April 3, 2003
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CONFERENCE ON HOUSE AND SENATE BUDGET
RESOLUTIONS
As noted in our Legislative Update last
week, the House and Senate have both passed Budget Resolutions for FY
2004. A Budget Resolution Conference Committee has now been established
and held its first meeting yesterday; the conference is expected to
be completed by the end of next week, the start of Congress’ two week
spring recess. Conferees on the Budget Resolution are: Senators Nickles
(R-OK), Grassley (R-IA), Gregg (R-NH), Domenici (R-NM), Sarbanes (D-MD),
Conrad (D-ND), Hollings (D-SC), and House members Nussle (R-IA), Shays
(R-CT), and Spratt (D-SC).
House Budget Includes CONTINGENCY PROCEDURE
While the House Budget Resolution
essentially assumes the constrained Administration-proposed funding
levels for both transit and highways, authorizers in the House negotiated
with the House Budget Committee to include a contingency procedure in
the resolution sufficient to allow transit and highway funding to be
increased if additional revenue sources (e.g., indexing the gas tax)
are agreed upon.
Senate Amendment Increases Funding
for Transit, Highways
The Senate Budget Resolution includes
an amendment adopted by a strong 79-21 vote that assumes funding of
$56.5 billion for transit and $255 billion for highways over the next
six years, an increase of $10.5 billion for transit and $49 billion
for highways over the Budget Committee’s original assumptions. The Senate
Resolution also includes a budgetary firewall mechanism for highways
and transit.
HOUSE AND SENATE AUTHORIZERS
WRITE IN SUPPORT OF SENATE INVESTMENT LEVELS, HOUSE CONTINGENCY PROCEDURE
IN BUDGET RESOLUTION CONFERENCE
In
an April 1 letter, the leadership of transit and highway authorizing
committees in the Senate and House - Senators Shelby, Sarbanes, Inhofe,
Jeffords, Bond, and Reid, and House T & I members Young, Oberstar,
Petri and Lipinski - urged the House and Senate leadership to ensure
that "…the conference agreement retains the Function 400 [overall
transportation] funding levels, the highway and transit investment levels
and the budgetary firewall mechanism included in the Senate-passed resolution.
We also urge that the conference agreement retain the ‘Contingency Procedure
for Surface Transportation’ language included in the House-passed resolution
updated for the [Senate] investment levels."
CALL TO ACTION
We need your help! Please contact
your U.S. House and Senate congressional delegation. Ask them to urge
House and Senate leadership and budget resolution conferees to support
the higher Senate Budget Resolution investment levels for highways and
transit, and the House Budget Resolution contingency procedure language,
as called for in the April 1 letter from key transportation leaders.
For more information, contact Rob
Healy at (202) 496-4811 or rhealy@apta.com.
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