[Senate Report 107-121]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 275
107th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 107-121
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EMERGENCY TRANSPORTATION FUNDING FOR DISASTER RELIEF
_______
December 10, 2001.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Jeffords, from the Committee on Environment and Public Works,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[to accompany S. 1637]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Environment and Public Works, to which was
referred a bill (S. 1637), a bill to waive certain limitations
in the case of use of the emergency fund authorized by section
125 of title 23, United States Code, to pay the costs of
projects in response to the attack on the World Trade Center in
New York City that occurred on September 11, 2001, having
considered the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends
that the bill do pass.
Background
Title 23, Section 125 of the U.S. Code authorizes the
Secretary of Transportation to administer emergency highway
relief funds. The Secretary administers emergency funds for the
repair or reconstruction of highways on Federal-aid highways
and related facilities damaged by a natural disaster or an
externally-caused catastrophic failure.
Title 23 currently limits emergency relief expenditures
from a ``single catastrophic failure in a State'' to $100
million, and further limits total emergency relief obligations
to $100 million per State per fiscal year. The World Trade
Center collapse severely damaged many city and State roads in
lower Manhattan. Excess weight trucks removing debris from the
site have damaged regional highways. Additionally, for security
purposes New York City closed the Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel for a
time. During the closure, substitute ferry service, eligible
for Title 23 emergency funding, ran between Brooklyn and
Manhattan. The combined eligible highway and ferry expenses
attributable to the September 11th terrorist attack on New York
City may exceed $100 million.
Title 23 also limits the Federal share of authorized repair
and reconstruction costs to 100 percent during the first 180
days following a disaster and 80 percent thereafter. The tragic
events of September 11th left a mountain of debris and damaged
and inaccessible roads. Before the work of rebuilding lower
Manhattan can begin, crews must remove over a million tons of
debris from the site, a process that will likely take more than
a year. Physical reconstruction of destroyed buildings and
roads is most likely years away.
The committee anticipates that the Secretary will use
existing guidelines to determine eligibility for section 125
emergency funds.
Section-by-Section Analysis
Section 1. Expenditures for Emergency Relief in Response to Terrorist
Attack
Summary
Section 1 allows for 100 percent Federal share for Title 23
projects undertaken in New York City in response to the World
Trade Center attacks and allows the Secretary of Transportation
to exceed the emergency funding caps per fiscal year and per
State in helping to rebuild New York City.
Discussion
S. 1637 would expand the Federal Highway Administration's
emergency relief program to fund certain road projects
following the attack on the World Trade Center. The bill
provides relief from Title 23, section 125(d) limits on
emergency relief highway funds. Notwithstanding Title 23
limitations, the bill allows for 100 percent Federal share for
repair and reconstruction of Federal-aid highways, even those
expenditures after the first 180 days. Also, S. 1637 allows the
Secretary to obligate more than $100 million in a fiscal year
and to obligate more than $100 million to New York for projects
associated with the September 11th attack. These provisions are
necessary due to the enormity of the attack and the expected
time and cost of repairs in New York City.
Legislative History
Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton introduced S. 1637 on
November 6, 2001. The Senate Committee on Environment and
Public Works voted to report the bill on November 8, 2001.
Hearings
On November 8, 2001, the committee met to consider S. 1637,
a bill to waive certain limitations in the case of use of the
emergency fund authorized by section 125 of title 23, United
States Code, to pay the costs of projects in response to the
attack on the World Trade Center in New York City that occurred
on September 11, 2001, receiving testimony from to waive
certain limitations in the case of use of the emergency fund
authorized by section 125 of title 23, United States Code, to
pay the costs of projects in response to the attack on the
World Trade Center in New York City that occurred on September
11, 2001
Rollcall Votes
The Committee on Environment and Public Works met to
consider S. 1637 on November 8, 2001, and reported S. 1637 by
voice vote.
Regulatory Impact Statement
In compliance with section 11(b) of rule XXVI of the
Standing Rules of the Senate, the committee makes evaluation of
the regulatory impact of the reported bill.
The bill does not create any additional regulatory burdens,
nor will it cause any adverse impact on the personal privacy of
individuals.
Mandates Assessment
In compliance with the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act of 1995
(Public Law 104-4), the committee finds that S. 1637 would
impose no unfunded mandates on local, State, or tribal
governments.
Cost of Legislation
Section 403 of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment
control Act requires that a statement of the cost of the
reported bill, prepared by the Congressional Budget Office, be
included in the report. That statement follows:
U.S. Congress,
Congressional Budget Office,
Washington, DC, November 19, 2001.
