[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 62 (Thursday, May 12, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5106-S5108]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Mr. SARBANES:
  S. 1018. A bill to provide that transit pass transportation fringe 
benefits be made available to all qualified Federal employees in the 
National Capital Region; to alllow passenger carriers which are owned 
or leased by the Government to be used to transport Government 
employees between their place of employment and mass transit 
facilities, and for other purposes; to the Committee on Homeland 
Security and Governmental Affairs.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce the Federal 
Employee Commuter Benefits Act of 2005, which is cosponsored by my 
colleagues Senators Mikulski and Warner. This bill will guarantee 
transit benefits to all Federal employees in the National Capital Area 
and will remove a restriction that currently forbids Federal agencies 
from providing employee shuttles to and from transit stations. This 
measure is an important step forward in our efforts to encourage 
transit ridership and improve the quality of life for federal employees 
in the Washington, D.C. region and throughout the Nation.
  All across the Nation, congestion and gridlock are taking their toll 
in terms of economic loss, environmental impact, and personal 
frustration. According to the Texas Transportation Institute, in 2003 
Americans in 85 urban areas spent 3.7 billion hours stuck in traffic, 
with an estimated cost to the nation of $64.8 billion in lost time and 
wasted fuel. In response, Americans are turning to alternative 
transportation in record numbers. The American Public Transportation 
Association estimates that Americans now take over 9 billion trips on 
transit per year, the highest level in more than 40 years. The Texas 
Transportation Institute has estimated that without transit, the 85 
urban areas they studied would have suffered an additional 1.1 billion 
hours of delay, a 27 percent increase, which would have added $18 
billion to the national cost of congestion.
  Transit benefit programs are playing a vital role in increasing 
transit ridership, which benefits both transit users and drivers. In 
1998, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century amended the 
tax code to allow financial incentives related to commuting costs for 
both employers and employees. These transit benefits allowed employers 
to offer a tax-free financial incentive toward the costs of transit 
commuting, starting at $65 per month and raised in 2005 to $105 per 
month.
  Based upon the findings of the Environmental Protection Agency and 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, there are clear improvements to 
congestion, energy efficiency, and air quality from transit benefit 
programs. According to their findings, an employer with 1,000 employees 
that participates in a combination of transit benefits, carpool, and 
telecommuting programs can take credit for taking 175 cars off the 
road, saving 44,000 gallons of gasoline per year, and cutting global 
warming pollution by 420 tons per year on average.
  In April 2000, an Executive Order was signed requiring all executive 
branch agencies in the National Capital Region to offer transit 
benefits to their employees. As a result, Federal employees commuting 
to Washington, D.C. from Montgomery, Prince George's, and Frederick 
Counties, Maryland, several counties in Northern Virginia, and as far 
away as West Virginia, are encouraged to choose transit as their means 
to get to work.
  According to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority and 
the U.S. Department of Transportation, more than 150,000 employees--
more than one-third of all Federal employees in the National Capital 
Region--joined the Federal transit benefit program created by the 
Executive Order. These program participants alone have eliminated an 
estimated 12,500 single-occupancy vehicles from Washington, D.C. area 
roads, helping to reduce congestion and improve air quality for our 
region.
  The Executive Order, however, is limited. It does not cover employees 
in the legislative and judicial branches, for example, or in dozens of 
independent agencies. While many of the employers in those 
organizations provide transit benefits to their employees, the 
implementation and level of benefit is up to the discretion of 
individual offices. As such, many of these organizations provide 
limited benefits or do not provide any benefits at all. Guaranteed 
transit benefits would give these employees more choice in their 
commuting options and provide an additional incentive to move off our 
congested roadways and onto public transit.
  Of course, such incentives will be ineffective if employees lack 
access to transit services. In my own state of Maryland, the United 
States Food and Drug Administration planned to use its own resources to 
provide a shuttle service for its employees from its new White Oak 
facility to an area Metro station. When they investigated providing 
this service, FDA officials found that the current law does not allow 
federal agencies to use their own vehicles to shuttle employees to mass 
transit stations.
  The potential impact of this restriction on regional congestion is 
not insignificant. By the middle of this year, FDA expects to have 
1,850 employees located at the new White Oak facility, and plans have 
been made to eventually house more than 7,000 FDA researchers and 
administrators at the new facility. The lack of access from FDA's new 
campus to a transit station represents a lost opportunity for reducing 
congestion, improving our environment and elevating the quality of life 
for employees.
  This type of lost opportunity occurs across the nation. Nationally, 
the Federal Government employs more than 2.6 million civilian workers 
at more than 3,000 Federal Government office buildings. At Federal 
offices throughout the country, transit use is often limited as a 
commuting option due to lack of employee access to a transit station or 
a bus stop.
  The Federal Employee Commuter Benefits Act would address both of 
these issues faced by Federal employees. First, the bill would put into 
law the Executive Order's requirement that transit pass benefits be 
made available to all qualified Federal employees in the National 
Capital Region. The bill also extends the requirement beyond executive 
branch agencies to include the legislative and judicial branches and 
the independent agencies, providing guaranteed transit benefits to 
thousands of additional federal employees in the Washington, DC region.

