    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: William J. Clinton (1998, Book I)]
    [June 9, 1998]
    [Pages 924-926]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Statement on Signing the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century
    June 9, 1998

        Today I am pleased to sign into law H.R. 2400, the ``Transportation
    Equity Act for the 21st Century.'' This comprehensive infrastructure
    measure for our surface transportation programs--highway, highway
    safety, and transit--retains the core programs and builds on the
    initiatives established in the landmark Intermodal Surface
    Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991.
        This Act achieves our transportation goals while maintaining fiscal
    discipline. My Administration worked with the conferees to eliminate
    excessive funding that would have undermined key Administration
    priorities for the environment, child care, and education. The resulting
    compromise, which is paid for with real offsets, funds a record level of
    guaranteed transportation investment while preserving the budget surplus
    for Social Security first. The Act also includes a new budget method for
    surface transportation programs, ensuring that certain transportation
    authorizations may not be reduced in order to increase spending for
    nontransportation purposes. I support this change.
        I am deeply disappointed, however, that H.R. 2400 fails to include
    language that would help to establish 0.08 percent blood alcohol
    concentration (BAC) as the standard for drunk driving in each of the 50
    States. The experience of States that have adopted the 0.08 blood
    alcohol level shows that this stringent measure against drunk driving
    has the potential, when applied nationwide, to save hundreds of lives
    each year. Applying 0.08 nationwide is an important cornerstone of our
    safety efforts. My Administration will continue to fight for it. In the
    meantime, H.R. 2400 does establish a new $500

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    million incentive program encouraging the States to adopt tough 0.08 BAC
    laws.
        I am pleased that H.R. 2400 adopts two complementary programs to
    further increase seat belt use: (1) a $500 million incentive program
    based on the medical cost savings to the Federal Government from
    increased seat belt use; and (2) an $83 million program that targets
    specific State laws and programs to increase seat belt and child safety
    seat use. The Act also promotes safety by adopting my Administration's
    proposal to restructure the motor carrier safety program. These
    provisions will allow the States to invest in areas where they determine
    the greatest safety payoff can be achieved. The Act strengthens Federal
    and State enforcement tools, provides innovative approaches to improving
    motor carrier compliance, and enhances the information systems that
    support motor carrier safety activities.
        The Act also ensures an appropriate balance between highway and
    transit spending. The share of guaranteed funding allocated to transit
    will increase from 17 percent this year to 20 percent in 2002. This Act
    also includes several provisions that are based on Administration
    proposals. It creates a new grant program to promote greater cooperation
    among transit, labor, and health services, and assists social services
    recipients in gaining greater access to jobs and training opportunities.
    It gives local transit operators the flexibility to use capital funds
    for preventive maintenance and for compliance with the Americans with
    Disabilities Act. It helps level the playing field between employer-
    provided parking benefits and transit/vanpool benefits, giving transit
    and vanpool benefits comparable treatment to parking benefits provided
    under the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997.
        This Act represents the only significant environmental legislation
    enacted thus far during this session of the Congress, and I am very
    pleased that it supports my environmental and natural resource program
    priorities. As I requested, the Act increases funding levels for key
    environmental programs to help communities meet national standards for
    clean air and support environmental enhancements to our surface
    transportation system. The Act also provides for a streamlined
    environmental review process for highway projects. In this regard, my
    Administration will ensure that the fundamental protections of the
    National Environmental Policy Act, which include environmental
    protection, public participation, and collaborative decisionmaking, are
    not compromised. The Act also increases funding for roads that serve
    Federal lands, helping to address construction and maintenance needs for
    our national parks, forests, refuges, and Tribal lands.
        I am also pleased that the Act extends the ethanol tax incentives
    through 2007. These are commonsense investments that will help protect
    air quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and create new economic
    opportunity for farmers.
        I continue to oppose strongly, however, the use of legislative
    riders on authorization or appropriation bills to address substantive
    environmental issues. Unfortunately, in the final hours of conference
    negotiations, efforts were made to add a variety of provisions that
    would have undermined environmental protection, and that were never
    debated or voted on during House or Senate consideration of the bill.
    Most such provisions were ultimately removed, although certain
    objectionable riders remain in the bill. For example, one rider could
    open the way for the use of motorized vehicles for portages in the
    Boundary Waters Canoe Area wilderness in Minnesota. A second rider
    provides funding for the consideration of a new transportation route
    into the heart of the Denali National Park and Preserve in Alaska. I
    view the addition of these kinds of riders as an abuse of the
    legislative process. I call on the Congress to renounce this practice in
    the future and pursue environmental legislation through the regular
    authorization process with open debate and appropriate public scrutiny.
        I am very pleased that H.R. 2400 continues the Disadvantaged
    Business Enterprise Program contained in previous statutes. This program
    has provided an opportunity for small, disadvantaged businesses to
    compete in highway and transit contracting undertaken with Federal
    funding. The Act also continues vital labor protections for America's
    transportation and construction workers.
        The Act establishes a strategic planning process to determine
    national research and technology priorities and provides substantial
    funding for new and improved transportation technologies. It protects
    underground utilities, such as pipelines and fiber-optic cables, that
    transport critical energy supplies and information necessary to keep
    America's economy strong.

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        I am troubled by the many hundreds of special interest highway
    projects funded in this Act. I would have preferred a ``cleaner'' bill,
    with funds provided to States for projects of their choosing. Project
    selection decisions should be a State responsibility.
        I would also have preferred a stronger program to support
    implementation of a key Federal responsibility--control of our Nation's
    borders. My Administration will work with the Congress to secure
    additional funds, within existing highway funding totals, to ensure that
    the Government has the technology and infrastructure in place to
    expedite cross-border traffic while continuing our vital efforts to stop
    contraband, including illegal drugs, from entering our country.
        I am pleased that H.R. 2400 adopts the low student loan interest
    rate that the Vice President proposed in February on behalf of our
    Administration. I have serious concerns, however, about the subsidies
    that the Act would force taxpayers to pay to lenders on top of the
    payments made by borrowers. It is critical that we move toward a system
    that relies on market pressures, not political pressures, in setting
    subsidies for lenders and intermediaries. My Administration is committed
    to working with the Congress on a long-term, mutually acceptable
    solution that moves toward a market-based mechanism for determining
    lender returns.
        Regrettably and unintentionally, H.R. 2400 contains a number of
    technical errors related to veterans benefits and important highway
    safety programs. I urge the Congress to complete action on and send me
    promptly the House-passed technical corrections bill, H.R. 3978, which
    addresses these concerns.
        The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century represents a
    significant achievement in our efforts to meet our transportation needs
    in the next century. I commend the Congress for its diligent, bipartisan
    efforts to resolve differences and to pass this important legislation.

                                                          William J. Clinton

    The White House,

    June 9, 1998.

    Note: H.R. 2400, approved June 9, was assigned Public Law No. 105-178.