Hon. James Jeffords, Chairman,
Committee on Environment and Public Works,
U.S. Senate, Washington, DC.
Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has prepared
the enclosed cost estimate for S. 1637, a bill a bill to waive
certain limitations in the case of use of the emergency fund
authorized by section 125 of title 23, United States Code, to
pay the costs of projects in response to the attack on the
World Trade Center in New York City that occurred on September
11, 2001.
If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Rachel
Milberg, who can be reached at 226-2860.
Sincerely,
Dan L. Crippen
----------
S. 1637, a bill to waive certain limitations in the case of use of the
emergency fund authorized by section 125 of title 23, United
States Code, to pay the costs of projects in response to the
attack on the World Trade Center in New York City that occurred
on September 11, 2001, as ordered reported by the Senate
Committee on Environment and Public Works on November 8, 2001
SUMMARY
S. 1637 would expand the Federal Highway Administration's
(FHWA's) Emergency Relief program to fund certain road projects
following the attacks on the World Trade Center on September
11, 2001. The bill would waive the requirement for the State of
New York to pay a certain percentage of the projects' costs; it
would waive the limitation on the amount of funding provided to
New York from the Emergency Relief program; and it would
increase the program's total authorization level. The Emergency
Relief program is run by FHWA as part of the Federal-Aid
Highways program.
CBO estimates that enacting S. 1637 would increase direct
spending by $75 million over the 2002-2004 period. Because S.
1637 would affect direct spending, pay-as-you-go procedures
would apply.
S. 1637 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. The bill would benefit New York City by raising
the limit on the amount
of money available from highway emergency funds for
projects arising from the September 11, 2001, attack on the
World Trade Center.
ESTIMATED COST TO THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT
The estimated budgetary impact of S. 1637 is shown in the
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within
budget function 400 (transportation).
By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006
------------------------------------------------------------------------
DIRECT SPENDING
FHWA Emergency Relief...........
Spending Under Current Law......
Estimated Budget Authority.. 100 100 100 100 100
Estimated Outlays........... 109 105 103 101 100
Proposed changes................
Estimated Budget Authority.. 75 0 0 0 0
Estimated Outlays........... 30 30 15 0 0
FHWA Emergency Relief...........
Spending Under S. 1637..........
Estimated Budget Authority.. 175 100 100 100 100
Estimated Outlays........... 139 135 118 101 100
------------------------------------------------------------------------
BASIS OF ESTIMATE
For this estimate, CBO assumes that S. 1637 will be enacted
by the end of this calendar year. Current law authorizes an
indefinite amount of contract authority (a mandatory form of
budget authority), and $100 million in obligation authority for
the Emergency Relief program each year (budget authority is
assumed to equal obligation authority for the program). S. 1637
would allow the use of additional contract authority for
certain projects in New York by allowing FHWA to exceed the
$100 million obligation limitation for this purpose.
Based on information from FHWA, CBO estimates that road
projects in New York that would be eligible for funding under
the bill would cost $75 million over the next three years.
These projects would include managing traffic, building a
temporary road and hauling debris, repairing State Route 9A on
the west side of the World Trade Center, and surface repairs to
other roads close to the World Trade Center.
PAY-AS-YOU-GO CONSIDERATIONS
The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act sets
up pay-as-you-go procedures for legislation affecting direct
spending or receipts. The net changes in outlays that are
subject to pay-as-you-go procedures are shown in the following
table. For the purposes of enforcing pay-as-you-go procedures,
only the effects in the budget year and the succeeding four
years are counted.
By Fiscal Year, in Millions of Dollars
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
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Changes in outlays........................ 30 30 15 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Changes in receipts....................... N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A N/A
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INTERGOVERNMENTAL AND PRIVATE-SECTOR IMPACT
S. 1637 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on State,
local, or tribal governments. The bill would benefit New York
City by raising the limit on the amount available from highway
emergency funds for projects arising from the September 11,
2001, attack on the World Trade Center.
Estimate Prepared By: Federal Costs: Rachel Milberg; Impact on
State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Susan Sieg Tompkins;
Impact on the Private Sector: Jean Talarico.
Estimate Approved By: Peter H. Fontaine, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
Changes in Existing Law
Section 12 of rule XXVI of the Standing Rules of the
Senate, provides that reports to the Senate should show changes
in existing law made by the bill as reported. Passage of this
bill will make no changes to existing law.