[Congressional Record Volume 144, Number 100 (Thursday, July 23, 1998)]
[Senate]
[Pages S8887-S8891]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 
                                  1999

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent the Senate now 
proceed to the consideration of S. 2307, the transportation 
appropriations bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The clerk will report.
  The bill clerk read as follows:

       A bill (S. 2307) making appropriations for the Department 
     of Transportation and related agencies for the fiscal year 
     ending September 30, 1999, and for other purposes.

  The Senate proceeded to consider the bill.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, in putting together the Fiscal Year 1999 
Transportation Appropriations bill, we were faced with the difficulty 
of trying to adhere to the spending levels in the new highway and 
transit authorization bill and still provide adequate levels of funding 
for other transportation priorities. We have done that in this bill, 
and I think it represents a balanced approach to meeting our nation's 
transportation needs. I want to thank the Chairman of the Committee on 
Appropriations Senator Stevens, for all his assistance and advice as we 
put this bill together and moved it through sub and full committee 
consideration.
  We have also worked diligently with the senior Senator from New 
Jersey,

[[Page S8888]]

Senator Lautenberg, the ranking minority member of the subcommittee on 
transportation appropriations, and with the distinguished ranking 
member of the Committee on Appropriations, Senator Byrd, to try to 
accommodate the requests of every Member of the Senate. No one got 
everything they asked for, but I think as Members look at the details 
of the bill, they will see that we did our best, with the limited 
resources we had, to accommodate everyone's request.

