28-003
2d Session
109-495
DEPARTMENTS OF TRANSPORTATION, TREASURY, AND HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, THE JUDICIARY, DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, AND INDEPENDENT AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2007
[To accompany H.R. 5576]
The Committee on Appropriations submits the following report in explanation of the accompanying bill making appropriations for the Departments of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, the Judiciary, District of Columbia, and independent agencies for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2007.
| INDEX TO BILL AND REPORT | ||
| Page number | ||
| Bill | Report | |
| Operating plan and reprogramming procedures | 2 | |
| Relationship with budget offices | 3 | |
| The effect of guaranteed spending | 3 | |
| Tabular summary | 4 | |
| Committee hearings | 4 | |
| Program, project, and activity | 5 | |
| Title I--Department of Transportation | 2 | 5 |
| Title II--Department of the Treasury | 63 | 90 |
| Title III--Department of Housing and Urban Development | 80 | 109 |
| Title IV--The Judiciary | 134 | 163 |
| Title V--District of Columbia | 142 | 168 |
| Title VI--Executive Office of the President and Funds | ||
| Appropriated to the President | 176 | 177 |
| Title VII--Independent Agencies: | ||
| Architectural and Transportation Barriers Compliance Board | 189 | 185 |
| Consumer Product Safety Commission | 189 | 186 |
| Election Assistance Commission | 190 | 186 |
| Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation | 190 | 187 |
| Federal Election Commission | 190 | 187 |
| Federal Labor Relations Authority | 191 | 188 |
| Federal Maritime Commission | 192 | 188 |
| General Services Administration | 192 | 189 |
| Merit Systems Protection Board | 203 | 198 |
| Morris K. Udall Foundation | 204 | 198 |
| National Archives and Records Administration | 205 | 199 |
| National Credit Union Administration | 206 | 201 |
| National Transportation Safety Board | 207 | 202 |
| Neighborhood Reinvestment Corporation | 208 | 203 |
| Office of Government Ethics | 208 | 203 |
| Office of Personnel Management | 208 | 204 |
| Office of Special Counsel | 212 | 207 |
| Selective Service System | 212 | 207 |
| United States Interagency Council on Homelessness | 213 | 208 |
| United States Postal Service | 213 | 208 |
| United States Tax Court | 214 | 209 |
| Title VIII--General Provisions--This Act | 215 | 209 |
| Title IX--General Provisions: Departments, Agencies, and Corporations | 222 | 210 |
| House of Representatives Report Requirements: | ||
| Constitutional authority | 213 | |
| Statement of general performance goals and objectives | 214 | |
| Appropriations not authorized by law | 214 | |
| Transfers of funds | 216 | |
| Compliance with rule XIII, clause 3(e) (Ramseyer rule) | 219 | |
| Comparison with the budget resolution | 266 | |
| Five-year outlay projections | 267 | |
| Financial assistance to state and local governments | 267 | |
| Rescissions | 233 | |
| Changes in the application of existing law | 233 | |
| Full Committee votes | ||
| Tabular summary of the bill |
OPERATING PLAN AND REPROGRAMMING PROCEDURES
The Committee continues to have a particular interest in being informed of reprogrammings which, although they may not change either the total amount available in an account or any of the purposes for which the appropriation is legally available, represent a significant departure from budget plans presented to the Committee in an agency's budget justifications and supporting documents, the basis of this appropriations Act.
Consequently, the Committee directs the departments, agencies, boards, commissions, corporations and offices funded at or in excess of $100,000,000 in this bill, to consult with the Committee prior to each change from the approved budget levels in excess of $500,000 between programs, activities, object classifications or elements unless otherwise provided for in the Committee report accompanying this bill. For agencies, boards, commissions, corporations and offices funded at less than $100,000,000 in this bill, the reprogramming threshold shall be $250,000 between programs, activities, initiatives object classifications or elements unless otherwise provided for in the Committee report accompanying this bill. Additionally, the Committee expects to be promptly notified of all reprogramming actions which involve less than the above-mentioned amounts. If such actions would have the effect of significantly changing an agency's funding requirements in future years, or if programs or projects specifically cited in the Committee's reports are affected by the reprogramming, the reprogramming must be approved by the Committee regardless of the amount proposed to be moved. Furthermore, the Committee wishes to be consulted regarding reorganizations of offices, programs, and activities prior to the planned implementation of such reorganizations.
The Committee also directs that the Departments of Transportation, Treasury and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Judiciary, the General Services Administration, and the Office of Personnel Management, shall submit operating plans, signed by the respective secretary, administrator, or agency head, for the Committee's review within 60 days of the bill's enactment.
RELATIONSHIP WITH BUDGET OFFICES
Through the years, the Committee has channeled most of its inquiries and requests for information and assistance through the budget offices of the various departments, agencies, and commissions. The Committee has often pointed to the natural affinity and relationship between these organizations and the Committee which makes such a relationship workable. The Committee reiterates its longstanding position that while the Committee reserves the right to call upon all offices in the departments, agencies, and commissions, the primary conjunction between the Committee and these entities must normally be through the budget offices. The Committee appreciates all the assistance received from each of the departments, agencies, and commissions during the past year. The workload generated by the budget process is large and growing, and therefore, a positive, responsive relationship between the Committee and the budget offices is absolutely essential to the appropriations process.
THE EFFECT OF GUARANTEED SPENDING
Over the objections of the Appropriations and Budget Committee, in 1998 the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) amended the Budget Enforcement Act to provide two new additional spending categories or `firewalls', the highway category and the mass transit category. The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient, Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) extended the highway and mass transit firewalls through fiscal year 2009. The Wendell H. Ford Aviation Investment and Reform Act for the 21st Century (AIR-21) provided a similar treatment for certain aviation programs, which were later extended in the Vision-100 Century of Aviation Reauthorization Act. These Acts have produced the same results: they significantly raised spending, and they have had the effect of prohibiting the Appropriations Committee from reducing those spending levels in the annual appropriations process. As the Committee noted during deliberations on these bills, the Acts essentially created mandatory spending programs within the discretionary caps. This undermines Congressional flexibility to fund other equally important programs not protected by funding guarantees and to address emerging priorities, such as homeland security and overseas military requirements, within projected budget totals. In addition, the reorganization of the Committee in the 109th Congress posed additional challenges in this regard, because funding guarantees for selected transportation programs compete in the budget process against funding for non-transportation agencies such as the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of National Drug Control Policy, enforcement of anti-terrorism and money laundering activities in the Treasury Department, the Internal Revenue Service, the General Services Administration, and the Judiciary. In addition, funding guarantees skew transportation priorities inappropriately, by providing increases to highway, transit, and airport spending while leaving safety-related operations in the FAA, FRA and Amtrak to scramble for the remaining resources. As in past years, the Committee has done all in its power, considering this environment, to produce a balanced bill providing adequately for all modes of transportation as well as all non-transportation programs under the jurisdiction of this bill.
QUALITY OF BUDGET DOCUMENTS
For years, the Committee has directed departments and agencies to improve the budget justification document quality and presentation by including relevant and specific budget information. While the Committee has seen some improvement in a few submissions, most justifications continue to be filled with references to the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART), drowning in pleonasm, and yet still devoid of useful information. The Committee strongly encourages the administration to use a meaningful system of evaluation to justify proposed program funding levels, as long as the basis for the evaluations will also be shared with the Committee. The Committee finds little use for a budget justification which does not reveal specific details of the measurable indicators and standards used to evaluate a program's performance, relevance, or adherence to underlying authorization statute. Further, the Committee has little patience for secretaries and administrators who cannot explain the rationale behind a program's funding level other than `the PART score,' `getting to green,' or `this is what OMB provided.' The Committee welcomes the input from the agencies, and is very interested in the methodologies used by the administration to fund various program priorities.
TABULAR SUMMARY
A table summarizing the amounts provided for fiscal year 2006 and the amounts recommended in the bill for fiscal year 2007 compared with the budget estimates is included at the end of this report.
COMMITTEE HEARINGS
The Committee has conducted extensive hearings on the programs and projects provided for in this bill. Pursuant to House rules, each of these hearings was open to the public. The Committee received testimony from cabinet officers, agency heads, inspectors general, and other officials of the executive branch in areas under the bill's jurisdiction. In addition, the Committee has considered written material submitted for the hearing record by Members of Congress, private citizens, local government entities, and private organizations. The bill recommendations for fiscal year 2007 have been developed after careful consideration of all the information available to the Committee.
PROGRAM, PROJECT, AND ACTIVITY
During fiscal year 2007, for the purposes of the Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985 (Public Law 99-177), as amended, with respect to appropriations contained in the accompanying bill, the terms `program, project, and activity' shall mean any item for which a dollar amount is contained in an appropriations Act (including joint resolutions providing continuing appropriations) or accompanying reports of the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, or accompanying conference reports and joint explanatory statements of the committee of conference. This definition shall apply to all programs for which new budget (obligational) authority is provided, as well as to capital investment grants, Federal Transit Administration. In addition, the percentage reductions made pursuant to a sequestration order to funds appropriated for facilities and equipment, Federal Aviation Administration shall be applied equally to each `budget item' that is listed under said accounts in the budget justifications submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations as modified by subsequent appropriations Acts and accompanying committee reports, conference reports, or joint explanatory statements of the committee of conference.
