Draft TEA-21 Reauthorization Bill: "a Legacy for Users" - Transit Update - The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users

Railway Age, Jan, 2004

The House Transportation and infrastructure Committee has unveiled a draft $375 billion, six-year TEA 21 reauthorization bill that includes $69.2 billion for the federal transit program. The legislation has been dubbed "The Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users" (H.R. 3550) and was introduced by 73 members of the committee, including the bipartisan leadership. The measure, which provides considerably more money than the $25S billion in a comparable Senate bill, calls for spending $8.2 billion on transit during the 2004 fiscal year. Amounts authorized during the following five years would gradually increase from $9.7 billion in FY 200S to $14.8 billion in FY 2009.

In general, the bill follows TEA 21's general structure and ratios but includes some new programs including Small Starts, championed by the Bush Administration, that would cover streetcar, BRT, and commuter rail projects in the $2.5 million to $75 million range. Smart Starts would grow over six years from $150 million annually to $175 million a year.

According to a report from the American Public Transportation Association, the committee intends that highway and transit programs will be guaranteed, including both the general fund and trust fund components. To solve an accounting problem created by the fact that both trust funds and general funds support the federal transit program, the bill would fund New Starts, Small Starts, research, and administrative expenses under the general fund, while all other programs would be funded under the mass transit account of the highway trust fund.

"On behalf of the more than l,S00 members of APTA, we enthusiastically support the bipartisan bill introduced by the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee," said APTA President William W. Millar. "This bill will help ensure that communities around America will be able to improve and expand their public transportation systems."

It's expected that the House-Senate conference committee will negotiate a compromise bill early this year.