[Senate Report 106-107]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]



                                                       Calendar No. 207
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    106-107
_______________________________________________________________________






                     NHTSA AUTHORIZATION INCREASE

                               __________

                              R E P O R T

                                 of the

                  COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND

                             TRANSPORTATION

                                   on

                                S. 1248

 


                 July 14, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                               __________

                    U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
69-010                     WASHINGTON : 1999

       SENATE COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION
                       one hundred sixth congress
                             first session

                     JOHN McCAIN, Arizona, Chairman
TED STEVENS, Alaska                  ERNEST F. HOLLINGS, South Carolina
CONRAD BURNS, Montana                DANIEL K. INOUYE, Hawaii
SLADE GORTON, Washington             JOHN D. ROCKEFELLER IV, West 
TRENT LOTT, Mississippi                  Virginia
KAY BAILEY HUTCHISON, Texas          JOHN F. KERRY, Massachusetts
OLYMPIA SNOWE, Maine                 JOHN B. BREAUX, Louisiana
JOHN ASHCROFT, Missouri              RICHARD H. BRYAN, Nevada
BILL FRIST, Tennessee                BYRON L. DORGAN, North Dakota
SPENCER ABRAHAM, Michigan            RON WYDEN, Oregon
SAM BROWNBACK, Kansas                MAX CLELAND, Georgia
                       Mark Buse, Staff Director
                  Martha P. Allbright, General Counsel
     Ivan A. Schlager, Democratic Chief Counsel and Staff Director
               Kevin D. Kayes, Democratic General Counsel

                                  (ii)

                                                       Calendar No. 207
106th Congress                                                   Report
                                 SENATE
 1st Session                                                    106-107

======================================================================



 
                      NHTSA AUTHORIZATION INCREASE
                                _______
                                

                 July 14, 1999.--Ordered to be printed

                                _______


       Mr. McCain, from the Committee on Commerce, Science, and 
                Transportation, submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                         [To accompany S. 1248]

    The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to 
which was referred the bill (S. 1248) ``A Bill to correct 
errors in the authorizations of certain programs administered 
by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration'', having 
considered the same, reports favorably thereon without 
amendment and recommends that the bill do pass.

                          Purpose of the Bill

  The purpose of the bill is to increase the National Highway 
Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) authorization level for 
fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the motor vehicle safety 
programs under Chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, and 
the motor vehicle information programs under Part C of Subtitle 
VI of title 49, United States Code.

                          Background and Needs

  NHTSA was established by the Highway Safety Act of 1970 (23 
U.S.C. 401 note) to carry out a Congressional mandate to reduce 
the number of deaths, injuries, and economic losses resulting 
from automobile accidents on the Nation's highways. The agency 
operates programs relating to the safety performance of motor 
vehicles and related equipment. It also provides leadership and 
technical assistance to States and local communities in their 
efforts to develop and implement effective highway safety 
programs.
  During the 105th Congress, the Committee considered and 
favorably reported the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st 
Century (TEA-21; P.L. 105-178 as amended by P.L. 105-206). Part 
of TEA-21 reauthorized NHTSA setting the authorization levels 
for the motor vehicle safety and the motor vehicle information 
programs for fiscal years 1999 through 2001. The Committee 
authorized these programs at the requested amounts of 
approximately $81.2 million annually for motor vehicle safety 
programs and $6.2 million annually for motor vehicle 
information programs, a total of $87.4 million annually.
  However, it was later discovered that the amounts requested 
were below the President's budget request. The President's 
budget increased funding for both programs to an annual total 
of $99.8 million for fiscal years 1999 through 2001. 
Transportation Secretary Slater wrote to the Committee noting 
the error and requested an authorization increase to the level 
requested by the President. Chairman McCain and the ranking 
member, Senator Hollings, introduced legislation to increase 
the authorization to the requested amounts, but the Committee 
failed to take up the measure before the close of the 105th 
Congress.
  During the 106th Congress, after receiving a letter from 
Chairman McCain about this matter, Secretary Slater renewed the 
administration's request for an increased authorization. This 
year the administration requested even more funding, seeking a 
total of $116 million for motor vehicle safety programs and 
motor vehicle information programs.
  In a subsequent letter to the Committee, Dr. Ricardo 
Martinez, NHTSA Administrator, warned that the agency would be 
unable to fully fund several important programs without the 
additional authorization. Primary among his concerns is an 
effort to bolster the agency's safety research programs. The 
increase will allow NHTSA to increase its study of crashes 
involving vehicles equipped with advanced air bag systems. 
NHTSA will also begin a comprehensive program to assess the 
injury risk of various side air bag designs to children and 
small adults seated out of position. Biomechanics research 
programs will also benefit as NHTSA develops a new family of 
crash test dummies to evaluate new injury potentials. Finally, 
NHTSA informs the Committee that some of the additional 
authorized funds will support the New Car Assessment Program 
(NCAP). NCAP provides consumers with crashworthiness data on 
passenger motor vehicles. The additional authorization, if 
funded, would allow the agency to test more models of cars 
providing consumers with greater information.
  The House Commerce Committee recently reported H.R. 2035, a 
measure increasing the authorization levels for these program 
to an annual total of $107.9 million, slightly below the 
Administration's request. The Committee recognizes the need to 
increase NHTSA's authorization levels for both the motor 
vehicle safety program and the motor vehicle information 
program. The Committee also realizes that we are near the end 
of the appropriations process for fiscal year 2000. In an 
effort to quickly provide the additional authority, the 
Committee accedes to the House funding levels included in H.R. 
2035. The Committee believes this authorizes a significant 
increase in funding to the agency that will help to fund many 
of the agency's programs.