TITLE I--DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY
SALARIES AND EXPENSES
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $84,051,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 92,742,000
Recommended in the bill 92,558,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +8,507,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -184,000
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COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The bill provides $92,558,000 for the salaries and expenses of the various offices comprising the office of the secretary. The Committee's recommendation includes individual funding for all of the offices within the office of the secretary, as has been done in past years, rather than consolidating them as proposed in the budget request. The following table compares the fiscal year 2006 enacted level to the fiscal year 2007 budget estimate and the Committee's recommendation by office:
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Fiscal year 2006 enacted Fiscal year 2007 estimate House recommended
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Immediate office of the secretary $2,176,000 $2,255,000 $2,255,000
Office of the deputy secretary 691,000 717,000 717,000
Office of the executive secretariat 1,428,000 1,478,000 1,478,000
Office of the under secretary of transportation for policy 11,534,000 11,934,000 11,684,000
Board of contract appeals 690,000 707,000 707,000
Official of small and disadvantaged business utilization 1,252,000 1,286,000 1,286,000
Office of the chief information officer 11,776,000 12,281,000 12,281,000
Office of the assistant secretary for governmental affairs 2,270,000 2,319,000 2,319,000
Office of the general counsel 15,031,000 15,681,000 15,681,000
Office of the assistant secretary for budget and programs 8,400,000 10,002,000 10,002,000
Office of the assistant secretary for administration 21,811,000 25,108,000 25,108,000
Office of public affairs 1,891,000 1,932,000 1,932,000
Office of intelligence and security 2,013,000 2,655,000 2,722,000
Office of emergency transportation 3,089,000 4,386,000 4,386,000
Total $84,051,000 $92,742,000 $92,558,000
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Office of the under secretary of transportation for policy- The Committee provides a total of $11,684,000 for the office of the under secretary of transportation for policy, a reduction of $250,000 below the requested level. The adjustment to the request is shown below.
| Deny transfer of two full-time equivalent positions (FTE) | -$250,000 |
The Committee denies the request to create a new office, the security policy office, within the office of the under secretary of transportation for policy. In addition, the Committee denies the transfer of two FTEs from the office of intelligence and security (OIS) to this office. The Committee does not understand the need for the new office or how creation of a new office will enhance security or operations. Further, the Committee is concerned that the dissection of OIS security functions and the creation of a new bureaucratic layer between the secretary and some of those functions will create inefficiencies and duplication of effort. The Committee is concerned that this proposal will result only in the dilution of security.
Office of intelligence and security- The Committee provides $2,722,000 for the office of intelligence and security, an increase of $67,000 above the requested level. Adjustments to the request are detailed below.
| Deny transfer of two FTEs | +$250,000 |
| Deny funding for one FTE | -187,000 |
Deny transfer of two FTEs- As mentioned above, the Committee denies the transfer of two existing FTEs from OIS to the office of the under secretary of transportation for policy. OIS has served as the Department of Transportation's (DOT) primary point of contact with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Homeland Security Council, and various security-related working groups since the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) was transferred to DHS. OIS advises DOT executives on policy issues related to intelligence, information sharing, and national security strategies coordinated in the Homeland Security Council. Further, OIS coordinates across all elements of DOT. Rapidly emerging threats against the transportation system may require quick decisions and immediate implementation of protective measures. The Committee believes that a robust security function should include all elements of security in a single office with a direct line of communication to the Secretary of Transportation, and therefore, denies that budget request to add needless layers of bureaucracy to this vital function.
Deny funding for one FTE- In addition, the Committee denies $183,000 in funding that was not addressed, justified, or reflected in the fiscal year 2007 budget appendix or the Office of the Secretary of Transportation's (OST) congressional justification for a `senior management position associated with reorganization.' The Committee is confused as OST's own congressional budget justification stated that no additional FTEs were required or necessary for this office. In addition, OST requested that this Committee include a provision in the fiscal year 2006 supplemental allowing OST to obtain detailees from modal agencies, free of charge, to help staff OIS. It is inconsistent that an office that requests funding for an additional FTE and detailees from the modes would also seek to transfer two existing FTEs to another office.
Disadvantaged business enterprise- The Committee is aware that the Department of Transportation recently promulgated a new rule revising and updating its regulations concerning the participation of disadvantaged business enterprises (DBEs) in concessions activities of airports receiving federal financial assistance from the airport improvement program. One of the issues addressed in the new rule is a personal net worth standard for program eligibility purposes. The Committee is also aware that certain industry groups and others have raised concerns regarding the standard and its implementation and have petitioned the department to initiate additional rulemaking on this matter. The Committee urges the department to carefully review these concerns and the basis for the standard.
Congressional budget justifications- The Committee urges the department to improve the quality of the budget submissions and to include the same level of detail that was provided in the congressional justifications presented in fiscal year 2003. Some of the budget documents submitted for fiscal year 2007 did not adhere to that standard. Therefore, the Committee again directs the department to submit its congressional justification materials at the same level of detail provided in the congressional justifications presented in fiscal year 2003. Further, the department is directed to include in the budget justification funding levels for the prior year, current year, and budget year for all programs, activities, initiatives, and program elements. Each budget submitted by the department must also include detailed justification for the incremental funding increases and additional FTEs being requested above the enacted level, by program, activity, or program element.
In addition, the Committee notes that many general provisions included in the President's budget request are not justified, addressed, nor presented in any DOT justification. Therefore, the Committee directs DOT to justify each general provision proposed either in its relevant modal congressional justification, or in the OST congressional justification.
OST currently includes a helpful discussion in its justification of changes from the current year to the request. To ensure that each adjustment is identified, the Committee directs OST in future congressional justifications to include detailed information in tabular format which identifies specific changes in funding from the current year to the budget year for each office, including each office within the office of the secretary.
Operating plan- The Committee directs the department to submit an operating plan for fiscal year 2007, signed by the secretary for review by the Committees on Appropriations of both the House and Senate within 60 days of the bill's enactment. The operating plan should include funding levels for the various offices, programs and initiatives detailed down to the object class or program element covered in the budget justification and supporting documents or referenced in the House and Senate appropriations reports, and the statement of the managers.
Bill language- The bill continues language that permits up to $2,500,000 of fees to be credited to the office of the secretary for salaries and expenses.
OFFICE OF CIVIL RIGHTS
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $8,465,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 8,821,000
Recommended in the bill 8,821,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +356,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 - - -
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The office of civil rights is responsible for advising the secretary on civil rights and equal opportunity matters and ensuring full implementation of civil rights opportunity precepts in all of the department's official actions and programs. This office is responsible for enforcing laws and regulations that prohibit discrimination in federally operated and federally assisted transportation programs. This office also handles all civil rights cases related to Department of Transportation employees.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee provides $8,821,000 for the office of civil rights, the same as the budget request.
TRANSPORTATION PLANNING, RESEARCH, AND DEVELOPMENT
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $14,850,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 8,910,000
Recommended in the bill 13,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 -1,850,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +4,090,000
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This appropriation finances those research activities and studies concerned with the planning, analysis, and information development needed to support the secretary's responsibilities in the formulation of national transportation policies. It also finances the staff necessary to conduct these efforts. The overall program is carried out primarily through contracts with other federal agencies, educational institutions, nonprofit research organizations, and private firms.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $13,000,000 for transportation planning, research and development, a decrease of $1,850,000 below the fiscal year 2006 enacted level and $4,090,000 above the budget request.
WORKING CAPITAL FUND
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Limitation, fiscal year 2006 ($116,834,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 1 - - -
Recommended in the bill (120,000,000)
Bill compared with:
Limitation, fiscal year 2006 (+3,166,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 (+120,000,000)
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The working capital fund (WCF) was created to provide common administrative services to the various modes and outside entities that desire those services for economy and efficiency. The fund is financed through negotiated agreements with the department's operating administrations and other governmental elements requiring the center's capabilities.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $120,000,000 on the working capital fund. The budget request proposed a limitless program level for the fund in fiscal year 2007. The Committee's recommendation is appropriate considering the funding levels of the operations and administrative accounts.
Modal usage of WCF- Consistent with past practice, the Committee directs the department, in its fiscal year 2007 congressional justifications for each of the modal administrations, to account for increases or decreases in WCF billings based on planned usage requested or anticipated by the modes rather than anticipated by WCF managers.
MINORITY BUSINESS RESOURCE CENTER PROGRAM
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Appropriation Limitation on guaranteed loans
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $891,000 ($18,367,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 891,000 (18,367,000)
Recommended in the bill 891,000 (18,367,000)
Bill compared to:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 - - - (- - -)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 - - - (- - -)
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The minority business resource center of the office of small and disadvantaged business utilization provides assistance in obtaining short-term working capital and bonding for disadvantaged, minority, and women-owned businesses. The program enables qualified businesses to obtain loans at prime interest rates for transportation-related projects.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The recommendation fully funds the budget request of $495,000 to cover the subsidy costs for the loans, not to exceed $18,367,000, and $396,000 for administrative expenses to carry out the guaranteed loan program.
MINORITY BUSINESS OUTREACH
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $2,970,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 2,970,000
Recommended in the bill 2,970,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 - - -
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This appropriation provides contractual support to assist minority business firms, entrepreneurs, and venture groups in securing contracts and subcontracts arising out of projects that involve federal spending. It also provides grants and contract assistance that serves DOT-wide goals.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee provides $2,970,000 for this program, equal to both the fiscal year 2006 funding level and the budget request.
NEW HEADQUARTERS BUILDING
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 1 $49,500,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 59,400,000
Recommended in the bill - - -
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 -49,500,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -59,400,000
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The President's budget included funds for the new Department of Transportation headquarters building, which would consolidate all of the department's headquarters operating administration functions (except for the Federal Aviation Administration) from various locations around the Washington, DC metropolitan area into a leased building within the central employment area of the District of Columbia.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
Without prejudice, the Committee does not provide funding in fiscal year 2007 for the new headquarters building due to budget constraints.
PAYMENTS TO AIR CARRIERS
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND)
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $59,400,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 - - -
Recommended in the bill 67,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +7,600,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +67,000,000
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The Essential Air Service (EAS) program was originally created by the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 as a temporary measure to continue air service to communities that had received federally mandated air service prior to deregulation. The program currently provides subsidies to air carriers serving small communities that meet certain criteria.
The Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization Act of 1996 (Public Law 104-264) authorized the collection of user fees for services provided by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to aircraft that neither take off from, nor land in the United States, commonly known as overflight fees. In addition, the Act permanently appropriated these fees for authorized expenses of the FAA and stipulated that the first $50,000,000 of annual fee collections must be used to finance the EAS program. In the event of a shortfall in fees, the law requires FAA to make up the difference from other funds available to the agency.
The fiscal year 2007 budget proposes to fund the EAS program at a total of $50,000,000, solely from new overflight fee collections credited to the Airport and Airway Trust Fund and changes the program to require communities share in the cost of air service. The Committee finds the budget proposal unrealistic considering that in fiscal year 2006 the department came to the Committee seeking additional funding for the EAS program as several communities were in jeopardy of losing air service.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a total program level of EAS in fiscal year 2007 of $117,000,000, a $7,600,000 increase above the level provided in fiscal year 2006. This funding consists of an appropriation of $67,000,000 and $50,000,000 to be derived from overflight fee collections. In addition, bill language is included that allows the secretary to transfer up to $10,000,000 to the EAS program from the small community air service development program, if needed.
The Committee notes that workload has increased significantly as the number of EAS subsidized communities has increased by more than 50 percent since 1996, from 97 to 151. The changing structure of the industry is also having dramatic effects on services at small communities and creates challenges. In addition, VISION 100 resulted in new responsibilities for the department and established six new pilot programs. To help meet these responsibilities, the Committee provides this office with two new FTE, representing half of the request.
The Committee includes language (sec. 101) to ensure prompt availability of funds for obligation to air carriers providing service under the EAS program. The language removes an unintended penalty whereby if $50,000,000 is made immediately available by the FAA to the EAS program at the beginning of each fiscal year, the FAA must take that amount from its appropriations, without the ability to credit back amounts transferred from the FAA once sufficient overflight fees are available. Without this language, the result would be a permanent reduction in the appropriations to the FAA. The Committee has also included language that allows the secretary to take into consideration the subsidy requirements of carriers when selecting between carriers competing to provide service to a community.
The bill includes a provision (sec. 104) prohibiting the use of funds to implement an essential air service program that requires local participation.
COMPENSATION FOR AIR CARRIERS
(RESCISSION)
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Rescission, fiscal year 2006 - - -
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -$50,000,000
Recommended in the bill -50,000,000
Bill compared with:
Rescission, fiscal year 2006 -50,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 - - -
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The Air Transportation Safety and System Stabilization Act (Public Law 107-42) provided $5,000,000,000 to compensate air carriers for direct losses incurred during the federal ground stop of civil aviation after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, and for incremental losses incurred between September 11 and December 31, 2001. To date, of the $5,000,000,000 appropriated, $4,603,452,933 of direct compensation payments have been made (net of repayments from carriers including a $29,000,000 repayment from Federal Express). Also to date, a total of $325,000,000 has been rescinded by Congress as surplus to need leaving a current balance of approximately $71,000,000 in the fund.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee includes language that rescinds $50,000,000 from the compensation for air carriers, consistent with the budget request. The Department of Transportation has recalibrated its litigation risk in outstanding administrative and court cases. The rescission leaves a balance of approximately $21,000,000, which DOT states will cover any potential liabilities from unresolved claims or contingent liabilities.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
Section 101. The Committee continues a provision allowing reimbursement for fees collected and credited under 49 U.S.C. 45303.
Section 102. The Committee continues a provision allowing the Secretary of Transportation to transfer unexpended sums from `office of the secretary, salaries and expenses' to `minority business outreach'.
Section 103. The Committee continues the provision prohibiting the Office of the Secretary of Transportation from approving assessments or reimbursable agreements pertaining to funds appropriated to the modal administrations in this Act, unless such assessments or agreements have completed the normal reprogramming process for Congressional notification.
Section 104. The Committee continues the provision prohibiting the use of funds to implement an essential air service local cost share participation program.
FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for the safety and development of civil aviation and the evolution of a national system of airports. The Federal Government's regulatory role in civil aviation began with the creation of an Aeronautics Branch within the Department of Commerce pursuant to the Air Commerce Act of 1926. This Act instructed the Secretary of Commerce to foster air commerce; designate and establish airways; establish, operate, and maintain aids to navigation; arrange for research and development to improve such aids; issue airworthiness certificates for aircraft and major aircraft components; and investigate civil aviation accidents. In the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, these activities were subsumed into a new, independent agency named the Civil Aeronautics Authority.
After further administrative reorganizations, Congress streamlined regulatory oversight in 1957 with the creation of two separate agencies, the Federal Aviation Agency and the Civil Aeronautics Board. When the Department of Transportation began its operations on April 1, 1967, the Federal Aviation Agency was renamed the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and became one of several modal administrations within the department. The Civil Aeronautics Board was later phased out with enactment of the Airline Deregulation Act of 1978, and ceased to exist at the end of 1984. FAA's mission expanded in 1995 with the transfer of the Office of Commercial Space Transportation from the Office of the Secretary, and decreased in December 2001 with the transfer of civil aviation security activities to the new Transportation Security Administration.
OPERATIONS
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND)
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Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $8,104,140,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 8,366,000,000
Recommended in the bill 8,360,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +255,860,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -6,000,000
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This appropriation provides funds for the operation, maintenance, communications, and logistical support of the air traffic control and air navigation systems. It also covers administrative and managerial costs for the FAA's regulatory, international, medical, engineering and development programs as well as policy oversight and overall management functions.
The operations appropriation includes the following major activities: (1) operation on a 24-hour daily basis of a national air traffic system; (2) establishment and maintenance of a national system of aids to navigation; (3) establishment and surveillance of civil air regulations to assure safety in aviation; (4) development of standards, rules and regulations governing the physical fitness of airmen as well as the administration of an aviation medical research program; (5) administration of the acquisition, research and development programs; (6) headquarters, administration and other staff offices; and (7) development, printing, and distribution of aeronautical charts used by the flying public.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $8,360,000,000 for FAA operations, an increase of $255,860,000 above the level provided in fiscal year 2006, and $6,000,000 below the budget request.
A comparison of the fiscal year 2007 budget request to the Committee recommendation by budget activity is as follows:
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Budget activity Fiscal year 2007 request Fiscal year 2007 recommendation
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Air traffic organization $6,704,223,000 $6,698,728,000
Aviation safety 981,668,000 997,718,000
Commercial space transportation 11,985,000 11,985,000
Financial services 1 92,227,000
Human resources 1 87,850,000
Region and center operations 1 272,821,000
Staff offices 1 668,125,000 175,392,000
Information services 36,779,000
Adjustments -14,000,000
Total $8,366,000,000 $8,360,000,000
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TRUST FUND SHARE OF FAA BUDGET
The bill derives $11,787,000,000 of the total appropriation from the airport and airway trust fund. The balance of the appropriation ($3,516,000,000) will be drawn from the general fund of the Treasury. Under these provisions, 77 percent of the FAA's costs will be borne by air travelers and industries using those services. The remaining 23 percent will be borne by the general taxpayer, regardless of whether they directly utilize FAA services.
STATE OF THE AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND
According to Administration estimates, fiscal year 2007 will continue the recent trend where necessary outlays for FAA programs outstrip the revenues from aviation users deposited into the airport and airway trust fund. The following table compares trust fund revenue to trust fund outlays for the past three fiscal years. As the table indicates, under current estimates the Federal Government is not only spending all the revenues coming into the trust fund, it is going beyond that, and spending down the cash balance. The Administration estimates that, at the end of fiscal year 2007, the uncommitted cash balance in the trust fund will be approximately $2,706,000,000.
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Fiscal year 2005 Fiscal year 2006 Fiscal year 2007
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Trust fund revenue 1 $10,830,000,000 $11,241,000,000 $11,997,000,000
Trust fund outlays 11,209,000,000 12,332,000,000 12,167,000,000
Difference -379,000,000 -1,091,000,000 -170,000,000
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It is imperative for the agency to lower its operating costs and find ways to be more efficient in all its operations. For several years, the Committee has indicated that improvement was needed in the area of personnel costs. The average full-time equivalent (FTE) workyear cost for fiscal year 2006 was $142,587 and expected to increase to $145,450 for fiscal year 2007. FAA's workyear costs have historically been and remain among the highest of all federal agencies. Average sick leave costs historically have been 20 percent higher than the government average, raising the agency's staffing costs. Although FAA has made progress in this area, the current average yearly sick leave consumed is 10.80 days per FAA employee. In addition, special pays will cost the agency $349,740,000 in fiscal year 2007.
Given the severe budget constraints facing the nation, the Committee directs FAA to continue focusing on ways to reduce sick leave, to improve productivity and lessen the need for additional staffing resources in future years.
AIR TRAFFIC ORGANIZATION
The bill provides $6,698,728,000 for air traffic services, a reduction of $5,495,000 from the budget request. These resources would be managed by FAA's air traffic organization. Recommended adjustments to the budget estimate are listed and described below:
| Amount | |
| Contract tower base program | +$3,242,000 |
| Contract tower cost-sharing program | +263,000 |
| BTS aviation statistics | -2,000,000 |
| NAS handoff | -7,000,000 |
Contract tower program.--The bill includes $97,500,000, an increase of $3,242,000 above the budget estimate of $94,258,000, to continue the contract tower base program. The President's budget does not reflect estimates for operations at 12 new towers entering the program during fiscal year 2007.