  I want to outline just a few highlights of the bill, if I may.
  The Airport Improvement Program is set at $2.1 billion for 1999, the 
highest level ever. This funding will expand the capacity of our 
Nation's airports, reduce delays and congestion, and, most importantly, 
it will improve aviation safety in America. As the demand for air 
travel increases, we must ensure that our airports are able to 
efficiently handle traffic that will come with it.
  Highway spending is also at the highest level in history--more than 
$27 billion. This funding will help States clear out their backlog of 
overdue highway construction and improvement projects. With more than 
40,000 American lives lost each year on our Nation's highways, we must 
do everything to make them as safe as possible. Highway spending not 
only improves safety but also will provide good jobs for thousands of 
Americans.
  I believe we have adequately funded both the Coast Guard and the 
Federal Aviation Administration operations accounts, and we have 
provided increased flexibility for the Secretary to manage both 
operations accounts to meet air traffic control and drug interdiction 
demands.
  I am pleased that we were able to fully appropriate the authorized 
levels for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. That 
agency's funding in this bill represents an 8 percent increase over 
last year and will aid in their efforts to conduct airbag research, 
develop automatic crash avoidance technologies, and increase seatbelt 
use, and also reduce drunk driving on our highways.
  The Federal Transit Administration will receive $5.365 billion, an 11 
percent increase from 1998. These funds will be used to build new light 
rail transit systems, replace dilapidated public buses, and construct 
intermodal facilities to speed the transfer of people from one 
transportation mode to another.
  Regarding Amtrak, the bill provides an additional $555 million on top 
of the $1.1 billion Amtrak will receive from the Taxpayer Relief Act 
that we passed last year.
  My concerns about the level of Federal subsidies for Amtrak are well 
known in this body. Since the railroad was created in 1971, Amtrak has 
received $21 billion in Federal support. That is an average of $750 
million a year. Mr. President, that is a disproportionately high level 
of subsidy for a railroad that only serves 20 million intercity 
passengers every year. Mr. President, by way of comparison, 600 million 
Americans fly every year. This means that more people fly in a 2-week 
period than ride Amtrak over the course of the year. The bill before 
you this evening contains a provision requiring Amtrak to print the 
per-passenger subsidy on each Amtrak ticket sold. According to the GAO, 
Amtrak loses an average of $47 per passenger. I think the American 
people have a right to know how their tax dollars are being spent.
  Finally, Mr. President, let me comment on the Project Labor agreement 
provision. At full committee consideration of the transportation 
appropriations bill, the chairman requested that we postpone the debate 
on this provision until the floor. I believe that the chairman's 
position to postpone this debate until the floor made sense. And I know 
that he has been working to resolve this issue in a fashion that will 
allow the transportation appropriations bill to move expeditiously 
through the Senate. I will continue to work with the chairman and with 
Members on both sides of this issue to see if we can craft--and I 
believe we will be able to craft--a solution that is workable for 
everyone involved. The intent of the original language in the bill was 
to prohibit discrimination against any worker in this country simply 
because he or she chooses not to join a union.
  Mr. President, I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish in 
this bill. I believe it will benefit all Americans by improving 
transportation services in this country. I look forward to working with 
the members of the committee and the Members of the Senate to move this 
bill through the Senate.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG addressed the Chair.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Coats). The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, I am obviously pleased that the Senate has now turned 
to the consideration of the transportation appropriations bill. It has 
been some time in coming. And action on the transportation bill has 
been delayed for several weeks while the committee sought to resolve 
some of the challenges that arise when there are vital interests needs 
to be met with too few resources to meet them.
  Mr. President, I first ask unanimous consent that Peter Rogoff, a 
member of my staff, be permitted privileges of the floor during the 
consideration of this bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Thank you, Mr. President.
  Mr. President, it is always interesting, to me anyway, that when we 
get to something like transportation and we start talking about the 
numbers and how much we are able to spend on highways and aviation, on 
buses, and rail, whatever we do, we still fall short on this country's 
needs for investment in infrastructure.
  There isn't a Senator here who doesn't come to Senator Shelby or me 
during the time of the negotiations looking for more opportunities to 
invest in infrastructure. They want to get rid of the potholes, get rid 
of the obsolete bridges, update our system.
  I know I speak for the chairman of the subcommittee, Senator Shelby, 
with whom I have the pleasure and opportunity to work--Senator Shelby 
and I have known each other for some time. He is a man with specific 
opinions on things. I could be described as a ``pussycat''--I don't 
think so. But we have our differences out on the table, and we work to 
resolve them. There is one thing in this relationship, and that is 
mutual respect. I want to say today that Senator Shelby has not only 
exhibited patience but also a genuine interest in resolving issues, 
getting rid of the problems, and getting on with the task. Between us, 
I think we have a pretty good piece of legislation.
  For me, one of the greatest challenges that we faced in developing 
this bill was finding the funds for Amtrak. Senator Shelby, as is his 
wont, spoke out about his views on Amtrak. But he has respect for 
others' views--for those people who see Amtrak as an integral part of 
the transportation system in this country, an essential part of the 
system.
  While he is concerned about the amount of subsidy that Amtrak is 
getting from the Federal Government, it is also bidding its way towards 
self-sufficiency. Until we have the proper kind of equipment that 
attracts riders, that can make the trip--and the trips are made in 
faster times, particularly in the Northeast section, where in just the 
few States that Amtrak goes through with probably 100 million people, 
it is a significant part of the population in the country. Yes, it 
requires subsidy, but so does aviation.
  We go beyond the ticket tax, which is significant. What we are saying 
to the people who ride in aviation is you pay a tax for this. We don't 
really say that in similar terms with Amtrak. You pay a heavy tax when 
you fly. The system is totally built by the taxpayer and local 
interests when it comes to aviation. If Amtrak didn't operate, I would 
like to point out that we would need 7,500 new flights a year on 757s 
to make up for the numbers of people who are carried on Amtrak.
  We were able to fashion a compromise which was in this bill reported 
unanimously by the Appropriations Committee on July 14. It includes 
$555 million for Amtrak for the coming year, and as the chairman noted, 
there is over $1 billion worth of funding; some of that in operating 
expenses; some of that in capital expense, but it is $66 million less 
than the level requested by the administration.
  Now, we are on the verge--1999 is the year--of getting high-speed 
rail equipment in the Northeast corridor. And