[[Page S5107]]

  Second, the Federal Employee Commuter Benefits Act would remove the 
restriction that prohibits a Federal agency from operating a shuttle 
service to a public transit facility. With this legislation, any 
Federal agency, anywhere in the United States, can choose to provide a 
transit shuttle service for their employees. By providing access to 
commuting alternatives, Federal agencies will be able to provide a 
benefit to their employees that can make getting to work easier, more 
affordable, and more employee-friendly. It will also provide an 
opportunity to help reduce congestion and improve air quality across 
the Nation.
  Since 1982, the U.S. population has grown 20 percent, but the time 
spent by commuters in traffic has grown by over 200 percent. Each year, 
traffic congestion wastes nine billion gallons of fuel. By encouraging 
federal employees to look to transit and by providing access to transit 
stations, we can help reduce congestion, improve the environment, and 
promote an improved quality of life.
  I am introducing the Federal Employee Commuter Benefits Act because 
of the opportunities it will give federal agencies to support public 
transportation, both by providing employee access to transit facilities 
across the nation, and by providing transit benefits to federal 
employees in the Washington, D.C. region. Both of these improvements 
will aid our efforts to fight congestion and pollution by encouraging 
the use of transportation alternatives. This legislation is strongly 
supported by federal employees, transit providers, and local elected 
officials, and I ask unanimous consent that the text of the bill, along 
with letters of support, be printed in the Record. I encourage my 
colleagues to join me in supporting the Federal Employee Commuter 
Benefits Act.
  There being no objection, the materials were ordered to be printed in 
the Record, as follows:

                                S. 1018

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Federal Employee Commuter 
     Benefits Act of 2005''.

     SEC. 2. TRANSIT PASS TRANSPORTATION FRINGE BENEFITS.

       (a) In General.--Effective as of the first day of the next 
     fiscal year beginning after the date of the enactment of this 
     Act, each covered agency shall implement a program under 
     which all qualified Federal employees serving in or under 
     such agency shall be offered transit pass transportation 
     fringe benefits, as described in subsection (b).
       (b) Benefits Described.--The benefits described in this 
     subsection are the transit pass transportation fringe 
     benefits which, under section 2 of Executive Order 13150, are 
     required to be offered by Federal agencies in the National 
     Capital Region on the date of enactment of this Act.
       (c) Definitions.--In this section--
       (1) the term ``covered agency'' means any agency, to the 
     extent of its facilities in the National Capital Region;
       (2) the term ``agency'' means any agency (as defined by 
     7905(a)(2) of title 5, United States Code), the United States 
     Postal Service, the Postal Rate Commission, and the 
     Smithsonian Institution;
       (3) the term ``National Capital Region'' includes the 
     District of Columbia and every county or other geographic 
     area covered by section 2 of Executive Order 13150;
       (4) the term ``Executive Order 13150'' refers to Executive 
     Order 13150 (5 U.S.C. 7905 note);
       (5) the term ``Federal agency'' is used in the same way as 
     under section 2 of Executive Order 13150; and
       (6) any determination as to whether or not one is a 
     ``qualified Federal employee'' shall be made applying the 
     same criteria as would apply under section 2 of Executive 
     Order 13150.
       (d) Rule of Construction.--Nothing in this section shall be 
     considered to require that a covered agency--
       (1) terminate any program or benefits in existence on the 
     date of the enactment of this Act, or postpone any plans to 
     implement (before the effective date referred to in 
     subsection (a)) any program or benefits permitted or required 
     under any other provision of law; or
       (2) discontinue (on or after the effective date referred to 
     in subsection (a)) any program or benefits referred to in 
     paragraph (1), so long as such program or benefits satisfy 
     the requirements of subsections (a) through (c).

