[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 67 (Tuesday, May 20, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S4771-S4772]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                  MASS TRANSIT AMENDMENTS ACT OF 1997

 Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I rise to join with my 
colleague from Pennsylvania, Senator Arlen Specter, in supporting the 
Mass Transit Amendments Act of 1997. This bill is a bipartisan effort 
to support investment in our Nation's mass transit systems and 
industry. But more important, this bill will ensure that a critical 
part our Nation's transportation infrastructure--transit--will receive 
adequate investments into the 21st century. A healthy transit system 
will go a long way toward reducing congestion and increasing mobility 
even when vehicle miles traveled is increasing.
  Good public transit increases the efficiency of existing roadways, 
especially in congested regions where many people live. Transit is 
essential to rural, suburban, and urban residents, it is a cost-
effective solution to healthcare access, a key to successful welfare 
reform, and an environmentally sensible way to meet the commuting 
needs. It is an increasingly important service for the elderly, for 
persons with disabilities, for students, and for those who cannot 
afford a car.
  Mr. President, anybody who questions the necessity for transit 
services only has to visit my home State of New Jersey. The most 
densely populated State in the Nation, it also has the most vehicle 
density on its roads. Located between two heavily populated 
metropolitan areas, New Jersey is known as the Corridor State. Over 60 
billion vehicle miles are traveled on New Jersey's roads annually. The 
ability of trucks and cars to move freely on New Jersey's roads 
directly affects New Jersey's economy--congestion has dramatic effects 
on the economy.
  New Jersey is also a commuter State. Millions of New Jerseyans face 
serious commuter problems every day. In many areas in New Jersey, there 
is nowhere else to lay new roads. We simply cannot build ourselves out 
of congestion. That's why New Jersey is heavily reliant on mass 
transit. The Midtown Direct, an Urban core project, was inaugurated 1 
year ago. Within weeks, the ridership doubled in its projections. 
Transit in New Jersey is well used and well supported.
  Nationally, transit has also proven to reduce congestion, and transit 
saves dollars. A 1996 report conducted by the Federal Transit 
Administration found that the annual economic loss to U.S. business 
caused by traffic congestion is $40 billion, and the additional annual 
economic loss if all U.S. transit commuters drove instead would be $15 
billion.
  It's also good for the environment. According to the FTA, transit use 
saves 1.5 billion gallons of U.S. auto fuel consumption every year. 
Transit is energy efficient, and the less gasoline used, the less the 
United States is dependent on foreign oil.
  Mr. President, Americans also see direct public health benefits from 
transit use. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to 
110 million Americans breathe air that is unhealthful. The American 
Lung Association estimates the national health care bill for air 
pollution-related illness is $40 billion a year. Transportation sources 
cause 40-60 percent of pollution that produces ozone, and 70-80 percent 
of carbon monoxide emissions. Nearly one-third of carbon dioxide--the 
most significant greenhouse gas--comes from transportation sources. The 
fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions is the 
transportation sector.
  Mr. President, transit produces real environmental benefits. On 
average, riding transit instead of driving cuts hydrocarbon emissions 
that produce smog by 90 percent and carbon monoxide by more than 75 
percent. One person using mass transit for a year instead of driving to 
work saves our environment 9 pounds of hydrocarbons, 62 pounds of 
carbon monoxide and 5 pounds of nitrogen oxides.
  It doesn't stop there. Over the past 30 years, the U.S. transit 
industry and its riders have prevented the emission of 1.6 million tons 
of hydrocarbons, 10 million tons of carbon monoxide, and 275,000 tons 
of nitrogen oxides into the air; the importation of 20 billion gallons 
of gasoline; and the construction and maintenance of 20,000 lane-miles 
of freeways and arterial roads and 5 million parking spaces to meet 
demands, saving at least $220 billion.
  Transit is an important part of our Nation's transportation system, 
and we ought to ensure that it is afforded the same priority as other 
modes of transportation.
  Mr. President, this bill does just that. It increases the 
authorization level for transit programs to provide $34.4 billion over 
5 years. It increases

