[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 116 (Friday, June 14, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30276-30279]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-15163]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
[Docket Number: OST-96-1447]
ISTEA Reauthorization Policy Statement and Principles
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation.
ACTION: Notice of policy statement and principles that will be used to
guide the development of a legislative proposal for the reauthorization
of the Federal surface transportation programs.
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SUMMARY: The Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991
(ISTEA) authorized funding for surface transportation programs through
September 30, 1997. Those programs and the implementing statutory
authority which are contained in ISTEA are core elements of the Federal
surface transportation policy and programs administered by the
Department of Transportation.
Transportation is vital to our economic prosperity and quality of
life. The United States is facing major challenges in providing safe
and convenient travel, serving new patterns of freight shipments and
changing regional populations, and taking advantage of the explosion of
information technology that holds the promise of better transportation
at lower cost. If we are to remain competitive in the global
marketplace and maintain our quality of life, we must meet those
challenges. As America increasingly becomes part of a larger global
economy, transportation will only become more important to our standard
of living.
To that end, the Department of Transportation has begun a process
which will lead to a proposal for reauthorizing the major surface
transportation programs. As a first step, the Department has developed
a policy statement that identifies national challenges to global
marketplace competitiveness and quality of life and outlines a set of
reauthorization policy principles. The principles set out the broad
objectives that the Administration hopes to achieve or strengthen
through the reauthorization proposal.
An essential and important part of the development of the
Department's reauthorization proposal will be consultation with the
transportation community and other interested parties. It is hoped that
the policy statement and principles will provide a starting point for
those discussions. The Department recently initiated a series of
regional forums which will continue over the next several months to
determine how our programs and policies should be shaped to meet the
challenges we face. Hopefully, these efforts will help us to design
Federal surface transportation programs that responds quickly and
effectively to the changing demands this Nation will face in the 21st
century.
DATES: Comments on the policy statement and principles are welcomed. To
be most useful, comments on these issues should be submitted no later
than August 30, 1996.
ADDRESSES: Three copies of comments for the public docket on the ISTEA
Reauthorization Policy Statement and Principles should be sent to:
Office of the Secretary, Documentary Services Division, C-55, Attn:
ISTEA Public Docket OST-96-1447, Room PL 401, 400 Seventh Street, S.W.,
Washington, D.C. 20590.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Questions on the ISTEA Reauthorization
[[Page 30277]]
Policy Statement and Principles also can be directed to:
Mr. Frank Kruesi, Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy, Room
10228, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, Phone: (202)
366-4544.
Mr. Stephen Palmer, Assistant Secretary for Governmental Affairs, Room
10408, 400 Seventh Street, S.W., Washington, D.C. 20590, Phone: (202)
366-4573.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
ISTEA Reauthorization Policy Statement and Principles
Transportation has been vital to America's economic prosperity and
quality of life since the Nation's founding. From the colonial post
roads and canals that expanded our frontiers, to the railroads and
Interstate highways that linked a growing country, and to the mass
transit systems that made possible the development of our great cities,
transportation has opened up new markets and enabled the quick,
economical movement of people and goods that powered our economy's
growth.
More than $700 billion dollars annually--an eighth of America's
economy--is devoted to transportation products and services: Everything
from auto manufacturing to air travel to freight shipping. One in ten
Americans is employed in the industries which provide these goods and
services, and all of us depend upon them.
As the national economy becomes more fully integrated and as
America increasingly becomes part of a larger global economy,
transportation's role will only become more important. In recent years,
transportation has dramatically increased productivity, with major
benefits for business and consumers. We need to continue--and
accelerate--this trend. In the face of growing competition at home and
around the world, businesses simply cannot afford the costs imposed by
an inefficient transportation system. This is especially true as they
rely on effective transport to make logistical innovations such as
``just-in-time'' delivery systems work properly.
