U.S. Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Al) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget for the Federal Transit Administration

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U.S. Senator Richard C. Shelby (R-Al) Holds a Hearing On the Fiscal Year 2007 Budget for the Federal Transit Administration

U.S. SENATE COMMITTEE ON BANKING, HOUSING AND URBAN AFFAIRS HOLDS A HEARING ON THE FISCAL YEAR 2007 BUDGET FOR THE FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION

FEBRUARY 28, 2006

SPEAKERS: U.S. SENATOR RICHARD C. SHELBY (R-AL) CHAIRMAN U.S. SENATOR ROBERT F. BENNETT (R-UT) U.S. SENATOR WAYNE ALLARD (R-CO) U.S. SENATOR MICHAEL B. ENZI (R-WY) U.S. SENATOR CHARLES HAGEL (R-NE) U.S. SENATOR RICK SANTORUM (R-PA) U.S. SENATOR JIM BUNNING (R-KY) U.S. SENATOR MICHAEL CRAPO (R-ID) U.S. SENATOR JOHN E. SUNUNU (R-NH) U.S. SENATOR ELIZABETH DOLE (R-NC) U.S. SENATOR MEL MARTINEZ (R-FL)

U.S. SENATOR PAUL S. SARBANES (D-MD) RANKING MEMBER U.S. SENATOR CHRISTOPHER J. DODD (D-CT) U.S. SENATOR TIM JOHNSON (D-SD) U.S. SENATOR JACK REED (D-RI) U.S. SENATOR CHARLES E. SCHUMER (D-NY) U.S. SENATOR EVAN BAYH (D-IN) U.S. SENATOR THOMAS R. CARPER (D-DE) U.S. SENATOR DEBBIE STABENOW (D-MI)

WITNESSES: SANDRA BUSHUE, DEPUTY ADMINISTRATOR, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION,

WILLIAM MILLAR, PRESIDENT, AMERICAN PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION ASSOCIATION

PATRICK MCCRORY, MAYOR OF CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA, ON BEHALF OF THE UNITED STATES CONFERENCE OF MAYORS

[*] SHELBY: Committee will come to order.

Today we're meeting to consider the administration's '07 budget for the Federal Transit Administration. We will have two panels testifying.

Our first witness is Sandra Bushue, deputy administrator of the FTA. Our second panel is comprised of Mr. William Millar, president of the American Public Transportation Association, and testifying on behalf of the U.S. Conference of Mayors is the Honorable Patrick McCrory, the mayor of Charlotte, North Carolina.

Let me just being by saying that both Senator Sarbanes and I are pleased that the SAFETEA reauthorization process is over. It was important for us to have a well-thought-out piece of legislation that fosters investment in public transportation because it builds better communities, provides transportation opportunities to elderly and low- income people and relieves congestion on our roadways.

We stuck to our guns and fought to see that transit got increased funding in SAFETEA. I'm proud to say that the new authorization levels provide for a 46 percent increase over TEA-21 levels. So I am pleased that the administration with one exception has funded FTA at the level we authorized for '07. There is a dire need for more transit investment in this country and this budget will help fund many of the priorities this committee cares deeply about. I'm concerned about two elements of the budget. First, the 100 million shortfall in the Small Starts Program, a new program we created in SAFETEA. We created this program for a good reason. There is a nationwide demand for small starts projects, as evidenced by the 50-plus requests submitted to us during the drafting of the bill.

The shortfall is peculiar to us as we work closely with the administration to develop a flexible program to fund small but vital transit projects like bus rapid transit, for which it is not cost effective or efficient to subject to the lengthy and expensive approval process necessary for large...

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