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The new leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations Committees have announced that Congress will complete unfinished Fiscal Year (FY) 2007 Appropriations bills, including the FY 2007 Transportation Appropriations bill, by passing a year-long joint resolution that would fund most federal programs at FY 2006 levels. Federal transit programs are currently operating under a continuing resolution at FY 2006 levels that expires on February 15. APTA has worked individually and with a broad coalition of surface transportation interests to urge Congress to fund federal transit and highway programs at the levels authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU, P.L. 109-59). In addition to holding numerous meetings with Members of Congress and their staff, APTA sent letters to Appropriations Committee members last November and this week. APTA also co-signed a letter with other coalition members of the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) recently. See http://www.apta.com/government_affairs/letters/.

Impact of Funding Shortfall

If Congress freezes funding at the FY 2006 level, investment in the federal transit program would fall $470 million short of levels authorized and guaranteed under SAFETEA-LU and federal highway funding would fall $3.4 billion short of those levels. In communications to Congress, APTA has noted the adverse impact a freeze would have on transit investment, jobs, and communities.

Authorizing Committees Respond

While appropriators have said they will have to fund most programs at FY 2006 levels, House and Senate authorizing committees strongly support fully funding SAFETEA-LU programs. On Wednesday, January 17, a bi-partisan group of the eight leaders of the Senate's Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee and the Environment and Public Works Committee sent a letter to Senate Democrat and Republican leaders urging full funding of the transit and highway programs in FY 2007 at the levels authorized and guaranteed under SAFETEA-LU. On the same day, the entire membership of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee signed a similar letter to House Appropriations leaders urging full funding of transit and highway programs at the FY 2007 SAFETEA-LU level.