	Most Recent Developments

On December 18, 2001, President Bush signed the FY2002 Department of Transportation andRelated Agencies conference agreement ( H.Rept. 107-87 ) appropriating a total of$59.588 billion (a 2.5% increase above the FY2001 enacted level). The enacted bill provides $507million more than in the House bill and $391 million less than the Senate bill. The other major agencies all get increases. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) budgetincreases roughly 6% to $13.295 billion; the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) budget increases8% to $6.747 billion; and the Coast Guard budget receives an increase of 12% to $5.031 billion. Congress responded to the terrorist attacks by passingthe 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to TerroristAttacks on the United States ( P.L. As of this writing, roughly $1.9billion has been approved for transfer to the Department of Transportation (DOT). The Conference Agreement (H.Rept. Twoagencies get slightly less than in FY2001: at $32.895 billion, the Federal HighwayAdministration (FHWA) receives slightly less than in FY 2001; the Federal RailroadAdministration (FRA) is funded at $734 million, $21 million less than enacted inFY2001. The FY2002 Act also provides $1.25 billion (to be offset by newlyauthorized user and airline fees) for the Transportation Security Administration,recently created by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act ( P.L. More controversial is FY2002 Act's redirection of $423 million of the RABA revenues that under TEA21 are added to the formula funds distributed to the states. 107-308 . The extent of earmarking, especially of RABA funds, continues to becontroversial. The modifications were sufficientto overcome Bush Administration concerns that the Senate-passed version of the bill might violate NAFTA. The bill provides $40 billion to pay the costs ofa variety of responses including "providing increased transportation security." Railroad Safety and Research andDevelopment. FTA Program Structure and Funding. 107-38). It does, however provide $20 million for SCASD . The Administration requested, and the FY2002 Act provides, $223 million, a 5%increase over the enacted level of $213 million for FY2001. NHTSA Program Responsibilities. The FY2002 Senate-passed billdiffered significantly from this provision and would require that various inspection,infrastructure, and administrative conditions be met before any Mexican carriersreceive operating authority to go beyond the border zones. North American Free Trade Agreement: Truck Safety Considerations , by Paul Rothberg.
On December 18, 2001, the President Bush signed the FY2002 Department of Transportation (DOT) and Related Agencies conference agreement ( H.Rept. 107-308 ), appropriating a total of$59.588 billion for DOT, a 2.5% increase over the FY2001 enacted level. The enacted bill provides$507 million more than the House-passed version and $391 million less than the Senate-passed bill. At $32.895 billion, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will receive slightly less than inFY2001. The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will receive $734 million, $21 million lessthan in FY2001. The other major agencies all get increases. The Federal Aviation Administration(FAA) budget will increase roughly 6% to $13.295 billion; the Federal Transit Administration (FTA)budget will increase 8% to $6.747 billion; and the Coast Guard will receive an increase of 12% to$5.031 billion. The Act also includes $1.25 billion (to be offset by user fee collections) for the newTransportation Security Administration (TSA).
The enacted conference agreement mandates significant safety and inspection requirements be met by Mexico-domiciled trucks before DOT begins processing Mexican applications for operating authorityin the U.S. beyond the commercial zones along the border. It does, however, include a number ofmodifications in response to Administration concerns that the original Senate bill (as well as the Housebill) violated provisions of the North American Free Trade Association agreement (NAFTA).
The conference agreement created a controversy when the conferees redirected and earmarked $997.6 million of Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA) funds. The RABA mechanismadjusts DOT program authorization and obligation levels to reflect recent fuel tax revenues (byincreasing or decreasing both the authorization and the obligation limitation). For FY2002, thisadded $4.5 billion to DOT programs. This redirection of RABA funds reduces the RABA portionof the states' formula funding by 10.7% from what they otherwise would have received. Authorizerssee this action as a usurpation of their authority, and some vowed to oppose this sort of action in thefuture.
Congress responded to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, by passing the 2001 Emergency Supplemental Appropriations Act for Recovery from and Response to Terrorist Attackson the United States ( P.L.107-38 ). That Act provides $40 billion, government-wide, to pay the costsof a variety of responses, including "providing increased transportation security." As of this writing,roughly $1.9 billion of these emergency supplemental funds have been approved for transfer to DOT.
Key Policy Staff
Division abbreviations: RSI = Resources, Science, and Industry Division.