[[Page S4772]]

discretionary capital grants and formula capital grants. It preserves 
operating assistance within formula programs for all areas and it 
continues funding for transit planning and research. It also makes a 
number of technical changes in the program to ensure better flexibility 
and streamlining, allowing transit managers to administer the program 
more effectively.
  Mr. President, this bill does a few more things. It includes a 
provision which shifts the 4.3 cents of gas taxes per gallon currently 
allocated to deficit reduction, into transportation trust funds. One-
half cent of the 4.3 cents is allocated into a new intercity passenger 
rail trust fund to fund Amtrak capital expenses; the rest--the 3.8 
cents--is divided along the traditional 80 percent/20 percent split of 
highways/mass transit, respectively. Thus, 3.04 cents will go into the 
highway account of the highway trust fund, and 0.76 cents will go into 
the mass transit account of the highway trust fund. This is the fair, 
equitable way to divide any new trust fund revenue that would be 
allocated for transportation.
  However, Mr. President, until a mechanism is provided to actually 
permit the expenditure of that additional funding, we will not see the 
investment we seek. Instead, the trust fund balances will only grow. As 
party to the budget negotiations just completed, I know as well as any 
Senator how hard it will be to make the necessary investments as we 
move to a balanced budget by 2002. However, I think it is important to 
lay out this principle and do our best to work toward it.
  Mr. President, unfortunately, the balanced budget agreement reached 
last week will make it difficult to fund mass transit at the levels 
provided in this bill. As ranking Democratic member of the Budget 
Committee, I fought hard to ensure that we will be making an adequate 
investment within the context of the balanced budget agreement. I must 
say, it will be difficult to fund transportation at the levels I 
support over the next few years. However, as ranking Democratic member 
of the Transportation Appropriations Subcommittee, I will work to 
ensure continued, adequate funding over these years.
  Mr. President, the Mass Transit Act Amendments of 1997 represent what 
I believe, and what transit advocates believe, is necessary to provide 
for transit's growing needs into the 21st century. As Congress 
considers funding for transportation, I look forward to discussing ways 
that transit, and other modes of transportation, can benefit.
  Mr. President, this bill also includes a Reverse Commute Pilot 
Program which intends to assist individuals in both urban and rural 
areas receive employment and job training. This annual $250 million 
discretionary program reflects the growing needs of the work force, 
particularly those in urban and rural areas who do not have access to 
suburban jobs. A 1996 report conducted by the Eno Transportation 
Foundation, ``Commuting in America II,'' found that ``today, the 
dominant commuting flow pattern is suburban, with 50% of the Nation's 
commuters living in the suburbs and over 41% of all jobs located there, 
up from 37% in 1980.'' Suburban areas are now the main destination of 
work trips. The report also found that there was a substantial increase 
in reverse commuting--the central city-to-suburb commuting rose from a 
9-percent share of growth over the decade from 1970 to 1980, to 12 
percent from 1980 to 1990.
  Mr. President, reinvesting in our cities is important. However, if 
jobs are in the suburbs, we should provide mechanisms for employers, 
local and State employment and transportation agencies to assist those 
potential employees to simply get to where the work is. For those of us 
who are concerned about the effects of the Welfare Reform Act signed 
into law last year, we need to do all we can to ensure that the 
unemployed can move from welfare to work quickly and easily. The 
Reverse Commute Pilot Program makes sense.

  Mr. President, we all know that the Intermodal Surface Transportation 
Efficiency Act--ISTEA--will expire on September 30. That law was far-
reaching and visionary. It recognized that good transportation policy 
does not mean simply pouring more concrete and asphalt. Instead, it 
focused on moving goods and people--in a way that makes the most sense 
for our Nation, our States, our communities, and our economy. Its very 
title acknowledged a simple, yet important, aspect of transportation 
which had been previously overlooked--intermodalism. During this year's 
debate over reauthorization of ISTEA, it is imperative that we continue 
this tradition of intermodalism. We must continue the strong 
investments in transit and the flexibility provided in the first ISTEA.
  Mr. President, this bill continues that tradition. I support it and I 
urge my colleagues to join me in doing so.

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