                      Summary of Major Provisions

  S. 1248 would increase NHTSA's authorization level for fiscal 
years 2000 and 2001 for the motor vehicle safety programs and 
the motor vehicle information programs. Specifically, it would 
increase the safety programs from approximately $81.2 million 
to $98.3 million and the information programs from 
approximately $6.2 million to $9.7 million.

                          Legislative History

  Chairman McCain and the ranking member, Senator Hollings, 
introduced S. 1248 on June 21, 1999. The Committee did not hold 
hearings on the bill. The Committee reported S. 1248 on June 
23, 1999. It is similar to S. 2581 also introduced by Chairman 
McCain and Senator Hollings at the close of last Congress.

                            Estimated Costs

  In accordance with paragraph 11(a) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate and section 403 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee provides the 
following cost estimate, prepared by the Congressional Budget 
Office:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, June 29, 1999.
Hon. John McCain,
Chairman, Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, U.S. 
        Senate, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1248, a bill to 
correct errors in the authorizations of certain programs 
administered by the National Highway Traffic Administration.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is James 
O'Keeffe.
            Sincerely,
                                          Barry B. Anderson
                                    (For Dan L. Crippen, Director).
    Enclosure.

               congressional budget office cost estimate

S. 1248--A bill to correct errors in the authorizations of certain 
        programs administered by the National Highway Traffic 
        Administration

    Summary: S. 1248 would increase the authorization of 
appropriations for the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration's (NHTSA's) motor vehicle safety and information 
programs from a total of about $87 million to about $108 
million for each of fiscal years 2000 and 2001. These two 
programs were authorized at the current levels of $81 million 
and $6 million, respectively, in the Transportation Equity Act 
for the 21st Century (Public Law 105-178).
    Assuming appropriation of authorized amounts, CBO estimates 
that implementing S. 1248 would result in additional 
discretionary spending of about $40 million over the 2000-2004 
period, relative to the amounts authorized under current law. 
S. 1248 would not affect direct spending or receipts; 
therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures would not apply. The bill 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA) and would 
impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
    Estimated Cost to the Federal Government: The estimated 
budgetary impact of S. 1248 is shown in the following table. 
For the purposes of this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1248 
will be enacted by the end of fiscal year 1999 and that the 
authorized amounts will be appropriated for each year. 
Estimated outlays are based on historical spending patterns for 
the two affected programs. The costs of this legislation fall 
within budget function 400 (transportation).

