FY10 Transportation Funding
Just shy of a December 18 deadline, Congress adopted a conference report on a package of six FY10 appropriations bills, including funding for the Department of Transportation. The conference report is approximately a 10 percent increase over FY09 funding levels. Conferees did not include a national infrastructure bank as proposed by President Obama. However, the proposal is still on the table for discussion during the surface transportation authorization negotiations. An amendment was included by Senator TK Warner to use funds for “development, coordination and analysis of data collection procedures and national performance measures.”
The conference report did not contain an extension of SAFETEA-LU. Funds are only appropriated for FY10 highway and transit funds. If action on an extension is not taken, the government does not have authorization to spend those funds beyond December 18. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James L. Oberstar (D-MN) will not support an extension until he gets agreement from the White House and Senate that there will be movement on a multi-year surface transportation bill in January.
FY10 funding allocations for DOT include the following:
- $41.1 billion for federal-aid highways and an additional $650 million from the General Fund
- $600 million for competitive grants to support significant transportation projects in a wide variety of modes including highways and bridges, public transportation, passenger and freight railroads, and port infrastructure. This program is similar to the TIGER Grants included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).
- $10.7 billion for transit
- $873 million for highway safety, nearly $17 million above FY09.
A summary of the DOT-HUD conference report is available at http://appropriations.house.gov/pdf/FY10_THUD_Conference_Summary.pdf .
ITE Pushes for More Transportation Job Creation
ITE joined with ITS America and other transportation stakeholders to urge President Obama to invest in ITS and operational improvements that will “expand green jobs, small business and the smart-tech industry while also saving lives, time and money by preventing traffic accidents, improving emergency response, reducing congestion, fuel consumption and CO2 Emissions, improving transportation system performance and creating more livable sustainable communities.” This effort is in line with other industry leaders pushing for significant transportation investment as part of the Obama administration’s proposal for a $50 billion jobs package. The measure is expected to be formally considered by Congress in January.
A discussion on the topic was held as part of the White House Forum on Jobs and Economic Growth. Transportation-related portion of the forum can be seen at http://www.whitehouse.gov/photos-and-video/video/forum-jobs-and-economic-growth-creating-jobs-through-rebuilding-america-s-inf.
ARRA and Traffic Signal Timing
On December 7, Lisa Caruso of National Journal.com’s- Transportation Blog posed the question, “What Have We Learned from the Recovery Act?” Various industry leaders responded including, Richard Mudge, Vice President, Delcan Corporation, who provided information from the ITE-related National Traffic Signal Report Card regarding investment in coordinated traffic signals to provide a broad array of benefits. He specifically writes, “Fix the nation’s traffic signals. Coordinated traffic signals provide a broad array of benefits including reduced traffic congestion, reduced emissions, and reduced energy consumption. These investments show benefit-cost ratios of 30 or 40 to 1. ITE (the Institute of Transportation Engineers) has recommended a three year cycle for retiming the nation’s lights and a ten-year cycle to upgrade equipment. This would cost $1.125 billion per year, with 75 percent for direct labor. More could be done if this program were front loaded. Funds would go to state, county and local agencies.” To view the blog and comments from other industry leaders go to http://transportation.nationaljournal.com/.
Emergency Responders Highway Safety Act
HR 4104, The Emergency Responders Highway Safety Act of 2009 was recently introduced in the House by Rep. Brad Ellsworth (D-IN). The directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish and carry out a highway emergency responders safety grant program, which includes
- promoting responder safety training through the grant program, with guidance from a multi-disciplinary advisory group
- reporting of roadside injuries and fatalities of emergency responders
- annual reporting to Congress on the progress in improving responder safety.
To view the text of the legislation, search the bill number at thomas.loc.gov
Another Stop Gap Extension for Surface Transportation Programs
Just shy of an October 31 cut-off, transportation programs received a short-term extension for funding and program authorizations through December 18. The Senate was unsuccessful in reaching agreement on a six-month authorization extension prior to the deadline. However, they continue to work toward that goal. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman, James L. Oberstar (D-MN) remains opposed to any extension beyond CY 2009 and continues to put pressure on the Senate and White House to move a multi-year bill prior to the 2010 elections. Chairman Oberstar has received bipartisan support from his committee on moving a multi-year authorization, however some have begun to come out in support of the six-month extension proposed by Senate colleagues. The Obama Administration has indicated that it supports the general policies of the Oberstar proposal, but wants to delay further debate until 2011 when the ARRA funds have run their course. While the Congress and Administration continue to debate the merits of the various lengths additional extensions, one issue is clear. There is no consensus on how to pay for any type of long-term authorization.
Climate Change Legislation Update
On October 23, Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee Chairman Barbara Boxer (D-CA) introduced her Chairman’s Mark to the Senate’s Clean Energy Jobs and American Power Act. The revised bill includes additional information regarding how the allowances for a cap and trade system would be distributed. The revised bill includes an investment of up to 3.2 percent in 2012 and 2013; up to 2.4 percent in 2014 and 2015 to implement transportation measures with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions. The funds are provided for CLEAN-TEA planning and performance grants program and for transit formula grants. This investment level is an increase over the 1 percent allocation passed by the House early this year. However, transportation-advocates continue to push for an investment level of at least 10 percent. The revision also maintains the 25 percent set-aside for local governments for energy efficiency and conservation block grants.
EPW held three-days of hearings on the bill in the last week in October. The final day of the hearing included testimony from the transportation community. For more information about the bill and the hearings, visit EPW’s Web site at http://www.epw.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=Majority.PressReleases&ContentRecord_id=84691b8e-802a-23ad-4728-e60de8d50fea&Region_id=&Issue_id=
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Information
Web briefing archive and supplemental materials available.
