Quote: "Current research efforts focus too much on vehicles, rather the
people who use the system, and on facilities that serve vehicles, rather than
people and businesses in their communities."
Tom Mathews
Sierra Club, Iowa Chapter,
Transportation Issue Chair
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Subj: Transfer - STPP's transportation newsletter
Date: 03-04-17 16:28:42 EDT
From: [log in to unmask] (Transfer)
To: [log in to unmask] (Transfer)
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TRANSFER
a publication of the Surface Transportation Policy Project
Volume IX, Issue 7; April 17, 2003
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For a graphic-enhanced version of Transfer, visit
http://www.transact.org/transfer/trans03/04_17.asp
IN THIS ISSUE:
Congress Races to Finish Budget Before Recess
Anne Canby Testifies Before House Committee on Science
In Memoriam of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003)
Thomas M. Downs Named President/CEO of the Eno
Transportation Foundation
Congress Races to Finish Budget Before Recess
Tackling a full agenda before the Easter Recess, the House
voted 216-211 early April 12 to approve its budget plan for Fiscal Year 2004
and subsequent years, with the Senate voting 51-50 later the same day to
approve its budget measure, with Vice President Cheney casting the deciding
vote.
In an unusual agreement which departs from customary
practice, House and Senate leaders avoided a fight over the level of tax
cuts by allowing each chamber to have different tax cut numbers in their
budget resolutions. The House plan allows for a $550 billion tax cut
package while the Senate held to $350 billion. Each version, however,
provides for common spending targets for all federal programs over the next
ten years, including assumed six-year spending levels for legislation
renewing TEA-21.
The budget agreements assume $7.3 billion for transit in
FY'04, substantially below the Senate-passed budget plan and slightly above
this year's spending level of $7.2 billion. It assumes total transit
spending of $49.1 billion over the six-year authorization period. For
highways, the conference agreement assumes $33.8 billion in obligation
limitations for FY'04 as compared to the current level of $31.6 billion.
This is considerably higher than the TEA-21-set level of $27.6 billion for
FY'03. The total obligation limitation to the states over the six-year
period is $218.2 billion.
Reflecting efforts by the leaders of the House
Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, the agreement includes
provisions that allow House and Senate transportation leaders to develop
legislation with spending levels above the budget levels, if new resources
can be found to support higher program levels.
Attention Now Shifts to Drafting TEA-3 Bills
With assumed spending levels in place, House and Senate
Committee Members and staff can now shift their attention to developing
legislation renewing TEA-21. House and Senate are holding meetings,
hearings and other sessions to support drafting efforts to develop TEA-21
renewal legislation, with the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee
indicating that a committee bill will be ready by the Memorial Day recess.
The House Transportation and Infrastructure still plans additional hearings
in May. It held three-days of consecutive hearings in early April where
Members were given an opportunity to indicate their support for specific
projects of interest to their Districts.
The Administration's proposals for renewal of TEA-21 are now
in final review within the Office of Management and Budget. In late
February, the U.S. Department of Transportation began circulating a draft of
its renewal plan that was subsequently shared with the other agencies. With
federal agency comments already complete, OMB and other White House
officials are now reviewing the plan, making final adjustments before it is
submitted to Congress for review. Although no date has been set for
submittal, it is likely that the Administration's plan will be ready as the
Congress reconvenes in late April.
Anne Canby Testifies Before House Committee on Science
STPP's new President, Anne Canby started off her first month
on the job by testifying on Thursday, April 10th before the House Science
Committee. The hearing, "Transportation Research and Development: Investing
the in Future," also featured Emil Frankel from the U.S. DOT, and Michael
Meyer from Georgia Tech, as well as representatives from the G.A.O., the
Illinois State DOT, and the University of Texas.
Canby's testimony spoke to the need to make research efforts
more responsive to public concerns such as promoting public health,
protecting the environment, and improving mobility and accessibility for
Americans of all ages, physical abilities, and income levels. "Current
research efforts focus too much on vehicles, rather the people who use the
system, and on facilities that serve vehicles, rather than people and
businesses in their communities." Canby testified that the research agenda
should adhere more closely to the basic principles set forth in ISTEA and
TEA-21 - intermodalism, economic efficiency, environmental quality, and
social equity.
Canby identified a "data deficit" in the transportation
field undermining progress toward making smarter and more balanced
transportation investments. She specifically pointed to the data failures
that led policy makers to overestimate federal transportation funding
revenues, resulting in the recent highway funding shortfall, and to the
inadequate data on pedestrians, bicyclists, older Americans and children.
