 | EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT
OFFICE OF MANAGEMENT AND BUDGET
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20503
|
STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY
(THIS STATEMENT HAS BEEN COORDINATED BY OMB
WITH THE CONCERNED AGENCIES.)
June 14, 2000
(Senate)
S. 2720 - DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, FY 2001
(Sponsors: Stevens (R) Alaska; Shelby (R), Alabama)
This Statement of Administration Policy provides the Administration's views
on the Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill, FY 2001, as
reported by the Committee. As the Senate develops its version of the bill,
your consideration of the Administration's views would be appreciated.
The President's FY 2001 Budget is based on a balanced approach that
maintains fiscal discipline, eliminates the national debt, extends the
solvency of Social Security and Medicare, provides for an appropriately
sized tax cut, establishes a new voluntary Medicare prescription drug
benefit in the context of broader reforms, expands health care coverage to
more families, and funds critical investments for our future. An essential
element of this approach is ensuring adequate funding for discretionary
programs. To this end, the President has proposed discretionary spending
limits at levels that we believe are necessary to serve the American
people.
Unfortunately, the FY 2001 congressional budget resolution provides
inadequate resources for discretionary investments. We need realistic
levels of funding for critical government functions that the American
people expect their government to perform well. Based on the inadequate
budget resolution, the Subcommittee bill fails to address critical needs of
the American people.
The Administration appreciates the Committee's efforts to accommodate many
of the Administration's priorities in its bill, including: needed Amtrak
capital funding, the highway and transit funding levels envisioned at the
time of passage of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st century
(TEA-21), and funding to expand motor carrier safety programs. The
Administration commends the Committee for excluding the House-passed
provision that would prohibit any work on the corporate average fuel
economy (CAFE) standards. Because this prohibition has been in place in
recent years, the Department has been banned from fully analyzing this
important issue. The Administration urges the Senate to keep restrictive
CAFE provisions out of the bill. Finally, the Administration commends the
Committee's provision that strengthens the important initiative for State
0.08 percent blood alcohol content laws.
The Administration is most concerned that the Committee bill could
adversely impact the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) and the
Coast Guard's operations as well as highway and pipeline safety programs.
The Administration commends the Committee for taking a step in the right
direction by providing an additional $120 million for air traffic
operations, but more is needed. The remainder of this Statement of
Administration Policy highlights our specific concerns with the Committee
bill.
Federal Aviation Administration Operations
The Administration strongly urges the Senate to fully fund the President's
request for FAA operations. Failure to provide adequate funding for FAA
operations would pose a significant risk to the FAA's ability to meet the
highest levels of safety and security without creating substantial
additional delays in a system already strained to meet the demands arising
from the rapid growth in air travel. Congress must not adjourn until it
provides adequate funding for FAA Operations in FY 2000 and FY 2001.
We recognize the Committee's efforts to correct the imbalance between
capital and operations funding that arose from passage of the Aviation
Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21). When the
President signed AIR-21, he stressed the need to work with Congress to
correct the imbalance between spending for capital improvements and for
operations. The Committee decision to reallocate $53 million from Airport
Grants to Administration of Airports and $120 million to Air Traffic
Services represents an important first step towards correcting this
imbalance. At the same time, the remaining $120 million cut from the
President's request will require the FAA to forego important improvements
to the air traffic control system. The FAA has faced tight budgets for the
past two years and has lived within those budgets by implementing a hiring
freeze in many areas, deferring maintenance, and cutting training and
travel. Funding significantly below the President's request would
compound the FAA's budget problems by forcing continued under funding of
our air traffic system, thereby exacerbating, rather than solving,
aviation's growing delay and capacity problems.
Coast Guard Operations
The Administration urges the Senate to fully fund the Administration's
request for Coast Guard Operations. The Committee has provided $160
million less than the Administration's request, which would significantly
reduce the Coast Guard's critical drug interdiction, fisheries enforcement,
environmental, and migrant interdiction missions. Also, the Coast Guard
may incur additional costs for medical, pay, and quality of life
enhancements, consistent with the FY 2001 Department of Defense (DOD)
Authorization and Appropriations bills. Under Title 37 of the U.S. Code,
the Coast Guard is required to match the funding level if DOD chooses to
provide these services. These resources are critical for the Coast Guard's
continued effectiveness.
