FINAL CLEARANCE -- 9:30AM Wed 6/23 DEADLINE -- DRAFT SAP -- HR 2084 -- DoT

      Attached for your sign-off is a draft House Floor SAP for H.R. 2084 --
Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill,
FYOO. HR 2084 is scheduled to go to the House floor for consideration at
10:00AM Wed., June 23. This draft SAP is virtually identical to the House
Rules SAP sent last week.  The only change is the addition of the last
bullet (in Bold) relating to the air traffic control report ianguage which
the Administration signed last year.

Due to the short timeframe we have to clear this draft, we are doing a
simultaneous clearance.   please provide your sign-off and/or comments no
later than 9:30AM Tues.  Thank you!

DRAFT NOT FOR RELEASE

June   ,1999

(House Floor)




H.R. 2084, DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
     AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, FY 2000
(Sponsors:  Young (R), Florida; Wolf (R), Virginia)


        This Statement of Administration Policy provides the
AdministrationD,s views on the Transportation and Related Agencies
Appropriations Bill, FY 2000, as reported by the House Appropriations
Committee. Your consideration of the AdministrationD,s views would be
appreciated.

        The Administration appreciates the CommitteeD,s efforts to
accommodate many of the AdministrationD,s priorities within its 302(b)
allocation, particularly the funding provided for Amtrak.  However, the
Administration is concerned about some of the choices made necessary by
this allocation.

        The PresidentD,s FY 2000 Budget proposes levels of discretionary
spending that meet important national needs while conforming to the
Bipartisan Budget Agreement by making savings proposals in mandatory and
other programs available to help finance vital spending needs.  Congress
has approved and the President has signed into law nearly $29 billion of
such offsets in appropriations legislation since 1995. The Administration
urges the Congress to consider such proposals as the FY 2000
appropriations process moves forward.

        The Administration proposes to meet important transportation
safety, mobility, and environmental requirements by reallocating a portion
of the increased spending permitted by higher-than-anticipated highway
excise taxes.  Under this proposal, every State would receive at least as
much funding as was assumed when the Transportation Equity Act for the
21st Century was enacted. Last year, Congress chose to reallocate limited
funding within the highway D&guarantee.D8 The House is encouraged to build
upon this by enacting the AdministrationD,s proposal as a means to fund
these important priorities.

        The Administration is concerned that the Committee bill could
compromise the Federal Aviation AdministrationD,s (FAAD,s) operations and
modernization programs, reduce highway and motor carrier safety, and
under-fund other important programs.  The House could partially
accommodate the funding increases recommended below by adhering more
closely to the PresidentD,s request for the Airport Improvement Program,
High Speed Rail, Coast Guard Alteration of Bridges, Coast Guard capital
improvements, and other programs.

         The Committee is commended for permitting transit discretionary
grants to be allocated according to the needs-based formula agreed to in
the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, instead of arbitrarily
restricting individual StatesD, funding.   The Committee is commended for
not prematurely encouraging the closure of Coast Guard training facilities
without regard to the results of the ongoing Coast Guard review as to the
best use of those facilities.

        The following highlights our specific concerns with the committee
bill.

Aviation Safety and Modernization

        The Administration strongly urges the House to fully fund the
AdministrationD,s request for FAA Operations.  The $114 million, or
two-percent, reduction made by the Committee would force the FAA to close
low-level towers, defer hiring of safety and security personnel needed to
meet the demands of increased air travel, and possibly slow air travel.
The Administration is concerned with the Committee's reduction of $6.6
million in FAA's request for rental payments to the General Services


Administration.  Since rent is a mandatory payment, FAA would have to
reduce operating spending further to absorb this reduction.

        The House is also urged to restore the $119 million, or
five-percent, reduction to the FAA Facilities and Equipment account.   The
CommitteeD,s funding level could undermine our National Airspace System
modernization program. Safety projects as well as critically-needed
capacity enhancing projects would be delayed, increasing future air travel
delays.  For example, the Administration urges the House to provide the
requested $17 million in critically-needed funding to ensure timely
implementation of a Global Positioning System (GPS) modernization plan
that will help enable transition to a more efficient, GPS-based air
navigation system.