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for the benefit of those who are listening not familiar with it, the 
Northeast corridor is that corridor of traffic between Washington here 
in the South, and Boston on the northern run, with New York and Newark 
as the intermediate points along the way.
  Well, if we can get that ride down--and I think that we can--to less 
than 2\1/2\ hours, I can tell you, Mr. President, I have been out at 
the airport many times to take a flight that was advertised to be 40 
and 45 minutes, and it has taken 3 hours. It is not because the 
airplane is so slow. It is that it's so crowded we can't get off the 
ground. And sometimes I find when I land in the Newark area we have to 
wait 30, 40 minutes to get to a gate. We are straining at the seams. 
And if anybody rides the highways of America they know there is plenty 
of congestion. I don't care what State it is, you will find a place in 
those States where highway congestion is unbearable, the air is foul, 
and we are consuming far more fuel than we ought to because we are 
building a further dependence on the countries outside our shores that 
produce it.
  And so this investment in Amtrak is one that is going to be made to 
get us to be able to take delivery on the high-speed equipment which is 
due next year, 1999.
  I thank Senator Stevens, the chairman of the committee, and Senator 
Byrd, the ranking member of the full committee, as well as, again, 
Senator Shelby, the chairman of the Subcommittee on Transportation, for 
helping us to find an acceptable funding level for Amtrak, and I also 
thank them for their patience throughout the process.
  The Transportation Subcommittee faced a real daunting challenge in 
constructing a bill that kept faith with the promises included in the 
recently enacted Transportation Equity Act. That is the transportation 
program for the next half dozen years for the 21st century. It is a 
beginning into the 21st century, and with our infrastructure 
investment, as modest as it is, I can't say that it is one of America's 
proudest achievements because we are woefully underfunded, but it is a 
good start in the 21st century and I am looking forward to building on 
that.
  The TEA 21, as it is referred to in acronym fashion, law authorized 
substantial increases in our surface transportation programs, and this 
appropriations bill includes a historic 15-percent increase for funding 
for the Federal Highway Administration, and an 11-percent increase in 
funding for the Federal Transit Administration. Separate from these 
well-deserved increases in the surface transportation area, the bill 
seeks to meet, to the best of our ability, the needs of the FAA.
  You heard me just reciting the fact that crowding in the air is not 
an insignificant factor. If you want to fly into the New York area, or 
you want to fly into the Chicago area, the significant metropolitan 
hubs across our country, you have to share that space, and if the 
weather turns foul you wait forever. We could upgrade the system. There 
are other countries that have systems where takeoffs and landings are 
done at zero visibility. It is done mechanically. The pilot has to be 
there, but that airplane can touch down safely when you can't see the 
ground. I know I have been in a couple of flights like that, and it is 
always a shock when you don't see something and you feel that hard 
ground beneath you.
  That is what we ought to be doing. We have to invest more in all of 
our transportation modes and aviation as well. The Coast Guard is one 
incredible agency. We ask so much of the Coast Guard. We not only have 
them out doing drug interdiction, which is a very popular part of their 
agenda, but if one looks at the marine system that we have in our 
country, the development of boating, fishing, the whole recreational 
aspect of marine life is there because the Coast Guard manages it. They 
put out the buoy markers. I know sometimes I get lost out there, so I 
can tell you that they are there. It is not that they have moved. It is 
that I haven't been able to find them properly.
  It is an incredible system. And on top of that, they do pollution 
patrol; they do a patrol to try to intercept illegal immigrants who 
want to get to this great country of ours and are willing to risk their 
lives to do it, sometimes in tire tubes out in the ocean. The Coast 
Guard is there to provide interdiction, but also humanitarian service 
as well. And when it comes to rescues at sea, boy, there is nobody 
better than the Coast Guard. They know how to do it, and they are 
called on by everybody on every occasion. We just saw a ship fire, the 
Carnival Cruise Line ship in Florida. The ones I saw right there on the 
spot were the Coast Guard. They are always there. They need constant 
investment. I know one of the complaints in some of the northern areas 
is they don't have enough icebreaking equipment, for instance. We get 
it sometimes from the Defense Department.