Delta Initiative
The Administration is disappointed by the Committee's failure to provide
$69 million requested for the Mississippi Delta initiative, including $25
million for I-69 and the Great River Bridge, and urges the Senate to
provide these funds. This initiative addresses the social and economic
challenges facing the Delta region. Although the Delta has seen some
economic progress, it remains far behind most of the rest of the country.
In the Delta's distressed counties, per capita income is only 53 percent of
the national average, and the poverty rate is more than twice the national
average. In more than half of the Delta's counties, the poverty rate has
exceeded 20 percent for each of the past 40 years. Better transportation
infrastructure and services are central to improving the lives of, and
increasing the opportunities for, Delta residents by providing access to
employment, child care, and training.
Highway and Pipeline Safety
The Administration is concerned that the Committee has provided $105
million less than requested for the National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration's Operations and Research account. This funding reduction
would limit research on crash worthiness and prevent the implementation of
new programs to increase seat belt use and target high-risk groups. The
Administration is also concerned that the Committee has provided $7 million
less than requested to enhance pipeline safety. This is a critical
national issue that must be addressed.
Motor Carrier Hours of Service
The Administration strongly objects to the inclusion of the provision that
would prohibit any further action on the part of the Department regarding
the motor carriers' hours-of-service rule. We cannot reduce motor carrier
fatalities without addressing the problem of operator fatigue. The
Congress directed the Department to proceed diligently to address the
hours-of- service issue, and it has done so. The provision included in the
Committee's bill would end one of the Department's most critical regulatory
endeavors to counteract driver fatigue. We urge the Senate to delete this
provision.
Native Americans
While the Committee has provided an additional $34 million, the
Administration urges the Senate to provide the full $358 million request
for transportation services to Native Americans and to allow tribal
governments to apply directly for Job Access grants. These funds will be
used to address the $4 billion backlog of improvements needed on Indian
reservation roads, improve highway safety, and provide welfare recipients
and other low-income workers with needed access to jobs and improved
construction training opportunities. In addition, the Administration urges
the Senate to provide the $5 million requested for design and preliminary
engineering of the Four Bears Bridge in North Dakota.
Job Access and Reverse Commute
The Senate is urged to provide the additional $50 million requested for the
Job Access and Reverse Commute program, which is a critical component of
the Administration's welfare to work effort. Demand for this program is
expected to increase further as more communities demonstrate how effective
the program can be in helping hard-pressed working families, including
former welfare recipients, get to work.
Office of the Secretary
The Administration urges the Senate to provide the President's request of
$69 million for the Office of the Secretary, to provide the President's
request of $8.7 million for the Office of Civil Rights, and to delete the
limitation on political appointees and other restrictions contained in the
Committee's bill. These adjustments are necessary to provide the Secretary
with the resources and flexibility to manage the Department effectively.
Reallocation of Revenue Aligned Budget Authority to Critical
Initiatives
The Administration has proposed to meet important safety, mobility, and
environmental requirements, including expanded intercity passenger rail
service, by reallocating a portion of the increased spending permitted by
the higher-than-anticipated highway excise tax receipts. The
Administration urges the Senate to adopt this proposal.
Kyoto Protocol
A provision of the Committee bill purports to prohibit Federal agencies
funded in this bill from implementing the Kyoto Protocol. It is
unnecessary, as the Administration has no intent to implement the Protocol
prior to congressional ratification. To the extent this language might
reach expenditures for negotiations with foreign governments, it would
raise serious constitutional concerns, because the Constitution commits to
the President the power to decide whether to engage in such negotiations.
Earmarking
The Administration strongly objects to the earmarking of discretionary
programs. These funds should be distributed based on merit.
Infringement on Executive Authority
The Administration objects to a number of provisions in the bill that would
require congressional approval before Executive Branch execution. The
Administration will interpret these provisions to require only notification
of Congress, since any other interpretation would contradict the Supreme
Court ruling in INS v. Chadha.
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