     SEC. 3. AUTHORITY TO USE GOVERNMENT VEHICLES TO TRANSPORT 
                   FEDERAL EMPLOYEES BETWEEN THEIR PLACE OF 
                   EMPLOYMENT AND MASS TRANSIT FACILITIES.

       (a) In General.--Section 1344 of title 31, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by redesignating subsections (g) and (h) as subsections 
     (h) and (i), respectively; and
       (2) by inserting after subsection (f) the following:
       ``(g)(1) A passenger carrier may be used to transport an 
     officer or employee of a Federal agency between the officer's 
     or employee's place of employment and a mass transit facility 
     (whether or not publicly owned) in accordance with succeeding 
     provisions of this subsection.
       ``(2) Notwithstanding section 1343, a Federal agency that 
     provides transportation services under this subsection 
     (including by passenger carrier) shall absorb the costs of 
     such services using any funds available to such agency, 
     whether by appropriation or otherwise.
       ``(3) In carrying out this subsection, a Federal agency 
     shall--
       ``(A) to the maximum extent practicable, use alternative 
     fuel vehicles to provide transportation services;
       ``(B) to the extent consistent with the purposes of this 
     subsection, provide transportation services in a manner that 
     does not result in additional gross income for Federal income 
     tax purposes; and
       ``(C) coordinate with other Federal agencies to share, and 
     otherwise avoid duplication of, transportation services 
     provided under this subsection.
       ``(4) For purposes of any determination under chapter 81 of 
     title 5, an individual shall not be considered to be in the 
     `performance of duty' by virtue of the fact that such 
     individual is receiving transportation services under this 
     subsection.
       ``(5)(A) The Administrator of General Services, after 
     consultation with the National Capital Planning Commission 
     and other appropriate agencies, shall prescribe any 
     regulations necessary to carry out this subsection.
       ``(B) Transportation services under this subsection shall 
     be subject neither to the last sentence of subsection (d)(3) 
     nor to any regulations under the last sentence of subsection 
     (e)(1).
       ``(6) In this subsection, the term `passenger carrier' 
     means a passenger motor vehicle, aircraft, boat, ship, or 
     other similar means of transportation that is owned or leased 
     by the United States Government or the government of the 
     District of Columbia.''.
       (b) Funds for Maintenance, Repair, Etc.--Subsection (a) of 
     section 1344 of title 31, United States Code, is amended by 
     adding at the end the following:
       ``(3) For purposes of paragraph (1), the transportation of 
     an individual between such individual's place of employment 
     and a mass transit facility pursuant to subsection (g) is 
     transportation for an official purpose.''.
       (c) Coordination.--The authority to provide transportation 
     services under section 1344(g) of title 31, United States 
     Code (as amended by subsection (a)) shall be in addition to 
     any authority otherwise available to the agency involved.

         The American Federation of Government Employees, Local 
           12, AFL-CIO,
                                                     May 11, 2005.
     Hon. Paul Sarbanes
     U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
     Subject: H.R. 1283

       Dear Senator Sarbanes: The American Federation of 
     Government Employees (AFGE) Local 12 represents 3,600 
     employees at the U.S. Department of Labor in the Washington 
     D.C. metropolitan area.
       We appreciate very much all the work you have done on 
     behalf of Federal employees, in particular your work to 
     assist our local in our three year battle to have the monthly 
     transit subsidy raised to $100.
       We respectfully request that you sponsor and introduce in 
     the Senate a companion bill to H.R. 1283. The purpose of H.R. 
     1283 is ``To provide that transit pass transportation fringe 
     benefits be made available to all qualified Federal employees 
     in the National Capital Region; to allow passenger carriers 
     which are owned or leased by the Government to be used to 
     transport Government employees between their place of 
     employment and mass transit facilities, and for other 
     purposes.''
       H.R. 1283 was introduced by Congressman Jim Moran and is 
     co-sponsored by Representatives Eleanor Holmes Norton, Albert 
     Wynn, Chris Van Hollen, Steny Hoyer, Frank Wolf, and Earl 
     Blurnenauer. It has been referred to the House Government 
     Reform Committee.
       Passage into law of this legislation would not only help 
     employees at any Federal agency in this area where management 
     has decided, for whatever reason, not to offer the tax-free 
     maximum transit subsidy. It would also benefit the region 
     generally by giving more Federal employees the incentive to 
     use mass transit, thus helping to lessen traffic congestion 
     and air pollution.
       The membership of AFGE Local 12 passed a resolution on May 
     5 of this year in support of this kind of legislation. A copy 
     of the resolution is attached.
       Thank you very much for your consideration of this serious 
     matter.
           Respectfully yours,
                                            Lawrence C. Drake, Jr.
     President.
                                  ____