  So, when you put all these needs together, it is not an easy 
challenge. I say, once again, Chairman Shelby and his staff, Wally 
Burnett, Reid Cavnar and Joyce Rose, do a terrific job, as well as the 
people on my staff, Peter Rogoff and Liz O'Donoghue--I mentioned before 
Peter Neffenger--and Carole Geagley, for the job the staff has done.
  The staff has worked very hard. I don't think it is realized outside 
that by no means are these 9 to 5 jobs. Yes, they are. I am sorry. They 
are 9 at night to 5 the next morning. That is the kind of jobs they 
are. We give them time off to sleep, go home, meet their families, say 
hello to their newborns, get breakfast--the work requirement is beyond 
comprehension, in many cases. But it gets done, and I am proud of what 
we did this year.
  Mr. President, as Members are aware, and the chairman brought it up, 
the bill as reported by the Appropriations Committee contains an 
extremely controversial rider. It is something regarding Project Labor 
agreements. The provision effectively wanted to stop labor-management 
agreements that have served successfully for years to hold down 
construction costs and improve working conditions. Imagine--on those 
occasions, which are too few, where management and labor shake hands 
across the table, no longer could they say, ``These are the conditions 
we are going to be working under. This is what you can expect from us, 
and this is what you can expect from us; we are going to bridge our 
differences now, before this job starts. We are going to decide on 
things like pay scales and work schedules and health care--all of those 
things. We are going to decide together on the schedule that we want to 
meet. We want to be proud of this job when it is finished.''
  The chairman of the Appropriations Committee used a reference. He 
said in the Alaskan pipeline they had an agreement that saved billions 
of dollars, because everybody understood exactly what their 
responsibilities were and there was no room for work stoppages or 
things of that nature. It is a system that works. Why some people felt 
it was time to stop it, I don't understand. But I respect the 
differences that we have here.
  The issue was discussed at length during full committee markup of the 
bill. As Senator Shelby noted, Chairman Stevens asked us to defer this 
until we get to the floor and get this bill out there so Senators can 
see it and understand what we are doing. We did just that, and the 
result is we have a compromise that Senator Stevens sought to develop 
that would allow the bill to move forward and gain the President's 
signature.
  Senator Shelby and others involved, Senator Kennedy from 
Massachusetts, and I, agreed this was a consensus with which we could 
live. I am delighted that took place so we did not have to wrangle over 
it. We want to get this bill in place so when the new year starts, 
October 1, we are ready to go with the new spending levels and new 
programs.
  Once we have concluded our opening remarks, we are going to adopt the 
managers' amendment that encompasses a compromise on this issue, so all 
parties are agreed they will live with it. I thank my colleagues for 
their efforts in reaching this compromise.
  In closing, I want to express my view that the most important funding 
in this bill is not for any individual project or any individual State. 
The most important funding in the annual transportation appropriations 
bill is the taxpayers' dollars that we commit to maintaining safety 
throughout our national transportation network.
  Safety in the skies--we know we are crowded, we know we are busy, and 
we

[[Page S8890]]

know there is a terrific strain on the staff who maintain the aviation 
system, the controllers, those in the towers and those in the service 
routes along the way. They do a terrific job. One need only look at the 
accident record, the number of people. Senator Shelby mentioned there 
are 600 million travelers a year. Look at that and thank the Lord, look 
at the accident record. You will see one of the nearly perfect systems 
that one could imagine operating in our skies with all that volume.
  We want the same thing on our roads. We want to reduce drunk, 
careless driving. We would like to even reduce road rage. I don't know 
how we do it. Sometimes we get into rage here, but we should be able to 
do that.
  Safety on our waterways--again, the Coast Guard is there marking out 
routes. It is just a terrific facility that we have.
  So, safety is the No. 1 priority of my agenda. It is the No. 1 
priority for the Secretary of Transportation, Secretary Slater, and for 
the President of the United States. He talks about it a lot. And 
Senator Shelby indicated he is interested in safety.
  I am hoping one day we will be able to shore up our .08 blood alcohol 
level bill. We passed a bill that goes part of the way, but we have to 
go further in order to make it complete. The worst thing that can 
happen to a family is to lose a youngster, a young person, to an 
automobile accident when we try so hard to bring them up, to raise them 
and encourage them, and then have somebody get in a car where someone 
has been drinking too much and end their life.
  We are focused on safety. We are going to do that. I cannot 
overemphasize the responsibility that every Senator has in ensuring our 
transportation laws protect the safety of our traveling public to the 
maximum extent possible. The fate of the traveling public is truly in 
our hands each and every day. During the up and coming debate we are 
going to discuss a number of amendments that are critically important 
to the safety of our constituents.
  With that, I yield the floor to my colleague. We are ready to 
consider amendments and start with the managers' amendment.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Alabama.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, first of all, I thank the distinguished 
Senator from New Jersey for his kind remarks, because we do work 
together on a lot of issues, not only in the Appropriations Committee 
but also we both serve on the Intelligence Committee and spend a lot of 
time generally behind closed doors. He is an active member of that 
committee, too.


                           Amendment No. 3324

          (Purpose: An amendment on the part of the managers.)

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I send an amendment to the desk and ask 
for its immediate consideration.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will report.
  The assistant legislative clerk read as follows:

       The Senator from Alabama [Mr. Shelby], for himself and Mr. 
     Lautenberg, proposes an amendment numbered 3324.