Calling on Congress to "Stay the Course," Canby asked that
the Surface Transportation Environmental Cooperative Research Program be
retained when TEA-21 is reauthorized later this year. She asked
specifically that funding start at $15 million in the first year of the new
bill, rising to $28 million be the end of the renewal period.
To read Anne Canby's testimony, or to view STPP's TEA-3
platform, "Stay the Course: How to Make TEA-3 Even Better," visit
www.transact.org.
In Memoriam of Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan (1927-2003)
Former Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan of New York passed
away on March 26. Senator Moynihan was the definitive leader for balance
and integrity in the nation's transportation system, authoring the
Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act in 1991 and protecting its
landmark reforms in the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
As Chair of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee of the
Environment and Public Works Committee in 1991, Moynihan worked closely with
the late Republican Senator John Chafee, Ranking Member of the full
committee, in crafting ISTEA and guiding its enactment through Congress.
The law and its renewal reflect Moynihan's lifetime commitment to civil
society, pioneering reforms that require meaningful public participation,
greater investment in the maintenance and diversity of the nation's
transportation system, stronger protections for the environment, and the
preservation of historic places.
In December 2001, at a gala dinner sponsored by STPP on the
tenth anniversary of the signing of ISTEA, Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan
accepted the John H. Chaffee Lifetime Transportation Leadership Award for
his seminal role in creating the law.
Describing their partnership, Senator Moynihan said in his
remarks, "Senator John Chafee and I got together and just decided that, with
the completion of the Interstate System, we were going to do something
different. We supported each other."
"The transportation community was very lucky to have such a
dedicated and visionary advocate in Sen. Moynihan during ISTEA and TEA-21,"
said Anne Canby, president of STPP. "We are grateful that we had the
opportunity to thank him for his service at our gala in 2001, and to
publicly acknowledge his incredible contribution to transportation reform."
Senator Moynihan was among the first to express public alarm
at the impact of the Interstate Highway Program on urban communities and the
American landscape, writing about it in 1960 as a Professor at the
University of Syracuse in his article 'New Roads and Urban Chaos.' As a
member of the Johnson Administration, he introduced new analysis on the
break up of families as the underlying contributor to poverty. His concern
about strengthening families is now widely acknowledged and continues to
influence thinking on the proper governmental response to reducing poverty.
Senator Moynihan dedicated over forty years of his life to
public service, serving as U.S. Senator for four terms, Ambassador to India
and the United Nations, and adviser to President's Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon
and Ford. Those who seek to make transportation a force for healthier
families and livable communities will miss him as a leader.
Thomas M. Downs Named President/CEO of the Eno
Transportation Foundation
The Eno Transportation Foundation's Board of Directors has
named Thomas M. Downs to serve as the organization's President and Chief
Executive Officer. Tom is a nationally recognized leader in transportation
policy, having headed a number of highway, rail, and transit organizations
over the past 25 years. A member of the STPP Board of Directors, Tom
currently serves as Director of the National Center for Smart Growth at the
University of Maryland. His previous positions include Chairman and CEO of
Amtrak, Commissioner of Transportation and Chairman of the Board of New
Jersey Transit, President of the Triboro Bridge and Tunnel Authority , and
City Administrator and Director of Transportation in Washington, DC. At the
federal level, Tom served as Executive Director of the Federal Transit
Administration and as Associate Administrator of the Federal Highway
Administration.
"Tom is the right person for the current time" at the Eno
Foundation, said Lillian Borrone, Chairman of the Eno Board of Directors.
"Tom will be able to build on the excellent reputation that the Eno
Transportation Foundation has developed in recognizing emerging issues and
preparing transportation leaders at all levels to address them through its
policy forums and leadership programs. As we watch the continued
globalization of national and world economies, one priority for
transportation will be the need to view the different modes of
transportation as elements of a transportation system, and to help current
and emerging leaders understand the implications of that concept as they
consider policies, operational priorities, financing alternatives, and
human-resource requirements."
For more information on the Eno Foundation, visit
www.enotrans.com.
____________________________________
Transfer is edited by John Goldener of the Surface
Transportation Policy Project, with contributions by Michelle Ernst, Nancy
Jakowitsch, and Kevin McCarty. Readers are invited to reprint newsletter
items; proper citation is appreciated. If you are not currently subscribed,
please send us a note via e-mail to: [log in to unmask] Be sure to
include your full mailing address and name of your organization, phone and
fax numbers. For comments and suggestions about Transfer's content, contact
John Goldener at [log in to unmask]
We rely on donations to provide Transfer and other services.
Please consider making a donation to STPP via the secure "Support STPP" link
on our homepage. For more information about STPP visit our web site at
http://www.transact.org or call 202.466.2636.
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