       Approved by the membership of AFGE Local 12 on May 5, 2005


               Resolution on transit subsidy legislation

       Whereas: Using mass transit is one of the most cost-
     effective, environmentally sound, and energy efficient ways 
     for Federal employees to commute to their workplaces;
       Executive Order 13150 ordered transit subsidies, now valued 
     at a maximum of $105 a

[[Page S5108]]

     month, to be made available to all executive branch 
     employees;
       Pursuant to Executive Order 13150, the number of executive 
     branch employees utilizing transit subsidies grew from 55,000 
     to 155,000 participants, reducing highway vehicle miles 
     commuted by over 40 million;
       The Washington DC metropolitan area's traffic congestion is 
     overall the country's third worst and is worse than any other 
     metropolitan area outside California;
       As the region's largest employer, the Federal government 
     has the capacity and the moral duty to significantly reduce 
     road overcrowding and its consequent pollution by providing 
     appropriate transit benefits to encourage more widespread 
     mass transit use;
       Legislation codifying transit benefits for Federal 
     employees in the Washington DC metropolitan area and 
     repealing restrictions on Federal agencies offering their 
     employees shuttle services between their offices and transit 
     centers, unanimously approved by the House Government Reform 
     Committee in the previous Congress, has been re-introduced as 
     H.R. 1283 by Rep. Jim Moran and six co-sponsors; and
       Codifying these benefits would remedy Executive Order 
     13150's lack of legal recourse against agencies willfully 
     ignoring its requirements;
       Therefore be it resolved that:
       American Federation of Government Employees Local 12 
     endorses legislation such as H.R. 1283 which codifies 
     Executive Order 13150 and repeals restrictions on Federal 
     agencies offering their employees shuttle services between 
     their offices and transit centers; and
       AFGE 12 likewise urges other organizational entities with 
     which it is affiliated in the American Federation of 
     Government Employees and the AFL-CIO to actively seek 
     enactment of such legislation.
                                  ____

                                    American Public Transportation


                                                  Association,

                                                     May 11, 2005.
     Hon. Paul S. Sarbanes,
     Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and 
         Urban Affairs, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sarbanes: On behalf of the more than 1,500 
     member organizations of the American Public Transportation 
     Association (APTA), I write to express strong support for 
     legislation you are proposing that would expand the use of 
     transit-related commuter tax benefits in the Washington, DC 
     region. This legislation will help promote the use of public 
     transportation and thereby support regional efforts to reduce 
     traffic congestion in the National Capital area. We note that 
     a recent report by the Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) 
     cited the Washington, DC metropolitan area as the third most 
     congested in the nation.
       As we understand it, your legislation would codify language 
     currently in an executive order that requires federal 
     executive branch agencies to offer to their employees transit 
     benefits equal to employee commuting costs, currently up to 
     $105 per month. The legislation would also expand the 
     eligibility of these benefits to legislative and judicial 
     branch employees in the National Capital area.
       We believe that it is important that the federal government 
     support the use of public transportation in its efforts to 
     reduce congestion, minimize auto pollution, and make the best 
     use of existing public transportation facilities that are 
     built with a substantial federal investment. APTA has been a 
     long-time proponent of providing federal tax incentives that 
     promote public transportation at no less a level than those 
     provided for parking.
       We thank you for your leadership on this issue. If you have 
     questions, please have your staff contact Rob Healy of APTA's 
     Government Affairs Department at (202) 496-4811 or e-mail 
     [email protected]. We look forward to working with you to see 
     this important legislation enacted into law.
           Sincerely yours,
                                                William W. Millar,
     President.
                                  ____



