Norton Succeeds in Getting Five-Year Transportation Conference Report to Provide Increased Funding

Norton Says Congress Must Face Necessity to Rebuild Nation's Highways, Bridges, and Transit Systems

WASHINGTON, D.C.—Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), ranking member of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee and one of the "Big Four" transportation leaders in the House, yesterday signed the Conference Report for a five-year surface transportation authorization, which includes her major priorities for the District of Columbia and the nation. During the Conference Committee meeting, Norton asked for a five-year authorization instead of the House-passed six-year authorization in order to boost the authorized funding by $12.8 billion annually.

"While this bill does not have the funding levels that have become necessary for rebuilding our transportation and infrastructure, our last-minute reduction of the authorization to five years instead of six at least allows an increase in the funding that Congress was otherwise unwilling to permit by increasing the gas tax," Norton said. "Of course, the trade-off in a shorter term reauthorization only points up congressional denial of its obligation to pay for one of its most basic national responsibilities. Still, I commend Transportation Committee Chairman Bill Schuster (R-PA) for his willingness to do what he could with the hand he was dealt, and I am grateful for the many agreements the Big Four made together that produced a bill I am pleased to support."

The Conference Report includes most of Norton's priorities, including her language for direct federal safety oversight of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transportation Authority Metrorail; more funding for Amtrak than in the House version and $3 billion total for Northeast Corridor infrastructure; $7.5 million in annual grant funding for states to collect data on racial profiling; up to $375 million in annual funding for the Federal Lands Transportation Program, including considerable federal roads and bridges in the District, and $100 million for federal lands projects of national significance, such as Memorial Bridge; reauthorization of the Disadvantaged Business Enterprises program; funding for workforce development; up to $20 million per year to allow states to experiment with alternative user-fee based funding mechanisms to help maintain solvency of the Highway Trust Fund; protections for bus and rail operators from assault; and a study on restroom breaks for transit bus and rail operators.