JUst received this very useful transportation update (national level stuff.) Thought folks on the list would find it interesting.
Local tie-ins: Bike Fed, 1000 Friends, and Madison Dept of Public Health are co-releasing the Smart Growth America report on Health and Sprawl. Hopefully we will see some media coverage in the next day or so. Thomas Petri, who is trying to save the Transportation Enhancements funding - is a Cheesehead. Begin forwarded message: Transportation Update 8-28-03 I. Six-Month Extension Likely II. House Will Consider Transportation Spending Bill with Many Major Flaws; Petri will Offer Enhancements Amendment III. SGA Will Release Report: �Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl� I. Six-Month Extension Likely The House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee staff has spent the August recess working on a 6-month extension to the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), which expires on September 30. This extension is expected to be �clean,� which means it contains no policy changes, and will be attached to the transportation appropriations bill if it will be completed by the end of the month. If not, the extension will probably be added to a continuing resolution, which will be needed to keep the government running while consideration of the appropriations bills can be completed. House committee staff also say they still plan to release a �skeleton� reauthorization bill early in September, but no draft has been circulated and several major issues remain. The most controversial issue is how to fund the increase in spending that is desired by the committee. While Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) has been pushing a hike in the federal gas tax, the idea has met major resistance from House Republican Leaders and the White House. Additionally, gas prices rise have hit a 13 year high (http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2003-08-25-gas_x.htm) making an increase in gas tax an even harder sell. In the Senate, Sens. Christopher Bond (R-Mo.) and Harry Reid (D-Nev.) have been working, very secretively, on a draft reauthorization bill. Sen. James Jeffords (I-Vt.), ranking Democrat on the Committee on Environment and Public Works, has said that the Republicans and Democrats have reached agreement on 95% of the issues. However, the 5% where concurrence is illusive includes efforts to streamline environmental review by limiting the reach of the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), historic preservation review (known as 4(f)), and the time allotted for public input. This is a very contentious issue and no progress has been made during the recess. But a wonderful report showing how NEPA, 4(f), and public involvement have improved major transportation projects was released last week by the Sierra Club and the National Resource Defense Council and can be found at http://www.sierraclub.org/sprawl/nepa/. The other issue holding the bill up, like in the House, is how to pay for it. Gas tax increases are very unpopular with many Republicans and most Democrats, who don�t want to be pinned as tax and spend liberals. Bonding, or debt, options are unpopular with senators on both side of the isle who think the program should pay for itself. How this will be resolved remains unclear. Hopefully, more information will be readily available after Labor Day, when Congress reconvenes. II. House Will Consider Transportation Spending Bill with Many Major Flaws; Petri will Offer Enhancements Amendment Just before the August recess, the House Appropriations Committee passed a bill to fund transportation programs in FY04 that would maintain current transit spending levels, cut Amtrak, and end the Transportation Enhancements and Transportation and Community and System Preservation (TCSP) programs � all while increasing highway funding by $4.5 billion over the President�s request and $6.1 billion over the FY03 guaranteed amount. The Enhancements program is the main source of funding for streetscapes, traffic calming, bike paths, and other pedestrian, bicycle, and transit-friendly projects. In the transportation appropriations bill passed by the House Appropriations Committee, language was included that permits states to utilize Surface Transportation Program (STP) funds for Enhancement-type activities; however, it ends the 10% set aside included in current law. However, Rep. Thomas Petri (R-Wis.), chairman of the Transportation & Infrastructure Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines, has agreed to offer an amendment to restore the Enhancements set-aside. This is very good news and a clear indication to other Republicans that supporting the Enhancements program is important to one of the chief authors of the reauthorization bill. In the transportation spending bill, the House Appropriations Committee also cut all funding for TCSP, a modest but very popular program that supports the coordination of transportation and land use planning. The House remains very hostile to coordinating transportation and land use planning, even in the face of mounting evidence that it not only promotes more livable communities but also saves considerable amounts of taxpayer dollars. The committee did restore some of the needed funding for Amtrak. The bill marked up by the Transportation Subcommittee had funded Amtrak at only $580 million � $320 million below the Administration�s request, far below the $2 billion authorized by the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and according to Amtrak too low to even fund a shut down. The bill passed by the full committee increased the funding level to $900 million � which is still considerably lower than the funding requested by Amtrak � and required the U.S. Department of Transportation to ensure sufficient funds for commuter operations. The House of Representatives is expected to consider the FY04 transportation spending bill during the second week of September, and the Senate Appropriations Committee could take up its version of the bill as soon as the following week. III. SGA Will Release Report: �Measuring the Health Effects of Sprawl� On August 28, a new report showing the link between sprawl and higher rates of obesity and high blood pressure will be released by Smart Growth America and the Surface Transportation Policy Project. The findings in this report will be published in the September edition of the �American Journal of Health Promotion� and will be available on SGA�s website at 4:00pm EDT: www.smartgrowthamerica.org _______________________________________________ Bikies mailing list [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.danenet.org/mailman/listinfo/bikies