However, our national and regional transportation systems face
growing travel demand, inadequate capacity, and bottlenecks and poor
connections between different forms of transportation. These conditions
pose challenges that, if unmet, could slow economic growth and reduce
our international competitiveness. Nor should Americans have to endure
the costs and disruptions that an inefficient system imposes on their
own lives. Americans depend upon smooth-flowing, seamless
transportation to get to work or school, to shop, and to provide the
products they buy in stores. When these systems do not work as
intended, Americans pay the price in lost time, higher prices, or
diminished opportunity.
Challenges
If we are to remain competitive in the global marketplace and
maintain our quality of life, we must aggressively meet at least four
national challenges: (1) Safety, (2) continued growth of traffic and
travel and its attendant congestion, (3) environmental concerns, and
(4) demographic changes.
1. Safety
We have made great progress in the face of increasing travel. Even
so, motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of America's youth.
After years of steady decline, total highway deaths are increasing.
These increases came prior to the repeal of speed limit and motorcycle
helmet provisions. Transportation deaths and injuries place a huge
burden on our economy--an estimated $140 billion annually. Through
Medicare and Medicaid, much of this burden falls directly on the
American taxpayer. Reversing this trend will be a challenge requiring
Federal leadership.
2. Travel Growth
Traffic congestion in the Nation's 50 largest cities costs
travelers more than $40 billion annually. Delays are likely to increase
over the next two decades as travel nationwide increases by some 60
percent--delays that translate directly into costs to businesses which
ultimately are passed to consumers and that also rob Americans of
precious personal time.
3. Environment
Nearly one-quarter of the areas that failed to meet ozone standards
in 1990 have been reclassified as ``attainment'' areas by the
Environmental Protection Agency. But many of our largest cities are
still having problems meeting air quality standards. We must maintain
our efforts to reduce air pollutant emissions in light of the continued
rise in vehicle miles and the threat posed by global climate change.
4. Demographic Changes
Mobility for older Americans as well as those with disabilities is
a critical need. The elderly are the fastest growing component of the
U.S. population. More than six million Americans are over 85; that will
increase 400 percent by 2050. The majority of this population is
accustomed to relying on self-operated automobiles, and as they grow
older, their special transportation needs will require national
attention.
Transportation also affects, and is affected by, the increasing
dispersion of land use patterns and cultural and demographic change.
Although the shift to the Sun Belt has slowed, immigration is expected
to continue, as is domestic migration from urban areas to smaller towns
and the new ``edge cities.'' Among the effects of this shift from
central cities to the surrounding areas are more, and longer, vehicle
trips as people choose to live farther from the places where they work
or shop.
America's transportation needs are being addressed aggressively by
the private sector but the efforts of all levels of government are also
required. As President Clinton recently pointed out, the Interstate
Highway System brought Americans closer together, connecting region to
region, city to city, and family to family in ways that were undreamed
of a half-century ago. That same spirit has always been a driving force
for government investment in transportation.
From the Nation's earliest days, government has supported
transportation development: Building roads and canals, providing land
for railroads, and financing airports, water ports and mass transit
systems. Government at all levels now invests more than $40 billion
annually in surface transportation infrastructure alone, with
additional billions spent on operating and managing those systems.
Much of this support has been authorized through a series of
legislative initiatives setting policy guidance and providing funding
for highway, transit, and safety programs. The most recent of these,
the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (known as
ISTEA), authorizes Federal programs in these areas for fiscal years
1992-1997.
Through ISTEA, not only have we invested more, we have worked with
state and local government to invest better. Americans are getting more
for transportation dollars because ISTEA provided a strategic
investment framework. It did so through stronger planning requirements
and through programs such as the National Highway System, completion of
the Interstate System, and transit capital investment that focused
resources on national priorities. ISTEA's authors also had the vision
to create programs, such as the Surface Transportation Program, that
provided unprecedented flexibility to
[[Page 30278]]
state and local officials and helped assure that transportation
investments would meet the unique needs of their communities.