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that reading of 
the amendment be dispensed with.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  The amendment is as follows:

       On page 19 of the bill in line 2, strike ``: Provided, That 
     $3,000,000 shall be transferred to the Appalachian Regional 
     Commission''.
       On page 26 of the bill, line 15, insert the following 
     before the period: ``Provided further, That of the funds 
     provided under this heading, $5,000,000 shall be made 
     available for grants authorized under title 49 United States 
     Code section 22301''.
       On page 20 of the bill, in line 17, after the colon, 
     insert: ``Provided further, That within the $20,000,000 made 
     available for refuge roads in fiscal year 1999 by section 204 
     of title 23, United States Code, as amended, $700,000 shall 
     be made available to the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to 
     determine the feasibility of providing reliable access 
     connecting King Cove and Cold Bay, Alaska and $1,500,000 
     shall be made available for improvements to the Crooked Creek 
     access road in the Charles M. Russell National Wildlife 
     Refuge, Montana:''.
       On page 28 of the bill, amend the figure in line 5 to read 
     ``7,500,000''.
       On page 44 of the bill, insert at the beginning of line 1 
     the following: ``New York City NY Midtown west ferry 
     terminal''.
       On page 51 of the bill, insert after line 19 the following: 
     ``Whittier, AK intermodal facility and pedestrian overpass''.
       On pages 86 and 87 of the bill, strike all of section 336 
     (lines 16-24 and lines 1-10).
       On page 88 of the bill, in line 18, after the semicolon 
     insert the following:
       (3) in subsection (d), by inserting ``(including an 
     exemption under subsection (b)(3)(B)(i) relating to a bumper 
     standard referred to in subsection (b)(1))'' after 
     ``subsection (b)(3)(B)(i) of this section''; and.
       And on page 88 of the bill, in line 19, amend the ``(3)'' 
     subsection number to read ``(4)''.
       On page 90 of the bill, in line 1, after the semicolon 
     insert the following: ``$3,500,000 is provided for the 
     Providence-Boston commuter rail project;''.
       On page 92 of the bill, after line 25, insert the 
     following:
       Sec. 351. Item 1132 in section 1602 of the Transportation 
     Equity Act for the 21st Century (112 Stat. 298), relating to 
     Mississippi, is amended by striking ``Pirate Cove'' and 
     inserting ``Pirates' Cove and 4-lane connector to Mississippi 
     Highway 468''.
       On page 78 of the bill, strike lines 8-15, and insert the 
     following:
       Sec. 322. None of the funds in this or any other Act may be 
     used to compel, direct or require agencies of the Department 
     of Transportation in their own construction contract awards, 
     or recipients of financial assistance for construction 
     projects under this Act, to use a project labor agreement on 
     any project, nor to preclude use of a project labor agreement 
     in such circumstances.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, this amendment has been cleared on both 
sides of the aisle. I think it makes sense and will allow us to move 
forward with the bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there further debate on the amendment?
  If there is no objection, the amendment is agreed to.
  The amendment (No. 3324) was agreed to.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I move to reconsider the vote.
  Mr. SHELBY. I move to lay that motion on the table.
  The motion to lay on the table was agreed to.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order for 
the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I would just like to tell my colleagues in 
the Senate, some of them are here on the floor and in their offices, 
Senator Lautenberg and I are ready to move this bill toward third 
reading. We haven't heard from anyone. We will give a few more minutes 
in case somebody wants to get in, or offer an amendment to this bill, 
but we believe this is a well put together bill, as I said earlier. 
Both sides have put a lot of work into it. We should not keep Senators 
here all evening. We will move as soon as we can.
  If we don't hear from somebody on the floor in just a few minutes, it 
is my idea, if Senator Lautenberg concurs at that time, to move to 
third reading.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from New Jersey.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. If I might, I knew we constructed a good bill. I 
didn't realize it was this good. But the fact of the matter is I guess 
we covered everybody's requests fully. But we should wait to see if any 
of our colleagues want to come down to the floor and commend us for it.
  Otherwise, I think we are seriously ready to go. I am feeling a 
little light-headed because we haven't heard a lot of criticism. But 
the bill is here. If there are people who want to amend it in any way, 
let them come down now or forever hold their peace, or something.
  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The assistant legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. BENNETT). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that a fellow 
in Senator Bingaman's office, Mr. Dan Alpert, be given floor privileges 
during the pendency of the transportation appropriations bill.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. LAUTENBERG. Mr. President, I suggest the absence of a quorum.

[[Page S8891]]

  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The legislative clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that I be 
allowed to speak as in morning business.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Without objection, it is so ordered.
  Mr. WELLSTONE. Thank you.

                          ____________________