House
Appropriations Committee Approves Increased FY 2006 Transit Funding
June
24, 2005
(Download
in Adobe PDF format)
The House Appropriations Committee
on June 21 approved the Fiscal Year (FY) 2006 Transportation, Treasury and Housing
and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia appropriations bill.
The Committee approved $8.482 billion in funding for the federal transit program
in FY 2006, the same level approved by the subcommittee. As reported in the June
15 Legislative Update, this is the level authorized under the House-passed TEA
21 reauthorization bill (H.R. 3); and represents an increase of $836 million above
FY 2005 appropriations and $701 million above the President's FY 2006 budget request.
Based on a preliminary analysis of the bill and the Committee
Report, the Committee recommended few changes to the transit program. Report language
maintains requirements for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) to provide
monthly reports on New Start project status and to notify Congress of all New
Start project approvals. Other language supports an FTA proposal to rely more
heavily on cost effectiveness when evaluating New Start projects. The bill does
not yet contain earmarks; Committee Chairman Lewis (R-CA) stated that earmarks
would be added during the conference with the Senate. A breakdown of the transit
funding by program is as follows:
| Program |
FY 2005 Appropriation | FY 2006 House
Committee Appropriation | Change
from FY 2005 to FY 2006 |
| (Millions) |
(Millions) | (Millions) |
(Percent) |
| Total All Programs | $
7,646.34 | $ 8,482.00 | $
835.66 | 10.9% |
| Formula
Total | 3,999.92 | 4,417.00 | 417.08 | 10.4% |
| UZA Formula (a) | 3,593.20 | 3,973.25 | 380.05 | 10.6% |
| Rural Formula (a) | 250.89 | 277.43 | 26.54 | 10.6% |
| Elderly and Disabled (a) | 94.53 | 104.52 | 10.00 | 10.6% |
| Clean Fuels (a) | 49.60 | 50.00 | 0.40 | 0.8% |
| Alaska Railroad (a) | 4.81 | 4.85 | 0.04 | 0.8% |
| Rural Transportation Accessibility (a) | 6.89 | 6.95 | 0.06 | 0.8% |
| Capital Investment | 3,312.11 | 3,641.68 | 329.56 | 10.0% |
| New Starts | 1,437.83 | 1,561.67 | 123.84 | 8.6% |
| Fixed-Guideway Modernization | 1,204.68 | 1,386.67 | 181.99 | 15.1% |
| Bus and Bus Facilities | 669.60 | 693.34 | 23.74 | 3.5% |
| Planning and Research | 126.98 | 160.33 | 33.35 | 26.3% |
| Job Access and Reverse Commute | 124.00 | 175.00 | 51.00 | 41.1% |
| University Centers | 5.95 | 8.00 | 2.05 | 34.4% |
| FTA Operations | 77.38 | 80.00 | 2.62 | 3.4% |
(a) FY 2006 amounts based on provisions of TEA 21, amounts are not
included in the Committee Report.
The bill provides $550
million for Amtrak, the level approved by the subcommittee, with the stipulation
that none of the funds be used to subsidize routes that lose more than $30 per
passenger. The total includes $50 million for capital improvements to the Northeast
Corridor.
The House is expected to consider the bill on the floor during
the week of June 27 so that it can be completed before the July 4 recess. The
Senate is expected to take up its bill in mid-July, but it is not expected to
be considered on the Senate floor until September.
For more information
on the FY 2006 appropriations process, please contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government
Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.
Reauthorization
Update
On June 20, Senate conferees proposed a compromise
five-year, $290 billion overall funding level for TEA 21 reauthorization which
would have split earmarks evenly between House and Senate members. House conferees
on June 22 rejected the proposal. The White House has again reiterated its objection
to any funding level above the House-passed $284 billion, six-year figure. House
and Senate leaders continue to discuss an overall funding target on which they
can agree, and negotiators are now reportedly discussing a compromise of $286.5
billion over six years. Meanwhile, House and Senate staff have been meeting regularly
to discuss differences in the respective bills. The current TEA 21 extension expires
on June 30, meaning another short-term extension may be necessary.
For more
information on TEA 21 reauthorization, please contact Rob Healy of APTA's Government
Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or email rhealy@apta.com.
Appropriations
Committee Reduces Transit & Rail Security Funding
The Senate
Committee on Homeland Security Appropriations on June 16 approved its FY 2006
Homeland Security appropriations bill. The bill would provide $100 million in
transit and rail security grants, a cut of $50 million from the program level
in FY 2005. The House approved its FY 2006 Homeland Security appropriations bill
in May, which maintained the $150 million funding level for transit and rail security
grants. APTA has expressed its disappointment regarding the Senate's funding cut
and has asked Congress to maintain the program at no less than the FY 2005 level.
Visit the Government Affairs section of www.apta.com to see APTA's letter in this
regard.
For more information on transit security issues, please contact
Tom Yedinak of APTA's Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4865 or email
tyedinak@apta.com.
Some of these pages may include links to documents in the Adobe PDF format. Please download the Adobe PDF reader if you have not already done so.
