[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 132 (Wednesday, September 24, 2003)]
[Senate]
[Page S11903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             TRANSPORTATION EQUITY ACT FOR THE 21ST CENTURY

  Mr. SHELBY. Mr. President, I rise today in support of H.R. 3087, the 
Surface Transportation Extension Act of 2003. This bill, which was 
crafted in a bi-partisan, bicameral fashion will extend the Federal 
transportation programs for an additional 5 months to February 29, 
2004.
  The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century expires on 
September 30 of this year. Legislation is necessary to carry on the 
essential functions of the highway, highway safety, motor carrier 
safety, transit and other programs that are recipients of highway trust 
fund money. This bill accomplishes just that. It funds the programs at 
five-twelfths of the fiscal year 2004 budget conference report level.
  H.R. 3087 is a clean reauthorization of these programs. This bill 
contains no new projects and no new programmatic changes. It simply 
extends TEA-21 and current provisions of transportation law. As the 
chairman of the Banking Committee whose jurisdiction includes the 
reauthorization of the transit title of TEA-21, I was hopeful that, 
working with the chairman of the relevant committee, we would have 
achieved passage of a multiyear bill. As funding levels and an 
appropriate source for those funds have yet to be identified, that 
proved to be impossible.
  While I am not overly confident that 5 months of negotiating will 
resolve this problem, I support this piece of legislation. I believe it 
is essential that we continue to authorize our Nation's highway and 
transit infrastructure. I think this necessary stop-gap measure is the 
way to achieve that. I recommend the bill to my colleagues and ask for 
their support.




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