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                               By fiscal year, in millions of dollars--
                                                     -----------------------------------------------------------
                                                        1999      2000      2001      2002      2003      2004
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                        SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION

Spending Under Current Law:
    Authorization Level\1\..........................        87        87        87         0         0         0
    Estimated Outlays...............................        82        89        90        37        13         4
Proposed Changes:
    Authorization Level.............................         0        20        20         0         0         0
    Estimated Outlays...............................         0        12        17         7         3         1
Spending Under S. 1248:
    Authorization Level.............................        87       108       108         0         0         0
    Estimated Outlays...............................        82       101       107        44        16         5
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
\1\ The 1999 level is the amount appropriated for that year for NHTSA's motor vehicle safety and information
  programs. Public Law 105-178 authorized the same amount for 2000 and 2001.

    Pay-as-you-go considerations: None.
    Intergovernmental and private-sector impact: S. 1248 
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as 
defined in UMRA and would not affect the budgets of state, 
local, or tribal governments.
    Previous CBO estimate: On June 24, 1999, CBO prepared a 
cost estimate for H.R. 2035, an identical bill ordered reported 
by the House Committee on Commerce on June 10, 1999. The two 
cost estimates are identical.
    Estimate prepared by: James O'Keeffe.
    Estimate approved by: Robert A. Sunshine, Deputy Assistant 
Director for Budget Analysis.

                      Regulatory Impact Statement

  In accordance with paragraph 11(b) of rule XXVI of the 
Standing Rules of the Senate, the Committee provides the 
following evaluation of the regulatory impact of the 
legislation, as reported:

          Because S. 1248 does not create any new programs, the 
        legislation will have no additional regulatory impact, 
        and will result in no additional reporting 
        requirements. The legislation will have no further 
        effect on the number or types of individuals and 
        businesses regulated, the economic impact of such 
        regulation, the personal privacy of affected 
        individuals, or the paperwork required from such 
        individuals and businesses.

                       Number of Persons Covered

  The bill as reported would authorize appropriations for NHTSA 
for fiscal years 2000 and 2001. Therefore, the number of 
persons covered should be consistent with current levels.

                            Economic Impact

  The bill as reported would authorize appropriations for NHTSA 
for fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the motor vehicle safety 
programs at $98.3 million and the motor vehicle information 
programs at $9.7 million.

                                Privacy

  The bill as reported would have no adverse impact on the 
personal privacy of individuals affected.

                               Paperwork

  The paperwork requirements associated with the bill as 
reported are minimal.

                      Section-by-Section Analysis


Section 1. Amendments to title 49, United States Code

  This section increases the authorization level for each of 
the fiscal years 2000 and 2001 for the motor vehicle safety 
programs under chapter 301 of title 49, United States Code, by 
17,113,500 to a total of $98,313,500 for each year. It also 
increases the level for the motor vehicle information programs 
under part C of subtitle VI of title 49, United States Code, by 
$3,362,500 to a total of $9,562,500 for the same period.

                        Changes in Existing Law

  In compliance with paragraph 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing 
Rules of the Senate, changes in existing law made by the bill, 
as reported, are shown as follows (existing law proposed to be 
omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new material is printed 
in italic, existing law in which no change is proposed is shown 
in roman):

                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

             Subtitle VI. Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs

                            PART A--GENERAL

                   CHAPTER 301--MOTOR VEHICLE SAFETY


                         Subchapter I--General


Sec. 30104. Authorization of appropriations

  There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
[$81,200,000] $98,313,500 for the National Highway Traffic 
Safety Administration to carry out this part in each fiscal 
year beginning in fiscal year 1999 and ending in fiscal year 
2001.

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                        TITLE 49--TRANSPORTATION

             Subtitle VI--Motor Vehicle and Driver Programs

            PART C--INFORMATION, STANDARDS, AND REQUIREMENTS

                          CHAPTER 321--GENERAL


Sec. 32102. Authorization of appropriations

  There is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary 
[$6,200,000] $9,562,500 for the National Highway Traffic Safety 
Administration to carry out this part in each fiscal year 
beginning in fiscal year 1999 and ending in fiscal year 2001.

                                 
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