ISTEA's authority expires in October 1997, and the Department of
Transportation has begun to consider what form the successor to ISTEA
should take. This statement outlines some of the major principles that
the Department believes should be the basis for this next authorizing
bill.
Policy Principles
ISTEA's successor should be based upon principles that will sustain
a strong, globally-competitive economy and ensure the mobility, safety
and well-being of our people. The following are several key principles
that serve as a framework for the deliberations on this legislation.
1. Promote Economic Prosperity
America needs a well-connected transportation system that is
economically efficient and that provides the foundation for us to
compete in the global economy. Moving people to jobs, transporting raw
materials to manufacturers, and distributing products to market in ways
that are timely and economical are fundamental to our prosperity and to
Americans' well-being. Post-ISTEA legislation should continue the
emphasis on ISTEA's ``E'': efficiency.
2. Improve Quality of Life
Transportation directly affects our access to activities, goods,
and services which we value, defines the very shape of our communities,
and determines our ability to take advantage of social, economic, and
cultural opportunities. Post-ISTEA legislation should facilitate the
transportation improvements Americans need to improve their daily
lives.
3. Improve Safety
Travel inevitably places us at some risk. Given the high economic,
social, and personal costs of crashes and other incidents, safety must
be government's highest priority in transportation. ISTEA made great
progress in improving the public's safety, and its successor must
continue to improve safety and set standards that are reasonable.
4. Enhance the Environment
The air we breathe and the water we drink are affected by
transportation, as are the cultural, historic, and natural resources
that define us as a Nation. ISTEA was a major step forward in
preserving and protecting them, and its successor must ensure that we
continue to protect the environment and account for the full costs of
transportation decisions that affect air, water, and such nonrenewable
resources as wetlands and energy.
5. Ensure National Security
A sound transportation system is necessary to ensure America's
national security. Both national defense and our ability to respond to
disasters and other emergencies depend upon our system of highways,
railroads, airports, and ports for the movement of essential equipment,
supplies, and personnel. Post-ISTEA legislation must strengthen this
vital aspect of our preparedness.
Building Blocks
As planning begins for ISTEA reauthorization, we need to identify
aspects of ISTEA that will continue to help us shape a transportation
system for the 21st century. These basic building blocks will help us
identify the specific steps we must take to move in the directions laid
out in the policy principles described above.
1. Promote Intermodalism
Better modal choices and improved connections between modes can
provide a unified, interconnected transportation system that meets the
demands of travelers and shippers by making the parts of the system
work better together to provide alternatives suited to a variety of
transportation needs. Reauthorization must continue the progress toward
intermodalism--so modal categories of the early 20th century do not
dictate the transportation system of the future. Post-ISTEA legislation
should ensure that ISTEA's ``I''--intermodal--remains a focus of
Federal policy.
2. Improve Planning and Public Participation
ISTEA also brought new players to the table. And a more inclusive
process does yield real results--in the form of better, more feasible
and publicly acceptable plans. The fiscal constraints ISTEA applied to
transportation plans means they reflect the reality that real planning
requires hard choices based on realistically available funding. There
should be no question of turning back. We must continue to guarantee
that investment decisions are the product of an inclusive planning
process--an informed political decision.
3. Empower State and Local Officials
ISTEA created flexible programs, such as the Surface Transportation
Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, and
increased state and local officials' ability to target funds to
projects that made sense for their communities. They responded
enthusiastically to increased flexibility; more than $2 billion has
been flexed. And by their own actions, these officials have
demonstrated a commitment to even greater flexibility. ISTEA's
successor should further empower these officials to invest Federal
funds in the projects that best meet their needs, possibly including
areas in which their investment is currently limited, including perhaps
rail and intermodal projects.
