FY 2000
appropriations process moves forward. With respect to this bill in
particular, the Administration urges the Congress to consider the
President's proposal for user fees.
The Administration proposes to meet important safety, mobility, and
environmental requirements through the reallocation of a portion of the
increased spending resulting from higher-than-anticipated highway excise
tax revenues. Under this proposal, every State would still receive at
least as much funding as was assumed when the Transportation Equity Act for
the 21st Century was enacted. The Committee has chosen to reallocate
limited funding within the highway "guarantee." The Senate is encouraged
to build upon this and to consider the Administration's proposal as a means
to fund these important priorities.
The Administration is concerned that the Committee bill could severely
compromise the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) operations and
modernization programs, reduce highway and motor carrier safety, and
under-fund other important programs. The Senate could partially
accommodate the funding increases recommended below by adhering more
closely to the President's requests for the Airport Improvement Program,
High Speed Rail, Coast Guard Alteration of Bridges, Coast Guard capital
improvements, and other programs.
The following highlights our specific concerns with the Committee bill.
Limitation on States' Allocation of Transit Funding
The Administration strongly opposes the provision that would limit any
State's share of transit discretionary and formula grant funding to 12.5
percent of total funding. Transit formula funding distributions were
enacted last year in TEA-21 and should not be reopened in an appropriations
bill. The Administration and Congress worked together closely to ensure
that transit funding is distributed based on need. Clearly, the need is
with California and New York, which together have almost half the total
transit ridership in the United States. Since transit needs vary widely
geographically, it would be inappropriate to impose an "equity
distribution" formula that would divert these resources from where they are
needed most. We urge the Senate to strike this unacceptable provision so
that the bill can rapidly move to conference and be sent to the President
in a form that can be signed into law. If a bill were presented to the
President that contained this provision, the President's senior advisers
would recommend that he veto the bill.
Aviation Safety and Modernization
The funding provided in the Committee bill for FAA operations and
modernization would result in major impediments to both of these critical
tasks.
The Administration strongly urges the Senate to fully fund the
Administration's request for FAA Operations. The $182 million, or
three-percent, reduction in the Committee bill would force the FAA to close
low-level towers, defer hiring of safety and security personnel needed to
meet the demands of increased air travel, and possibly slow air travel.
The Senate is also urged to restore the $274 million, or 12-percent,
reduction to the FAA Facilities and Equipment account. Together with the
rescission of nearly $300 million proposed by the Committee for this
program, this funding level would cripple the ongoing National Airspace
System modernization program. Safety and security projects would be
delayed or canceled, and critically-needed capacity enhancing projects
would be postponed, increasing future air travel delays. The Senate is
requested to provide the request of $17 million in critically-needed
funding to ensure timely implementation of a Global Positioning System
(GPS) modernization plan that will help enable transition to a more
efficient, GPS-based air navigation system.
The Administration supports the Committee's decision to eliminate the
General Fund subsidy for FAA Operations but urges the Congress to enact the
Administration's proposal to finance the agency. Such a system would
improve the FAA's efficiency and effectiveness by creating new incentives
for it to operate in a business-like manner.
Livability Programs
The Administration is disappointed that the Committee bill funds transit
formula grants at $212 million below the President's request. In addition,
the Administration strongly opposes the Committee's action to cut funding
for the Transportation Community Preservation Pilot Program (TCSP) by $11
million, or 22 percent, from the amount guaranteed in TEA-21. The
Administration urges the Senate to provide the $50 million requested by the
President for TCSP. These programs are important components of the
Administration's efforts to provide communities with the tools and
resources needed to combat congestion and sprawl.
Highway Safety
The Administration strongly urges the Senate to provide funding consistent
with the recently enacted reauthorization for the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration's operations and research activities. This would
provide an increase of $20.4 million above the Committee bill. This
funding would allow expanded Buckle Up America and Partners in Progress
efforts in order to meet ambitious alcohol and belt usage goals. It would
also provide enhanced crash data collection, increased defects
investigations, and crucial research activities on advanced air bags,
crashworthiness, and enhanced testing in order to make better car safety
information available to the public.
Motor Carrier Safety
The Administration appreciates the Committee's funding of $155 million, the
amended request, for the National Motor Carrier Safety Grant Program. This
will allow the Office of Motor Carrier and Highway Safety to undertake
improvements in the area of motor carrier enforcement, research, and data
collection activities that are designed to increase safety on our Nation's
roads and highways. The Administration strongly urges the Senate to also
provide the additional funding of $5.8 million requested for motor carrier
operations.
Amtrak
The Administration commends the Committee for funding Amtrak at $571
million, the President's requested level, and the level called for in
Amtrak's "glidepath" to self-sufficiency.
Job Access and Reverse Commute
The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has provided only $75
million -- half of the amount authorized and requested -- for the Job
Access and Reverse Commute program. This program is a critical component
of the Administration's welfare-to-work effort and is significantly
over-subscribed at present. Demand is expected to increase as more
communities around the country begin to see how effective the program can
be in helping individuals make a successful transition from welfare to
work. The Administration urges the Senate to provide full funding at $150
million.
Office of the Secretary
The Administration urges the Senate to provide the President's request of
$63 million for the Office of the Secretary and to delete the limitation on
political appointees and other restrictions. These adjustments to the
Committee bill are necessary to provide the Secretary with the resources to
manage the Department effectively. Also, the Senate is requested to
restore the seven-percent reduction to the Office of Civil Rights. This
reduction would hamper the Department's ability to enforce laws prohibiting
discrimination in Federally operated and assisted transportation programs.
Other Language Provisions
The Senate is requested to delete the provision that would restrict the
Coast Guard's user fee authority. User fees can help the Coast Guard by
providing resources to meet its operating and capital needs without
significantly reducing other vital transportation programs. In addition,
the Administration is concerned about prematurely encouraging the closure
of Coast Guard training facilities without regard to the results of the
ongoing Coast Guard review as to the best use of those facilities.
The Senate is requested to delete the provision that would impose a
DOT-wide $60 million reduction in obligations to the Transportation
Administrative Service Center. This reduction would impose significant
constraints on many critical administrative programs.
The Senate is requested to delete Section 316 of the proposed bill, as its
applicability to State legislatures represents a significant expansion of
the traditional anti-lobbying provision in DOT appropriations acts. This
broad, ambiguous provision will chill the informational activities of the
Department and limit the ability of the Department to carry out its safety
mandate. An expansion beyond the existing requirements of Section 7104 of
TEA-21 is unwarranted.
There are several provisions in the bill that purport to require
congressional approval before Executive Branch execution of aspects of the
bill. The Administration will interpret such provisions to require
notification only, since any other interpretation would contradict the
Supreme Court ruling in INS vs. Chadha.
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