In addition, the bill provides $8,000,000, an increase of $263,000 above the budget estimate, to continue the contract tower cost-sharing program. The Committee continues to believe this is a valuable program that provides safety benefits to small communities. Communities in this program as of January 1, 2006 are shown below:
----------------------------------
----------------------------------
King Salmon AK
Fayetteville AR
Rogers Municipal-Carter Field AR
Springdale AR
Laughlin/Bullhead City AZ
Hawthorne CA
Waterbury/Oxford CT
Bloomington IN
Columbus Municipal IN
Gary Regional IN
Muncie/Delaware County IN
Garden City KS
Barkley regional (Paducah) KY
Sawyer MI
Jefferson City MO
Joplin Regional MO
Smith Reynolds (Winston-Salem) NC
Lebanon Municipal NH
Lea County/Hobbs NM
Elko NV
Latrobe PA
Williamsport/Lycoming County PA
Greenville Donaldson Center SC
Grand Strand/Myrtle Beach SC
Walla Walla Regional WA
Morgantown WV
----------------------------------
The Committee recognizes that the number of airports participating in the cost sharing program fluctuates regularly because of changes in air traffic activity. In order to prevent program disruptions and provide more certainty, the Committee allows FAA to use unsubscribed funds from the contract tower base line program to avoid elimination of communities from the cost share towers program. However, FAA should only employ this flexibility with surplus funds in the base line contract tower program, after all baseline contract tower obligations have been fulfilled.
Controller staffing.--According to FAA, the agency expects that over the next 10 years, 72 percent of its 15,000 controllers will become eligible to retire. The FAA is currently updating its staffing plan submitted in December 2004. This update will be based on a refined methodology and will incorporate new estimates of future traffic and retirement projections, and recent productivity gains. Consistent with the plan and with FAA's request, the bill provides $18,220,000 for salaries, benefits, training, and ancillary support costs associated with 1,136 new hires, for a net increase of at least 132 in controller work force in fiscal year 2007.
The Committee agrees with FAA that a one for one replacement of retiring controllers is not prudent, as it would not assume productivity improvements from procedural changes, facility consolidation, or even new technology. The business-like mindset of the air traffic organization has begun to make productivity improvements a reality, and further productivity will continue to lessen the need for additional personnel. Currently, FAA is taking steps to achieve savings of 10 percent by 2010 in controller staff costs through productivity improvements, and realized the first three percent of this goal in 2005. In addition, the Committee believes that the ability to waive the mandatory retirement age is a good hedge against the retirement surge in future years.
Bureau of transportation statistics studies.--The Committee provides $2,000,000, half of the requested amount for the aviation statistical studies to be conducted by the bureau of transportation statistics (BTS), under the Research and Innovative Technology Administration. The Committee directs BTS to perform only those functions and studies that are relevant to FAA's mission. Further, the Committee directs DOT to provide to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations an accounting of how the funds were spent and how FAA uses that data to fulfill its mission.
National airspace system handoff.--The Committee recommends a reduction of $7,000,000 below the budget estimate, for a total of $87,400,000 in NAS handoff funding.
New York/New Jersey airspace redesign.--The Committee notes that the executive summary of the FAA's Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) for the redesign of the New York/New Jersey/Philadelphia regional airspace states, `Mitigation measures to avoid, minimize, rectify, reduce, eliminate, or compensate for these (noise) impacts will be considered in the Final EIS.' The Committee directs the FAA to provide a letter report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by January 7, 2007 on the specific mitigation measures that will be considered to address noise impacts of the redesign.
AVIATION SAFETY
The bill provides $997,718,000 for aviation safety, an increase of $16,050,000 above the budget request. Recommended adjustments to the budget are described below.
| Additional safety inspectors and engineers | +$16,000,000 |
| Professional aerial application support system | +50,000 |
Aviation safety inspectors and aircraft certification staff.--The Committee provides $48,711,612 for aviation safety, an increase of $16,000,000 over the budget request to increase safety critical staff in the office of aviation flight standards (AFS) and the office of aircraft certification (AIR).
The fiscal year 2006 Act provided an additional $12,000,000 above the fiscal year 2006 budget request for 238 new safety personnel, of which $8,000,000 was for AFS inspectors, and $4,000,000 for AIR safety inspectors, engineers, pilots, and scientists. The FAA states that after accounting for the fiscal year 2006 across the board cut and mandatory pay raise, only 87 new safety staff, 55 for AFS and 32 for AIR, could be hired. The additional $16,000,000 provided in this bill, together with a $4,000,000 reprogramming request, will enable the FAA to increase safety personnel to the full 238, as intended.
Although the Committee did not specify the number of staff for each office, it did provide clear direction regarding the distribution of funding. The carefully negotiated agreement stated that $4,000,000, or one-third of the total increase provided in fiscal year 2006 was for AIR and $8,000,000, or two-thirds of the increase was for AFS. Based on these figures, FAA states that the total new hires would have been 182 for AFS and 56 for AIR. The Committee directs the FAA to hire AFS and AIR staff consistent with the direction in the fiscal year 2006 Act to ensure that the funding increases provided in fiscal years 2006 and 2007 appropriations, plus the 2006 reprogramming result in the same proportional increase, for a total increase of 182 new staff in AFS safety staff and 56 new AIR staff. This funding should not affect FAA's plans for filling existing vacant positions in either AIR or AFS.
Further, funds provided for the offices of aircraft certification and flight standards are designated congressional items of interest. The Committee prohibits the reprogramming of funds between the two offices, or for any other purpose within or outside of the aviation safety office, including the hiring of other types of personnel within aviation safety. The Committee directs the Secretary to provide a summary by March 1, 2007 regarding the use of the funds provided, including, but not limited to the total full-time equivalent staff years in the offices of aircraft certification and flight standards, total employees, vacancies, positions under active recruitment to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations.
The Committee notes that loss of certification staff has negatively impacted the domestic aviation industry's ability to bring new products to the marketplace, which directly affects the aviation industry's global leadership and competitiveness.
Professional Aerial Application Support System.--The recommendation includes $50,000 to continue the National agricultural aviation research and education foundation's professional aerial application support system.
COMMERCIAL SPACE TRANSPORTATION
The Committee recommends $12,000,000 for the office of commercial space transportation, consistent with the budget request.
BASE TRANSFERS
Total funding for staff offices increased significantly from the fiscal year 2006 funding level. However, a significant portion of the increase results from a number of proposed activity and personnel transfers from other offices within the air traffic organization. The budget also proposed transfers among the staff offices. The Committee agrees that these transfers will properly align functions and positions among the offices.
FINANCIAL SERVICES
The Committee recommends $92,227,000 for the office of financial services, a reduction of $2,482,000 from the budget request. The President's budget proposed $16,200,000 for unanticipated increases in Delphi maintenance and operation costs. The Committee is concerned that DOT did not foresee an increase of this magnitude for the complex department-wide financial management system. Therefore, the Committee provides a total funding level of $13,800,000 for Delphi, and urges DOT to explore ways to maintain and operate the system more efficiently. In addition, the Committee provides a total of $482,000 to support 5 new positions at half-year funding for expanded contract oversight.
HUMAN RESOURCES
The Committee recommends $87,850,000, consistent with the budget request. The increase from fiscal year 2006 is due to base transfers for labor relations positions, payroll services, and human resources positions from other FAA offices. The Committee notes that FAA is expanding a successful pilot program began in fiscal year 2003 to better contain workers' compensation costs for the agency. FAA's target goal is to increase the total one-year workers compensation cost avoidance by two percent in fiscal year 2007.
REGION AND CENTER OPERATION
The Committee recommends $272,821,000 for the region and center operations, as requested.
STAFF OFFICES
Office of General Counsel.--The Committee recommends $38,186,000 for this office. The funding level provides a total of $229,890 for four new positions for expanded contract oversight at half year funding, representing a reduction of $575,000 below the budget request.
ACCOUNT-WIDE ADJUSTMENTS
Personnel compensation and benefits.--The recommendation includes a reduction of $8,000,000 in agency-wide personnel compensation and benefits costs due to budget constraints.
Unfilled executive positions.--The Committee recommends a reduction of $5,000,000, reflecting the unfilled roster of 18 executive positions in the agency, including 7 which were not under active recruitment. Past hearing records indicate that, at any given time, the agency is likely to have between 10 and 20 unfilled executive positions. For an agency with 159 executive positions, this level of openings may not be problematic. However, it does indicate excess costs are being budgeted for positions that are not likely to be filled in the entirety of the fiscal year.
Working capital fund costs.--The recommendation allows $23,913,000 for working capital fund costs, a reduction of $1,000,000 below the budget estimate.
BILL LANGUAGE
Manned auxiliary flight service stations.--The bill includes the limitation prohibiting funds from being used to operate a manned auxiliary flight service station in the contiguous United States. The FAA budget includes no funding to operate such stations during fiscal year 2007.
Second career training program.--Once again this year, the bill includes a prohibition on the use of funds for the second career training program. This prohibition has been in annual appropriations Acts for many years, and is included in the President's budget request.
Sunday premium pay.--The bill retains a provision begun in fiscal year 1995 which prohibits the FAA from paying Sunday premium pay except in those cases where the individual actually worked on a Sunday. The statute governing Sunday premium pay (5 U.S.C. 5546(a)) is very clear: `An employee who performs work during a regularly scheduled 8-hour period of service which is not overtime work as defined by section 5542(a) of this title a part of which is performed on Sunday is entitled to . . . premium pay at a rate equal to 25 percent of his rate of basic pay.' Disregarding the plain meaning of the statute and previous Comptroller General decisions, however, in Armitage v. United States, the Federal Circuit Court held in 1993 that employees need not actually perform work on a Sunday to receive premium pay. The FAA was required immediately to provide back pay totaling $37,000,000 for time scheduled but not actually worked between November 1986 and July 1993. Without this provision, the FAA would be liable for significant unfunded liabilities, to be financed by the agency's annual operating budget. This provision is identical to that in effect for fiscal years 1995 through 2006.
Aviation User Fees.--The bill includes a limitation carried for several years prohibiting funds from being used to finalize or implement any new unauthorized user fees.
Nonprofit safety standard setting organization.--The Committee retains a provision that allows the use of funds to enter into an agreement with a nonprofit standard setting organization to develop safety standards.
Aeronautical charting and cartography.--The bill maintains the provision which prohibits funds in this Act from being used to conduct aeronautical charting and cartography (AC&C) activities through the working capital fund (WCF). Public Law 106-181 authorized the transfer of these activities from the Department of Commerce to the FAA, a move which the Committee supported. The Committee believes this work should continue to be conducted by the FAA, and not administratively delegated to the WCF.
