Rep. John W. Olver Holds a Hearing On the Transportation Department

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Rep. John W. Olver Holds a Hearing On the Transportation Department

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS, SUBCOMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT, AND RELATED AGENCIES HOLDS A HEARING ON THE TRANSPORTATION DEPARTMENT

JUNE 4, 2009

SPEAKERS: REP. JOHN W. OLVER, D-MASS. CHAIRMAN REP. ED PASTOR, D-ARIZ. REP. CIRO D. RODRIGUEZ, D-TEXAS REP. MARCY KAPTUR, D-OHIO REP. DAVID E. PRICE, D-N.C. REP. LUCILLE ROYBAL-ALLARD, D-CALIF. REP. MARION BERRY, D-ARK. REP. CAROLYN CHEEKS KILPATRICK, D-MICH. REP. DAVID R. OBEY, D-WIS. EX OFFICIO

REP. TOM LATHAM, R-IOWA RANKING MEMBER REP. FRANK R. WOLF, R-VA. REP. JOHN CARTER, R-TEXAS REP. STEVEN C. LATOURETTE, R-OHIO REP. JERRY LEWIS, R-CALIF. EX OFFICIO

WITNESSES: TRANSPORTATION SECRETARY RAY LAHOOD

[*] OLVER: The hearing will come to order.

I apologize. I had suddenly realized that I could barely see out of my glasses, so I had to make a quick trip to kind of clear the fog away. Anyway.

I would like to welcome the secretary of transportation to our hearing this morning, Ray LaHood, a former member of our august body, and a very honored member as well.

Mr. Secretary, this is your second appearance before the subcommittee this year, and we're pleased to have you with us this morning to discuss the fiscal year 2010 budget request for the Department of Transportation.

You've been on the job now a little over four months, and you're getting your political team in place to lead the department in a new direction. The department has a unique opportunity to set new policy with major multi-year authorizations that are pending for the aviation and the surface transportation programs.

The budget which you released -- which was released nearly a month ago, requests a total of $72.45 billion for the agencies and programs within the Department of Transportation, and represents a little more than a 2 percent increase over the fiscal year 2009 enacted level, excluding the Recovery Act funding that was passed earlier this year.

In many ways, this budget represents a positive step forward for aviation and passenger rail programs, but there are some urgent challenges that lie ahead for the highway and transit programs.

While the budget proposes modest increases for the surface transportation programs, there is (inaudible) for the specific highway, transit and safety programs. Surface budget before us has overall funding levels, but little information on the individual programs for each agency. This is underscored by the nearly $40 billion from the general fund for the highway and transit programs, which is described as a placeholder until the administration comes forward with its reauthorization proposal.

This causes the subcommittee some difficulty as we move forward to put together the fiscal year 2010 bill, which is further complicated by the CBO and OMB projections that the Highway Trust Fund will once again face a cash flow insolvency crisis toward the end of the present fiscal year.

Additionally, the current transportation authorization, SAFETEA- LU, expires at the end of fiscal year 2009, and it is uncertain whether a reauthorization will pass before it expires, leaving in doubt future funding and revenue levels.

It's imperative that the long-term solvency of the trust fund be addressed. Solutions have been proposed. In the last year, two congressionally designated commissions on transportation infrastructure have recommended substantial reforms, and it's strongly suggested that we need additional revenues to maintain and improve our aging surface transportation system.

Given the national long-term impacts that a change in the financing structure could have, I believe the administration must exert greater leadership in this area and hope that you will provide more specificity on the budgetary needs of the highway and transit programs, as well as the administration's suggestions on how these programs ought to be financed.

As I mentioned at the outset, there are some positive aspects to the budget pending before us. With regard to aviation, I am pleased that the budget request acknowledges the infrastructure needs at the nation's airports. The previous administration repeatedly sought to cut the Airport Improvement Program by over $750 million a year.

The budget also proposes a robust $865 million in the FAA's NextGen program, which was created to modernize our nation's aging air traffic control system.

However, given the aviation industry's declining performance record, exemplified by the steady drop in on-time arrivals, the successful implementation of the NextGen system is vital to managing air traffic growth and reducing delays. And I fear that your $850 million request is too little, too ca...

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