                                                        Metro,

                                                   April 15, 2005.
     Hon. Paul S. Sarbanes,
     U. S. Senate, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sarbanes: I am pleased to offer the Washington 
     Metropolitan Area Transit Authority's (WMATA) endorsement of 
     the legislation you are proposing concerning federal employee 
     commuter benefits. This legislation is very important in 
     supporting regional efforts to use every feasible technique 
     to reduce the severe traffic congestion in the National 
     Capital Region.
       The recently released Texas Transportation Institute (TTI) 
     report on congestion cites the metropolitan Washington region 
     as the third most congested in the nation, despite intense 
     transit use by commuters in this area.
       The TTI report cites a number of strategies that help to 
     reduce congestion and the cost of delay to the residents of 
     the region. For the Washington metropolitan area, the TTI 
     report indicates that transit services currently save the 
     metropolitan area more than $1 billion annually in delay 
     costs and over 52 percent of current delay time. The 
     metropolitan Washington region is fifth in the nation in 
     terms of the hours of delay saved because of the public 
     transportation network. The TTI report demonstrates the 
     positive effects of transit services on reducing traffic 
     congestion in the Washington metropolitan area. With the 
     unrelentless traffic in this region, it is critical that 
     transit ridership continues to grow to relieve road 
     congestion.
       It's essential that the federal government as the region's 
     largest employer, employing more than 374,000 people in this 
     area, give employees every incentive to take transit. The 
     tremendously successful transit benefits program, known in 
     this area as Metrochek, is currently required to be offered 
     to civilian and military employees of the Executive Branch 
     and voluntarily provided by the U.S. House and Senate and 
     several independent agencies. Since the imposition of 
     Executive Order 13150 on October 1, 2000, the number of 
     federal employees receiving transit benefits has increased 
     166 percent, from 57,000 to 151,800 and 47 percent of 
     Metrorail's peak period riders are federal employees--up from 
     35 percent in the mid 1980s.
       Your proposal will codify the federal employees transit 
     benefit and expand its eligibility to judicial, legislative 
     and independent agency employees in the National Capital 
     Region. While some of these agencies already participate in 
     the Metrochek program, this legislation ensures that 
     participation will be uniform across all three branches of 
     the federal government.
       WMATA also supports the proposal to authorize the 
     establishment of federal agency shuttles to and from mass 
     transit facilities. While many federal agencies throughout 
     the region are within walking distance of Metrorail stations, 
     and other transit facilities, some are not. This legislation 
     will make transit accessible to many federal workers for whom 
     transit is not currently a viable alternative because their 
     work site is not convenient to a Metro station.
       Many thanks for your leadership in proposing this 
     legislation. It is another example in a long list of 
     initiatives you have sponsored to promote public 
     transportation in the National Capital Region and the nation.
           Sincerely,
                                                 Richard A. White,
     General Manager and Chief Executive Officer.
                                  ____

                                                     May 12, 2005.
     Hon. Paul Sarbanes, 
     Ranking Member, Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and 
         Urban Affairs, Washington, DC.
       Dear Senator Sarbanes: I am writing to you to express the 
     support of the Virginia Railway Express for your efforts to 
     reintroduce legislation that would provide transit pass 
     transportation fringe benefits to all qualified Federal 
     employees in the National Capital region. As someone who has 
     always been an advocate for the promotion of public 
     transportation and the mobility it affords the citizenry, we 
     are fortunate to have you as the Ranking Member of the Senate 
     Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, which 
     oversees mass transit programs.
       As you have witnessed, increased federal investment in 
     transit under TEA 21 has led to dramatic growth in public 
     transportation ridership, particularly in the National 
     Capital Region. The Virginia Railway Express is a prime 
     example of that growth, with ridership increasing by 17% each 
     year for the past four years, making us one of the fastest 
     growing commuter railroads in America. Nearly 64% of our 
     ridership is comprised of federal and/or military employees 
     working in the region.
       Currently, transit benefits are offered to a select core of 
     federal employees under Executive Order 13150. The benefit is 
     limited to the executive branch agencies with no requirement 
     for participation by the legislative and judicial branches. 
     Such legislation would codify transit benefits to all 
     eligible federal employees by broadening the scope of 
     participation to another 100,000 workers, thus providing 
     greater flexibility and mobility for the federal work force 
     in the region.
       Your legislation is significant not only because it affords 
     greater options to our federal workforce, but also because 
     the use of public transit is the only recourse to help 
     relieve the growing problem of traffic congestion in the 
     region. For instance, today VRE transports enough people to 
     remove more than one lane of traffic off of I-95 and I-66 
     during peak commuting rush hours in the morning and the 
     evening. Not only does it reduce car emissions; thus 
     improving air quality, but also ensures that the federal and 
     private workforce can get to work in a timely fashion; thus 
     saving millions of dollars for employers. The passage of this 
     legislation would only increase these benefits to our region.
       In conclusion, let me again thank you for all the support 
     that you have given to public transportation over the years 
     and for authoring this much needed legislation. I hope that 
     with your direct involvement that we will be successful in 
     seeing this measure signed into law.
           Sincerely,
                                                      Dale Zehner,
                                          Chief Executive Officer.
                                 ______