Store gift cards and gift certificates- The bill maintains the limitation in effect since fiscal year 2004 prohibiting FAA from using funds to purchase store gift cards or gift certificates through a government-issued credit card. This provision responds to abuses documented by the U.S. Government Accountability Office.
FACILITIES AND EQUIPMENT
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND)
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $2,514,600,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 2,503,000,000
Recommended in the bill 3,110,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +595,400,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +607,000,000
--------------------------------------------------
The Facilities and Equipment (F&E) account is the principal means for modernizing and improving air traffic control and airway facilities. The appropriation also finances major capital investments required by other agency programs, experimental research and development facilities, and other improvements to enhance the safety and capacity of the airspace system.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends an appropriation of $3,110,000,000 for this program, an increase of $595,400,000 above the level provided for fiscal year 2006 and $607,000,000 above the budget estimate. The bill provides that of the total amount recommended, $2,662,100,000 is available for obligation until September 30, 2008, and $447,900,000 (the amount for personnel and related expenses) is available until September 30, 2007. These obligation availabilities are consistent with past appropriations Acts.
ENGINEERING, DEVELOPMENT, TEST AND EVALUATION
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B).--The Committee acknowledges that FAA has established the ADS-B technology as the basis of a future surveillance system. However, the Committee is concerned that under the newly established program office, too much focus is being placed on interim ground-based solutions instead of further accelerating the implementation of ADS-B technology. The Committee recommends $100,000,000 for the funding of the ADS-B, of which $20,000,000 shall be directed to the Safe Flight 21 office for continuing research and development of air-to-air applications. The remaining amount is directed to the ADS-B program office. Provisions should be made for ensuring that this air-to-air research is translated into implementation across the national airspace system (NAS).
Chicago O'Hare.--The Committee is concerned that the FAA has not acted on its recommendations to improve the overall efficiency of operations at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport that impacts the NAS. While long-term solutions to airport congestion at O'Hare continue to be developed, immediate operational improvements can be implemented to ease flight departures, arrivals and ground movement of aircraft particularly in times of inclement weather. Therefore, the FAA shall make the following improvements to operations at O'Hare International Airport: 1) expeditiously deploy ASDE-X radar system to improve ground handling of aircraft; and 2) design procedures that allow for RNAV departures and arrivals.
ENROUTE PROGRAMS
Airport Surface Detection System--Model X (ASDE-X)- The Committee provides funding and provides $73,600,000 for ASDE-X, for an increase of $10,000,000 over the budget request. The additional funds will enable FAA to expedite site implementation and commission ASDE-X systems earlier than currently planned. Deploying ASDE-X earlier at these sites will make it possible to realize safety and efficiency benefits sooner, including better controller situational awareness in all weather conditions and reduced risk of Category A and B runway incursions.
Detroit Metropolitan Airport, Michigan.--The FAA is currently implementing multilateration technology to improve capacity in inclement weather conditions at Detroit Metropolitan Airport. The Committee provides $8,000,000 to complete implementation at this airport.
Integrated control and monitoring system.--The Committee recommends $3,000,000 for continued procurement and installation, including site preparation, of the integrated control and monitoring system (ICMS). FAA is currently using ICMS in Denver, Seattle, Newark, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, and Phoenix, and is installing the system in six additional locations shortly. This system would offer significant benefits to other operational evolution plan (OEP) airports as well as others with substantial landing aids and lighting systems. The Committee expects the agency to obligate these funds within six months of enactment, and to install such systems at airports with the highest need.
TERMINAL PROGRAMS
Terminal air traffic control facilities replacement.--The Committee provides a total of $127,250,000 for this program, an increase of $3,250,000 over the budget request. Funds shall be distributed as follows:
| Kalamazoo, Michigan | $1,800,000 |
| West Palm Beach, Florida | 10,000,000 |
| Reno, Nevada | 2,500,000 |
| Cleveland, Ohio | 3,700,000 |
| Memphis, Tennessee | 22,400,000 |
| Jeffco, Colorado | 4,200,000 |
| Houston, Texas | 2,000,000 |
| Gulfport, Mississippi | 5,200,000 |
| Las Vegas, Nevada | 55,000,000 |
| Pensacola, Florida | 1,100,000 |
| Dayton, Ohio | 2,200,000 |
| Saint Louis, Missouri | 1,250,000 |
| Palm Springs, California | 2,000,000 |
FLIGHT SERVICE PROGRAMS
Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS) and GPS approaches- The Committee notes that the fiscal year 2007 budget request of $122,400,000 for the wide area augmentation system includes $17,000,000 for the development of additional approaches and flight procedures at the nation's non-part 139 certified airports. The Committee supports this effort, and has provided $132,400,000 for WAAS, an increase of $10,000,000 above the budget request. Additional funds are provided to publish WAAS approaches at airports at non-Part 139 airports without an existing ILS approach.
Loran-C- The Coast Guard has proposed terminating the LORAN C program in the President's budget request because this system is no longer necessary for a secondary means of navigation. The Committee understands that a decision to terminate LORAN C is dependent upon agreement by the Department of Transportation, which has not yet occurred. The Committee assumes the continuation of LORAN C since this decision has not been fully coordinated within the Executive Branch.
Terminal air modernization replacement (TAMR phase II).--The Committee provides a total of $36,450,000 for TAMR phase II. The $6,000,000 increase over the budget request will ensure full funding and accelerate the upgrade of nine high-risk sites, including the four Full Digital ARTS Display (FDAD) sites identified as critical to the NAS by the inspector general. These four sites are located in Chicago, Saint Louis, Denver, and Minneapolis.
LANDING AND NAVIGATION AIDS
Instrument landing system establishment.--The Committee provides $4,900,000 for this program, an increase of $900,000 over the budget request. Funds shall be distributed as follows:
| Nationwide | $4,000,000 |
| Completion of ILS at Northeastern Regional Airport, Edenton, North Carolina | 500,000 |
| Nationwide surveys | 400,000 |
The Committee directs the FAA to complete surveys to determine if the Hazard Airport, Kentucky; Boise Airport, Idaho; Orlando International Airport, Florida; and the March Air Force Base, California (consistent with the existing cooperative agreement) meet the FAA criteria for establishment or upgrade of an ILS in terms of cost and feasibility.
Approach lighting system improvement program.--The Committee provides $14,000,000 for this program, an increase of $2,000,000 over the budget request. Funds shall be distributed as follows:
| Nationwide | $12,000,000 |
| Continuation of ALS at Lehigh Valley International Airport, Pennsylvania | 1,000,000 |
| Continuation of MALSR at Arlington Municipal Airport | 1,000,000 |
MISSION SUPPORT
NAS information systems.--The Committee provides $14,000,000 to enable the agency to implement FAA requirements for logical access control to align with the common identification standards. This funding will allow the agency to meets its flight plan goal to defend the FAA NAS systems and networks against intrusion by unauthorized personnel. The Committee directs the FAA to provide the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations a summary of how the FAA plans to use the funds.
Center for advanced systems development.--The Committee provides $86,000,000 for the center for advanced systems development, an increase of $16,000,000 above the budget estimate, and equal to the fiscal year 2007 level.
Frequency and spectrum engineering.--The Committee recommendation includes $7,000,000 for frequency and spectrum engineering, an increase of $2,500,000 over the budget request. The additional funds are for the continued implementation of the NAS interference, detection, location, and mitigation for the purpose of monitoring, detecting and locating radio and digital signals affecting the NAS, including such signals as Ultra Wide Band and GPS.
PERSONNEL AND RELATED EXPENSES
The Committee recommends $447,900,000 for personnel and related expenses. This appropriation finances the installation and commissioning of new equipment and modernization of FAA facilities.
BILL LANGUAGE
Capital investment plan.--The bill continues to require the submission of a five year capital investment plan.
RESEARCH, ENGINEERING, AND DEVELOPMENT
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND)
------------------------------------------------
------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $136,620,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 130,000,000
Recommended in the bill 134,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 -2,620,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +4,000,000
------------------------------------------------
This appropriation provides funding for long-term research, engineering and development programs to improve the air traffic control system and to raise the level of aviation safety, as authorized by the Airport and Airway Improvement Act and the Federal Aviation Act. The appropriation also finances the research, engineering and development needed to establish or modify federal air regulations.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends $134,000,000, and a decrease of $2,620,000 below the fiscal year 2006 enacted level and $4,000,000 above the President's budget request.
A table showing the fiscal year 2006 enacted level, the fiscal year 2007 budget estimate, and the Committee recommendation follows:
RESEARCH, ENGINEERING AND DEVELOPMENT
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program Fiscal year 2006 enacted Fiscal year 2007 estimate Committee recommended
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Improve Commercial Aviation Safety: $96,040,000 $88,162,000 $88,162,000
Fire research and safety 6,182,000 6,638,000 6,638,000
Propulsion and fuel systems 5,741,000 4,048,000 4,048,000
Advanced materials/structural safety 5,881,000 2,843,000 5,843,000
Atmospheric hazards/digital system safety 3,407,000 3,848,000 3,848,000
Aging aircraft 19,807,000 18,621,000 18,621,000
Aircraft catastrophic failure prevention 3,306,000 1,512,000 1,512,000
Flightdeck safety/systems integration 8,099,000 7,999,000 7,999,000
Aviation safety risk analysis 4,883,000 5,292,000 5,292,000
ATC/AF human factors 9,558,000 9,654,000 9,654,000
Aeromedical research 8,800,000 6,962,000 6,962,000
Weather research 20,376,000 19,545,000 19,545,000
Unmanned aircraft system 1,200,000
Improve Efficiency of the ATC System: 20,192,000 21,166,000 21,166,000
Joint program and development office 17,919,000 18,100,000 18,100,000
Wake turbulence 2,273,000 3,066,000 3,066,000
Reduce Environmental Impacts: 15,840,000 16,008,000 16,008,000
Environment and energy 15,840,000 16,008,000 16,008,000
Mission Support: 4,548,000 4,664,000 4,664,000
System planning and resource mgmt 1,189,000 1,234,000 1,234,000
Technical laboratory facilities 3,359,000 3,430,000 3,430,000
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Advanced Materials/Structural Safety.--Within the funds provided for advanced material/structural safety, $3,000,000 is for the National Institute for Aviation Research to continue critical aviation research.