4. Strengthen Partnerships
Drawing upon the strengths and perspectives found at all levels of
government and in the private sector, from both passenger and freight
transport, can enhance the decision-making process and assure that
transportation meets present and future needs. ISTEA strengthened the
traditional Federal-state partnership and expanded it to include local
governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and the private
sector. Partnerships must be forged with other countries as well. As we
compete in a global economy, it is essential that we work to improve
transportation that facilitates the effective movement of our Nation's
goods and its people. Post-ISTEA legislation should build upon these
partnerships.
5. Encourage Performance Management
Performance management is a way of getting at the question raised
by the National Performance Review: ``How can we get government to work
better and cost less?'' Performance management, with its outcome-
oriented goals and clear measures, is a positive and flexible way to
manage transportation. Greater reliance on performance management will
allow us to maintain accountability for use of public resources while
reducing cumbersome rules that delay improvements and add to costs. It
will encourage strategies--such as preventive maintenance and
Intelligent Vehicle Systems technologies--that, in some cases, improve
the performance of the existing system more efficiently than new
construction alone.
6. Promote Innovative Financing
Competition for scarce public resources continues to intensify.
ISTEA offered new opportunities for cutting red tape that delays
projects, for involving the private sector, and for financing
transportation improvements through tolls and other innovative means.
Our Partnership for
[[Page 30279]]
Transportation Investment program jump-started innovative financing
suggested by ISTEA. The establishment of transportation infrastructure
banks builds upon this progress. ISTEA's successor should continue
these efforts to create new ways of paying for the transportation
systems America needs.
7. Encourage New Technologies
Cleaner, safer, and more efficient transportation has often come
because of new technologies--some entirely new, such as the automobile,
and some that have made previous advances safer or more efficient, such
as seat belts. Continued development and use of advanced technology is
vital if such progress is to continue. Under ISTEA, the Federal
Government renewed its emphasis on applying technology to improve
safety, system capacity, and travel times. Investment in research and
development has been expanded, both through increased funding and
through new partnerships with the private sector. The successful
Intelligent Transportation Systems and Global Positioning Satellite
systems deployments are products of such initiatives. Post-ISTEA
transportation legislation should continue this commitment.
8. Encourage Better Infrastructure Investment and Management
Continually improving the performance of infrastructure investment
programs is always essential, but especially so in an era of limited
public funding. ISTEA's successor should encourage state and local
officials to base investment decisions on systematic cost-benefit
analysis, and to adopt operational, maintenance, and pricing practices,
that maximize the efficiency of, and return on, investment, as
described in the Executive Order, Principles for Federal Infrastructure
Investments.
Meeting the Challenge
ISTEA is visionary legislation. Its central elements--strategic
infrastructure investments, intermodalism, flexibility,
intergovernmental partnership, a strong commitment to safety, enhanced
planning and strategic investment--should be preserved.
The forces shaping the debate over the role of government in our
society will influence the reauthorization debate. What is the Federal
role in surface transportation infrastructure? What has worked under
ISTEA--what has not? What can we do to improve our safety record? How
can we increase our resources? How can we benefit more from the fiscal
resources we have? Should we expand eligibility for Federal funds, for
example to rail and intermodal projects?
Most of these questions require further study and discussion. But
in one case--the Federal role--the answer is clear. We need strong
Federal leadership. Efficient national cargo movement is key to our
ability to benefit from expanding trade opportunities. Truckers and
other freight operators need national uniformity in facilities and
regulatory standards. We also need national consistency if we are going
to move forward with deployment of new technology. We cannot achieve
other key national priorities--linking Americans to jobs, health care
and education--without efficient and accessible transportation. And the
challenges we face in the areas of safety and the environment do not
stop at state borders.
As we tackle these difficult questions, the policy principles and
building blocks outlined in this statement should guide us. Our goal
for reauthorization is to develop a proposal for the next century that
allows our Nation to preserve our competitive advantage throughout the
world and maintain the well being of our citizens.
Issued this 10th day of June 1996, in Washington, DC.
Frank Kruesi,
Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy.
[FR Doc. 96-15163 Filed 6-13-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4910-62-P