        The Administration supports the CommitteeD,s decision to eliminate
the General Fund subsidy for FAA Operations but urges the Congress to
enact a user fee system to finance the agency. Such a system would
improve the FAAD,s efficiency and effectiveness by creating new incentives
for it to operate in a business-like
manner.

Motor Carrier Safety

        The Secretary of Transportation recently announced a comprehensive
Motor Carrier Safety Action Plan to implement much-needed improvements in
truck safety. The need for these improvements has been recognized by the
Appropriations Committee and Congress overall, the Department of
Transportation Inspector General, and an independent assessment conducted
by former Congressman Mineta. The House is urged to provide the
additional $50 million for the National Motor Carrier Safety Grant program
to undertake the improvements in enforcement, research, and data
activities designed to increase safety on our NationD,s roads and highways.


Highway Safety

        The Administration is concerned that the committee has provided
$36 million less than the President has requested for the National Highway
Traffic Safety AdministrationD,s Operations and Research account.  This
funding reduction would limit important research activities on advanced
air bags, crash worthiness, and the enhanced testing proposed in the New
Car Assessment program to make better car safety information available to
the public.

CAFE Standards

        The Administration strongly opposes, and urges the House to drop,
the prohibition of work on the corporate average fuel economy (CAFE)
standards. These standards have resulted in a doubling of the fuel economy
of the car fleet, saving the nation billions of gallons of oil and the
consumer billions of dollars.   Because prohibitions such as this have
been enacted in recent years, the Department of Transportation has been
unable to fully analyze this important issue. These prohibitions have
limited the availability of important information that directly influences
the Nation's environment.

Amtrak

        The Committee is commended for funding Amtrak at $571 million, the
PresidentD,s requested level and the level called for in Amtrak's


"glidepath" to self-sufficiency, and providing Amtrak with the flexibility
to spend capital funds wisely by adopting for Amtrak the same definition
of capital as used by transit grantees. The Administration would oppose
efforts to fund Amtrak below this level because lower levels would
jeopardize Amtrak's ability to achieve self-sufficiency by 2003 and could
delay introduction of high-speed rail service in the Northeast Corridor
and force other service reductions and route closures.

Livability Programs

        The Administration is disappointed that the Committee bill funds
transit formula grants at $212 million below the PresidentD,s request and
the Transportation Community and Preservation Pilot program (TCSP) at $25
million, or 50 percent, below the request.  Further, the earmarking of the
TCSP program would hinder the goal of improving land use by not permitting
the development and identification of innovative new approaches.  Finally,
the Administration is disappointed that the Committee bill does not direct
additional funding to the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality
Improvement program. These livability programs are important components
of an Administration effort to provide communities with the tools and
resources they need to combat congestion and sprawl.

Job Access and Reverse Commute

        The Administration is disappointed that the Committee has provided
only $75 million -- half of the amount authorized and requested -- for the
Job Access and Reverse Commute program. This program is a critical
component of the AdministrationD,s welfare-to-work effort and is
significantly over-subscribed at present.  Demand is expected to increase
as more communities around the country begin to see how effective the
program can be in helping individuals make a successful transition from
welfare to work.


Coast Guard

         The Administration is concerned about the Committee's earmarks to
 continue operations of the Long Island, New York, and Muskegon, Michigan,
.air facilities and to establish an additional air facility at waukegan,
 Illinois.   The Coast Guard has concluded, based on careful review, that
 none of these facilities are necessary to meet its search and rescue
 coverage standards. By forcing the Coast Guard to spend nearly $9 million
 on these facilities, the House is effectively reducing funding for higher
 priority Coast Guard activities, such as improving boat station readiness
 nationwide.

Report Language Issue

        The Administration is concerned with report language that would
not fund the controller-in-charge differential, which was part of the
carefully crafted air traffic controller agreement reached last year.

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