Reauthorization Activities Heat Up

The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has developed a Chair’s Bill – TEALU

The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has drafted their portion [highway] of the Senate Bill.

The Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee has almost completed a draft of their portion [transit] of the Senate Bill.

The latest test has been over funding levels. Last week Senate Finance proposed funding transit at $33 billion (a reduction); however, prompted by a deluge of calls to Senators began debate on the finance package with the total raised to $47 billion. Once again the national coalition of partners (national, state, and local organizations) made a difference in focusing on the need for adequate transit funding in TEA-21 renewal.

Under a Finance Committee agreement transit spending of about $47 billion is supported with revenues committed to the mass transit account of the Highway Trust Fund. Senate Banking Committee leaders who are responsible for authorizing the transit program now must find about $9.5 billion from the general fund to achieve the $56.5 billion spending level that the Senate approved last year as transit's share of the $311 billion six-year renewal bill.

While the full financing package is not yet finalized, Banking Committee Chairman Richard Shelby (R-AL) is working to lockdown an agreement with Senate leaders that the remaining $9.5 billion of general fund support will be fire-walled (i.e. guaranteed) in the final package that the full Senate adopts later next week. A final agreement on the $56.5 billion is a threshold issue for our coalition.

Now that the funding levels for transit are set, Chairman Shelby has scheduled a Banking Committee markup on the transit title for Tuesday afternoon, February 3 where some challenges remain, such as threats to existing labor protections, elimination of the separate rail modernization program and opening up of the new starts program to non-fixed guideway projects. The transit title as adopted by this Committee will then be added to the highway, research, finance, safety and other provisions that have already been approved by other Committees.