Missouri Bicycle News

An article on the National Association of Development Organizations web site gives some useful background information about the recent action by the House Appropriations Committee to cut Transportation Enhancements funding.

The bill (HR 2989) is the transportation appropriations bill for next year:

Despite modifications by the full Appropriations Committee, the House transportation spending bill for FY2004 is expected to draw significant criticism when it reaches the floor in September. Specifically, the Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill (HR 2989) trims funding for Amtrak, makes a significant policy change to the Transportation Enhancement program and modifies the popular New Starts transit program. The Senate committee has yet to release its FY2004 plan.

The proposed change to the Enhancements funding is complete elimination of the Enhancements set-aside.

The article explains the relationship between the Appropriations bill and the TEA-21 re-authorization, which is currently in progress:

The Transportation-Treasury Appropriations bill is one of 13 annual spending bills, which fund the operations and discretionary programs of the federal government. The appropriations bill is separate from the pending reauthorization bill for TEA-21, which provides policy guidance and overall funding parameters for federal surface transportation programs.

Because TEA-21 hasn't been re-authorized, legislators are free to "mess with things" when they set the yearly appropriations budget. So the delay in TEA21 re-authorization has opened up an opportunity for the House Appropriations Committee to propose changes that ordinarily wouldn't be possible, because they would be required to follow the framework set up by the TEA-21 reauthorization.

It isn't clear how the Appropriations Committee's proposals will fare in the full House. Transportation Enhancements are popular with the public and with local officials--and for good reason.

The TEA-21 re-authorization bil (also known as TEA3 or, in the version proposed by the Bush Administration, SAFETEA) will determine federal transportation policy over the next six years. Bicycle and pedestrian groups have been working with members of Congress to include these provisions in TEA3:

• Funding for Safe Routes to Schools
  
• Increases in Transportation Enhancements and Congestion Mitigation/Air Quality (CMAQ) funds
  
• Increased use of safety funds for bike/ped-related safety projects and campaigns
  
• Routine accommodation of bicyclists and pedestrians in all new and reconstruction road projects.

When you write to your Representative or Senator, please specifically mention these points.

AmericaBikes has a very useful PowerPoint presentation that summarizes the data, issues, and proposals. permanent link to article: "Important information about Transportation Enhancements and TEA3"
posted by Brent Hugh at 8/24/2003 03:13:51 PM |comment on this article