Joint Planning and Development Office.--The bill includes $18,100,000, as requested, for FAA's contribution to the multi-agency Joint Planning and Development Office (JPDO). This office involves the Departments of Defense, Commerce, and Homeland Security, FAA, and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in developing a national plan for the transformation of air transportation. This plan is expected to establish a vision for the future air transportation system, set national aerospace goals, and provide a forum to engage industry and customer input. It is an advisory committee as defined in the Federal Advisory Committee Act.
GRANTS-IN-AID FOR AIRPORTS
(LIQUIDATION OF CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION)
(LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS)
(RESCISSION OF CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION)
(AIRPORT AND AIRWAY TRUST FUND)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liquidation of contract authorization Limitation on obligations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $3,399,000,000 ($3,514,500,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 4,000,000,000 (2,750,000,000)
Recommended in the bill 4,171,000,000 (3,700,000,000)
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +772,000,000 (+185,500,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +171,000,000 (+950,000,000)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The bill includes a liquidating cash appropriation of $4,171,000,000 for grants-in-aid for airports, authorized by the Airport and Airway Improvement Act of 1982, as amended. This funding provides for liquidation of obligations incurred pursuant to contract authority and annual limitations on obligations for grants-in-aid for airport planning and development, noise compatibility and planning, the military airport program, reliever airports, airport program administration, and other authorized activities. This is $171,000,000 above the amount requested in the President's budget and $772,000,000 above the level enacted for fiscal year 2006.
LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS
The bill includes a limitation on obligations of $3,700,000,000 for fiscal year 2007. This is $950,000,000 above the President's budget request and $185,000,000 above the fiscal year 2006 level.
DISCRETIONARY GRANTS
Within the overall obligation limitation in this bill, funding of about $965,000,000 is available for discretionary grants to airports.
ADMINISTRATION AND RESEARCH PROGRAMS
The bill provides that, within the overall obligation limitation, $74,971,000 is available for administration of the airports program by the FAA. In addition, $10,000,000 is for the airport cooperative research pilot program, and up to $17,870,000 for the airport technology research. These levels are consistent with the request level. Of the funds provided for airport technology research, $1,000,000 is for alkali silica research.
HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS
Of the funds covered by the obligation limitation in this bill, the Committee directs FAA to provide not less than the following funding levels, out of available resources, for the following projects in the corresponding amounts. The Committee agrees that state apportionment funds may be construed as discretionary funds for the purposes of implementing this provision. To the maximum extent possible, the administrator should work to ensure that airport sponsors for these projects first use available entitlement funds to finance the projects. However, the FAA should not require sponsors to apply carryover entitlement to discretionary projects funded in the coming year, but only those entitlements applicable to the fiscal year 2007 obligation limitation. The Committee further directs that the specific funding allocated above shall not diminish or prejudice the application of a specific airport or geographic region to receive other AIP discretionary grants or mulityear letters of intent.
| Access Control System, Chattanooga Airport, TN | $500,000 |
| Airport Expansion Master Plan, Council Bluffs, IA | 1,000,000 |
| Airport, Taxiway Alpha, Albany, GA | 750,000 |
| Airside Improvements, Jacksonville Airport, FL | 1,000,000 |
| Alamance County Regional Airport Runway Extension, NC | 1,000,000 |
| Albert Whitted Airport Ramp Design/Construction, FL | 200,000 |
| Alliance Airport Runway Extension Project, TX | 500,000 |
| Alliance Airport Runway Extension, Fort Worth, TX | 2,000,000 |
| Altus/Quartz Mountain Regional Airport Runway Rehabilitation, OK | 150,000 |
| Anson County Airport Improvements, NC | 1,000,000 |
| Atlantic City International Airport Terminal Apron, NJ | 1,000,000 |
| Aurora Airport, IL, Various Improvements | 2,000,000 |
| Bemidji Regional Airport Development, MN | 500,000 |
| Bishop Airport, Cargo Apron Expansion, MI | 1,500,000 |
| Chattanooga Airport Runway Project, Feasibility Study, TN | 1,000,000 |
| Cherokee County Airport Authority Improvements, GA | 1,500,000 |
| Cherokee County North Carolina Airport Improvement | 2,000,000 |
| City of Detroit Airport Gateway Plan, MI | 1,500,000 |
| Concord Regional Airport Improvements and Land Acquisition, NC | 1,500,000 |
| Cuyahoga County Airport Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation, OH | 800,000 |
| Devils Lake Airport, ND | 800,000 |
| DuPage Airport, Various Improvements, IL | 1,500,000 |
| Gary/Chicago Airport, Gary, IN | 1,000,000 |
| Greenwood County Airport Runway Extension Study, SC | 100,000 |
| Halifax Northampton Regional Airport, NC Runway | 500,000 |
| Houma-Terrebonne Airport Taxiway and Runway, LA | 750,000 |
| Houston George Bush Intercontinental Airport Noise Project, TX | 750,000 |
| Huron County Regional Airport Taxiway Construction, MI | 150,000 |
| Indianapolis Metropolitan Airport Study, IN | 750,000 |
| Jackson International Airport Improvements, MS | 500,000 |
| Kalamazoo Battle Creek Airport Terminal, MI | 750,000 |
| L.O. Simentstad Municipal Airport, Osceola, WI | 1,500,000 |
| Lafayette Airport, Upgrades, LA | 1,000,000 |
| Lawrence-Vincennes Municipal Airport Terminal Development, IL | 750,000 |
| Lewis Airport Improvements and Land Acquisition, Romeoville, IL | 1,000,000 |
| Lincoln Regional Airport Arrival/Departure Building, CA | 350,000 |
| Louisville Airport Authority Capacity Enhancements, KY | 2,000,000 |
| Mangham Regional Airport Expansion, Nacogdoches, TX | 200,000 |
| Manitowoc County Airport Improvements, Manitowoc, WI | 750,000 |
| McAllen-Miller Airport Mission Pilot Channel Reroute, TX | 700,000 |
| Middle Georgia Regional Airport, GA | 800,000 |
| Midfield Replacement Terminal, Springfield, MO | 2,500,000 |
| Mobile Downtown Airport Apron Rehabilitation, Mobile, AL | 500,000 |
| Monroe Regional Airport, New Terminal, LA | 2,000,000 |
| New Bedford, MA Airport Safety Upgrades | 100,000 |
| New River Valley Airport, Runway Rehabilitation, VA | 600,000 |
| NFIA Circulatory Road and Apron, Niagara County, NY | 1,000,000 |
| Parallel Runway, Kellogg Airport, Battle Creek, MI | 750,000 |
| Parallel Runway, St. Lucie International Airport, FL | 1,000,000 |
| Parallel Taxiway Construction Ogden-Hinckley Airport, UT | 750,000 |
| Pellston Regional Airport Expansion, Pellston, MI | 350,000 |
| Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport Noise Reduction, AZ | 1,700,000 |
| Reconstruct West Apron, Harlingen Airport, TX | 600,000 |
| Rehabilitate Runway, CVG, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky Airport, Boone, KY | 2,000,000 |
| Resurface Runway, Philadelphia International Airport, Philadelphia, PA | 1,500,000 |
| Rochester Airport Ramp and Safety Improvements, NC | 1,000,000 |
| Rockingham County Airport Improvements, NC | 500,000 |
| Runway 13-31E Reconstruction at BNA, TN | 500,000 |
| Runway 7-25 Rehabilitation, NNWIA, VA | 1,000,000 |
| Runway Upgrade Phase I, Garfield County Regional Airport, CO | 1,500,000 |
| Sacramento County Airport System Master Plan, CA | 300,000 |
| Saline County Airport, AR | 700,000 |
| San Jose International Airport Guard Lights, CA | 400,000 |
| Sawyer County Airport, WI | 1,500,000 |
| Sheboygan County Memorial Airport Improvements, Sheboygan, WI | 500,000 |
| Somerset Airport Land Acquisition for Obstruction Removal, KY | 1,000,000 |
| St. Cloud Airport Improvements, MN | 150,000 |
| St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport Terminal Renovation, FL | 500,000 |
| Stanly County Airport Improvements, NC | 1,000,000 |
| Statesville Airport Improvement Project, NC | 750,000 |
| Subsurface Wetland Glycol Treatment, Buffalo, NY | 1,250,000 |
| Taylor County Airport, Medford, WI | 2,000,000 |
| Terminal Improvements Roberts Field--Redmond, OR | 950,000 |
| Terminal Improvements, Augusta Regional Airport, GA | 2,000,000 |
| Texarkana Regional Airport Passenger Terminal, TX | 750,000 |
| Toledo Express Airport, Air Cargo Operations, OH | 750,000 |
| Turner County Airport Revitalization, GA | 250,000 |
| Tuscaloosa Regional Airport Master Plan Update, AL | 200,000 |
| Twin County Airport, Airport Safety Area, Carroll County, VA | 200,000 |
| Williams Gateway Airport Taxiway Improvements, AZ | 2,000,000 |
BILL LANGUAGE
Runway incursion prevention systems and devices.--Consistent with the provisions of Public Law 106-181 and the fiscal year 2004 through 2006 Appropriations Acts, the bill allows funds under this limitation to be used for airports to procure and install runway incursion prevention systems and devices.
Small community air service development program.--The bill specifies that $20,000,000 of the total amount limited is available to continue the small community air service development program.
Administration and research programs.--The bill provides that, within the overall obligation limitation, $74,971,000 is available for administration of the airports program by the FAA. The Committee also provides $10,000,000 is for the airport cooperative research pilot program, and up to $17,870,000 for the airport technology research.
(RESCISSION OF CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION)
---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------
Rescission, fiscal year 2006 -$1,032,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -1,582,000,000
Recommended in the bill -25,000,000
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 -1,007,000,000
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 -1,557,000,000
---------------------------------------------------
The Committee recommendation includes a rescission of contract authorization of $25,000,000 from contract authority in fiscal year 2006 that `popped-up' above the obligation limitation available for that fiscal year due to the 1 percent across the board cut. Therefore, this rescission has no effect on any grants-in-aid program. The proposed rescission is a result of section 107 of AIR-21 (P.L. 106-181). This section specified that, in the event appropriations for the facilities and equipment program were less than authorized in a given fiscal year, additional contract authorization would automatically be made available for the grants-in-aid for airports program. The Committee understands that the legislative committees intended to provide flexibility in meeting the funding guarantees, by allowing the Appropriations Committees to meet the guarantee by providing a single, combined total of funding for the F&E and grants-in-aid programs rather than hitting the precise authorized amounts for each as specified in the authorization Act. Because the Appropriations Committees are not provided an allocation of budget authority for the grants-in-aid program, section 107 provided automatic budget authority for this purpose. The Committee continues to disagree with the Congressional Budget Offices' scoring of this provision.
ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS--FEDERAL AVIATION ADMINISTRATION
Section 110. The Committee retains a provision requiring FAA to accept landing systems, lighting systems, and associated equipment procured by airports, subject to certain criteria.
Section 111. The Committee retains, with modification, a provision limiting the number of technical workyears at the Center for Advanced Aviation Systems Development. The modification raises the limitation from 375 in fiscal year 2006 to 380 in fiscal year 2007.
Section 112. The Committee retains a provision prohibiting FAA from requiring airport sponsors to provide the agency `without cost' building construction, maintenance, utilities and expenses, or space in sponsor-owned buildings, except in the case of certain specified exceptions.
Section 113. The Committee retains a provision allowing reimbursement of funds for providing technical assistance to foreign aviation authorities to be credited to the operations account.
Section 114. The Committee retains a provision prohibiting funds to change weight restrictions or prior permission rules at Teterboro Airport, Teterboro, New Jersey.
Section 115. The Committee continues a provision extending the current terms and conditions of FAA's aviation insurance program, commonly known as the `war risk insurance' program, for one additional year, from December 31, 2006 to December 31, 2007. Although the underlying program is authorized until March 2008, certain provisions including premium price caps were set to expire at the end of this calendar year. The Committee recommendation preserves the status quo under this program, a savings of $125,000,000 from the budget estimate. Savings accrue because the bill's provisions result in additional revenue from insurance premiums, which were assumed to be zero in the budget estimate for fiscal year 2007.
Section 116. The Committee retains a provision that prohibits funds for engineering work related to an additional runway at Louis Armstrong International Airport in New Orleans, Louisiana.
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) provides financial assistance to the states to construct and improve roads and highways, and provides technical assistance to other agencies and organizations involved in road building activities. Title 23 of the United States Code and other supporting legislation provide authority for the various activities of the FHWA. Funding is provided by contract authority, with program levels established by annual limitations on obligations set in Appropriations Acts.
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), enacted August 10, 2005, provides for increased transportation infrastructure investment, strengthens transportation safety and environmental programs, and continues core research activities. SAFETEA-LU also amended the Budget Enforcement Act to continue two discretionary spending categories, one of which is the highway category. This category is comprised of all federal-aid highways funding, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration's motor carrier safety funding, National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA) highway safety grants funding and NHTSA highway safety research and development funding. If appropriations action forces highway obligations to exceed this level, the resulting difference in outlays is charged to the discretionary spending category. In addition, beginning in fiscal year 2007 if receipts into the highway account of the highway trust fund exceed levels specified in SAFETEA-LU, automatic adjustments are made to increase or decrease obligations and outlays for the highway category accordingly. Additional resources provided by this automatic spending mechanism are called revenue-aligned budget authority (RABA).
SUMMARY OF FISCAL YEAR 2007 PROGRAM
SAFETEA-LU caps the highway category obligations at $39,460,710,516 in fiscal year 2007 and federal-aid highway obligations at $38,244,210,516. In addition, the provisions of SAFETEA-LU require an increase of $842,254,167 in fiscal year 2007 in federal-aid highway funding due to RABA. This combined total highway funding level of $39,086,464,683 represents almost a 10% increase over the fiscal year 2006 enacted level of $35,550,788,034.
The Committee's recommendation is consistent with the levels guaranteed by SAFETEA-LU, as adjusted for RABA. The following table summarizes the program levels within the FHWA for fiscal year 2006 enacted, the fiscal year 2007 budget request and the Committee's recommendation:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Program Fiscal year 2006 enacted Fiscal year 2007 request Recomended in the bill
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Federal-aid highways $35,550,788,034 1 $38,244,210,516 $38,244,210,516
Revenue aligned budget authority (RABA) - - - 842,254,167 842,254,167
Subtotal 35,550,788,034 39,086,464,683 39,086,464,683
Exempt contract authority 739,000,000 739,000,000 739,000,000
Subtotal 36,289,778,034 39,825,464,683 39,825,464,683
Emergency relief program--P.L. 109-148 (GF) 2,750,000,000 - - - - - -
Appalachian development highway system (GF) 19,800,000 - - - - - -
Rescission of contract authority -3,142,999,000 - - - -2,164,453,027
Total 35,916,589,034 39,825,464,683 37,661,011,656
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
LIMITATION ON ADMINISTRATIVE EXPENSES
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 ($360,991,620)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 (372,504,000)
Recommended in the bill (372,504,000)
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 (+11,512,380)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 (- - -)
--------------------------------------------------
This limitation controls spending for the salaries and expenses of the FHWA required to conduct and administer the federal-aid highway program, highway-related research, and most other federal highway programs.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation of $372,504,000, consistent with the budget request and $11,512,380 above the fiscal year 2006 level. This funding level is sufficient to fund 2,430 full time equivalent staff years (FTE).
Congressional budget justifications- The Committee is disappointed by the poor quality of the FHWA's budget submission for fiscal year 2007, particularly with the lack of information provided for the agency's research and technology programs. For example, the budget submission fails to include basic descriptive budgetary data, such as tables showing funding amounts for each research program, as well as justifications and descriptions for these programs. The budget submission also fails to identify changes in legislative language being requested by the agency. The Committee cannot evaluate the merit of bill language if the language is not included; a short description with little to no information is unacceptable. The Committee understands that the FHWA recently hired a new budget officer and is optimistic that this new hire will bring about positive changes. The Committee expects to see improved budget justifications next year and, to this end, directs the FHWA to submit its fiscal year 2008 Congressional justification materials at the same level of detail provided in the fiscal year 2003 Congressional justifications. Furthermore, the Committee directs the FHWA to include funding levels for the prior year, current year, and budget year for all programs, activities, initiatives, and program elements. The budget submission must also include detailed justification for requested FTE and funding increases, by program, activity, and program element, as well as legislative language for all proposed programs and provisions.
Unobligated balances in miscellaneous accounts- The Committee is concerned that the FHWA is doing little to identify unneeded balances of unobligated highway project funds. These no-year funds, which have been designated for specific purposes and geographic locations, cannot be used for another project without legislative action. As a result, these funds remain unobligated indefinitely. In a 2004 report, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) noted that the FHWA was not routinely reviewing these unobligated project funds and identified $16,407,909 that could be rescinded. In a subsequent May 2006 report, GAO identified an additional $12,177,194 for rescission. The Committee is concerned that the FHWA is not routinely reviewing projects with unneeded balances and is instead waiting for outside parties to initiate reviews. Therefore, the Committee directs the FHWA to submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by February 1, 2007, detailing how the agency is addressing GAO's recommendations. The report should describe the process for reviewing unobligated project funds, as well as notifying Congress of those projects where legislative action is needed.
In addition, the Committee understands that section 1603 of SAFETEA-LU addresses the use of excess funds and funds for inactive projects that were allocated before fiscal year 1991. The Committee directs the FHWA to include with the fiscal year 2008 budget submission a description of any action taken under that section in fiscal year 2006.
George Washington Memorial Parkway feasibility study.--The Committee directs the FHWA to work with the National Park Service to determine the feasibility of extending a third southbound lane of the George Washington Memorial Parkway from the Key Bridge to the Roosevelt Memorial Bridge in Arlington, Virginia. The FHWA shall assist the National Park Service in the preparation of a report which must be submitted to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations, not later than six months after the date of enactment of this Act, on the feasibility of such an extension.
LIMITATION ON TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH
--------------------------------------------------
--------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 ($425,502,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 (429,800,000)
Recommended in the bill (429,800,000)
Bill compared with:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 (+4,298,000)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 (- - -)
--------------------------------------------------
This limitation controls spending for the transportation research and technology contract programs of the FHWA. It includes a number of contract programs including surface transportation research, training and education, university transportation research, and intelligent transportation systems research. Funding for the Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS) is also included within this limitation even though BTS is organizationally placed within the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA). Additional information regarding BTS is included in the RITA section of this report.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The recommendation includes an obligation limitation for transportation research of $429,800,000 in fiscal year 2007 for the following transportation research programs:
---------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------
Surface transportation research $196,400,000
Training and education 26,700,000
Bureau of transportation statistics 27,000,000
University transportation research 69,700,000
Intelligent transportation systems research 110,000,000
Total 429,800,000
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FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS
(LIQUIDATION OF CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION)
(LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS)
(HIGHWAY TRUST FUND)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Liquidation of contract authorization Limitation on obligations
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 $36,032,343,903 ($35,550,788,034) 1
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 39,086,000,000 (39,086,464,683)
Recommended in the bill 39,086,464,683 (39,086,464,683)
Bill compared to:
Appropriation, fiscal year 2006 +3,054,120,780 (+3,535,676,649)
Budget request, fiscal year 2007 +464,683 (- - -)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The federal-aid highways (FAH) program is designed to aid in the development, operations and management of an intermodal transportation system that is economically efficient, environmentally sound, provides the foundation for the nation to compete in the global economy, and moves people and goods safely.
All programs included within FAH are financed from the highway trust fund and most are distributed via apportionments and allocations to states. The FAH program is funded by contract authority in SAFETEA-LU and liquidating cash appropriations are subsequently provided to fund outlays resulting from obligations incurred under contract authority.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a liquidating cash appropriation of $39,086,464,683. This is the amount required to pay the outstanding obligations of the highway program at levels provided in this Act and prior appropriations Acts.
LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS
The bill includes language limiting fiscal year 2007 federal-aid highways obligations to $39,086,464,683, consistent with the SAFETEA-LU highway funding guarantees as adjusted for RABA. Of the amount provided under RABA, an amount to be calculated is available to the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) for the motor carrier safety grant program and bill language is included to transfer this funding to FMCSA.
The Committee has also included bill language, as was enacted last year, that allows the secretary to charge and collect fees from the applicant for a direct loan, guaranteed loan, or line of credit to cover the cost of the financial and legal analyses performed on behalf of the department. These fees are not subject to any obligation limitation or the limitation on administrative expenses set for the transportation infrastructure finance and innovation program under section 608 of title 23, United States Code.
Although the following table reflects an estimated distribution of obligations by program category, the bill includes a limitation applicable only to the total of certain federal-aid spending. The following table indicates estimated obligations by program within the $39,086,464,683 provided by this Act and additional resources made available by permanent law:
FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS ESTIMATED OBLIGATION LIMITATION BY PROGRAM
[In thousands of dollars]
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programs FY 2005 limitation FY 2006 limitation FY 2007 est.limitation
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Subject to limitation:
Surface Transportation Program $5,475,931 $5,139,465 6,143,138
National Highway System 4,678,055 4,879,210 4,853,549
Interstate Maintenance 3,829,247 3,994,609 4,776,773
Bridge Program 3,271,421 3,412,935 4,081,561
Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement 1,336,163 1,393,288 1,665,247
Highway Safety Improvement Program - - - 866,641 1,014,618
Equity Bonus 6,828,645 5,858,197 7,359,857
Surface Transportation Research Program 152,453 169,159 188,811
University Transportation Research, Training and Education 52,086 83,029 92,675
ITS Standards, Research and Development 85,386 94,743 105,750
ITS Deployment 94,701 - - - - - -
Bureau of Transportation Statistics 26,263 26,730 27,280
Federal Lands Highways 630,538 701,440 854,650
High Priority Projects 2,536,272 2,554,960 2,851,782
Projects of National and Regional Significance 152,105 306,451 427,565
National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program 166,554 335,562 468,183
Transportation Improvements 218,473 440,165 614,126
Appalachian Development Highway System 385,374 395,296 446,970
Transportation, Community, and System Preservation Program 21,375 52,755 358,883
Other Programs 4,032,584 4,380,083 2,265,255
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation (TIFIA) 104,310 105,079 117,286
Administration 341,485 360,992 372,504
Total Subject to Obligation Limitation 34,419,420 35,550,788 39,086,465
Emergency Relief Program 100,000 100,000 100,000
Equity Bonus 639,000 639,000 639,000
Total Exempt Programs 739,000 739,000 739,000
37,095,492 39,039,788 39,825,465 - - -
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The following table reflects the estimated distribution of the federal-aid limitation by state:
ESTIMATED FY 2007 OBLIGATION LIMITATION
[In thousands of dollars]
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
State Formula Obligation Limitation Formula Obligation Limitation RABA Equity Bonus Appalachian Development Highways Total
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Alabama $548,200 $6,932 $49,514 $27,803 $632,448
Alaska 234,629 4,058 44,953 0 283,640
Arizona 531,148 9,833 54,387 0 595,368
Arkansas 368,026 4,539 28,040 0 400,605
California 2,778,209 50,276 145,364 0 2,973,850
Colorado 386,101 7,192 18,226 0 411,519
Connecticut 390,861 4,716 34,746 0 430,324
Delaware 122,165 1,507 3,464 0 127,136
District of Columbia 129,766 1,442 0 0 131,208
Florida 1,345,091 26,230 171,589 0 1,542,910
Georgia 971,216 18,912 113,040 17,040 1,120,208
Hawaii 130,372 1,608 4,694 0 136,674
Idaho 210,115 2,636 21,033 0 233,784
Illinois 1,013,190 19,098 65,256 0 1,097,544
Indiana 703,075 13,379 76,653 0 793,106
Iowa 339,393 6,186 3,012 0 348,591
Kansas 326,808 3,639 1,201 0 331,648
Kentucky 445,166 6,027 29,265 65,207 545,665
Louisiana 474,012 5,526 18,002 0 497,540
Maine 147,155 1,820 0 0 148,975
Maryland 464,625 8,769 24,454 6,099 503,947
Massachusetts 514,054 5,834 15,592 0 535,479
Michigan 910,643 16,515 59,244 0 986,401
Minnesota 494,480 9,441 32,938 0 536,858
Mississippi 351,018 5,157 17,376 5,042 378,593
Missouri 699,480 8,215 39,809 0 747,505
Montana 270,304 3,383 28,177 0 301,863
Nebraska 229,456 2,647 3,000 0 235,103
Nevada 195,480 3,948 10,750 0 210,178
New Hampshire 139,154 1,607 6,610 0 147,371
New Jersy 767,970 14,227 52,968 0 835,165
New Mexico 282,590 3,365 18,444 0 304,399
New York 1,366,034 16,028 58,046 21,467 1,461,574
North Carolina 779,871 15,308 75,757 36,363 907,299
North Dakota 192,539 2,233 4,198 0 198,970
Ohio 1,047,877 19,884 81,721 19,517 1,169,000
Oklahoma 465,604 8,380 19,266 0 493,250
Oregon 354,111 4,219 6,124 0 364,454
Pennsylvania 1,263,460 15,672 75,171 98,347 1,452,651
Rhode Island 155,474 1,883 0 0 157,356
South Carolina 456,633 8,686 39,627 2,762 507,707
South Dakota 200,028 2,483 10,343 0 212,854
Tennessee 605,013 12,060 47,765 33,257 698,095
Texas 2,330,764 43,408 228,337 0 2,602,509
Utah 214,770 2,682 9,396 0 226,848
Vermont 134,835 1,617 0 0 136,452
Virginia 743,028 14,357 64,750 31,796 853,930
Washington 530,117 9,319 5,358 0 544,794
West Virginia 241,452 3,848 15,979 82,269 343,548
Wisconsin 550,530 6,782 57,813 0 615,125
Wyoming 206,506 2,378 8,552 0 217,436
Subtotal 28,752,597 469,890 2,000,000 446,970 31,669,457
High Priority Projects 2,821,046 30,736 0 0 2,851,782
Allocated Programs 4,223,597 341,629 0 0 4,565,226
Total Limitation 35,797,241 842,254 2,000,000 446,970 39,086,465
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Federal-aid highways and bridges are managed through a federal-state partnership. States and localities maintain ownership and responsibility for maintenance, repair and new construction of roads. State highway departments have the authority to initiate federal-aid projects subject to FHWA approval of plans, specifications, and cost estimates. The federal government provides financial support for construction and repair through matching grants, the terms of which vary with the type of road.
There are almost four million miles of public roads in the United States and approximately 594,000 bridges. The federal government provides grants to states to assist in financing the construction and preservation of about 971,000 miles (24 percent) of these roads, which represents the National Highway System plus key feeder and collector routes. Highways eligible for federal aid carry about 85 percent of total U.S. highway traffic.
Under SAFETEA-LU, federal-aid highways funds are made available through the following major programs:
Surface transportation program (STP)- STP is a flexible program that may be used by states and localities for projects on any federal-aid highway, bridge projects on any public road, transit capital projects, and intracity and intercity bus terminals and facilities. A portion of STP funds are set aside for transportation enhancements and state sub-allocations are provided. The federal share for STP is generally 80 percent, subject to the sliding scale adjustment, with a four-year availability period.
National highway system (NHS)- The NHS program provides funding for a designated National Highway System consisting of roads that are of primary federal interest. The NHS consists of the current Interstate, other rural principal arterials, urban freeways and connecting urban principal arterials, and facilities on the Defense Department's designated Strategic Highway Network, and roads connecting the NHS to intermodal facilities. Legislation designating the 161,000 mile system was enacted in 1995 and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) added to the system the highways and connections to transportation facilities identified in the May 24, 1996 report to Congress. The federal share for the NHS program is generally 80 percent, subject to the sliding scale adjustment, with an availability period of four-years.
Interstate maintenance (IM) program.--The IM program finances projects to rehabilitate, restore, resurface and reconstruct the Interstate system. Reconstruction that increases capacity, other than HOV lanes, is not eligible for IM funds. The federal share for the IM program is 90 percent, subject to the sliding scale adjustment, and funds are available for four years.
Funds provided for the Interstate maintenance discretionary program in fiscal year 2007 shall be available for the following activities in the corresponding amounts:
| Alameda County I-580 HOV Lane, CA | $1,000,000 |
| Cactus Avenue, NV | 500,000 |
| Depression of Belt Line Road Below Grade at I-35, TX | 750,000 |
| I-10--Grove Avenue, Ontario, CA | 750,000 |
| I-10 Improvement Project, Western Maricopa County, AZ | 750,000 |
| I-10 Ramon Road/Bob Hope Interchange, CA | 500,000 |
| I-15 Bluff Interchange, St. George, UT | 1,000,000 |