[Senate Report 111-61]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
Calendar No. 132
111th Congress Report
SENATE
1st Session 111-61
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PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION EXTENSION ACT OF 2009
_______
July 29, 2009.--Ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Dodd, from the Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
[To accompany S. 1533]
The Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs,
having had under consideration an original bill (S. 1533) to
provide an extension of public transportation programs
authorized under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users having considered
the same, reports favorably thereon and recommends that the
bill do pass.
I. INTRODUCTION
On July 23, 2009, the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing,
and Urban Affairs met in executive session and considered an
original bill, entitled the ``Public Transportation Extension
Act of 2009,'' a bill to extend public transportation programs
authorized under the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (Pub. L. 109-59).
The Committee voted by voice vote to favorably report the bill
to the Senate.
II. BACKGROUND
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) expires on
September 30, 2009. Without a reauthorization or extension of
the current law, Congress cannot fund public transportation
programs after September 30, 2009. This bill extends the
current law through March 31, 2011.
III. SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1: Short title
This section provides the Short Title of the bill ``Public
Transportation Extension Act of 2009''.
Section 2: Allocation of funds for planning programs
This section provides that the formula for allocating
planning funds between metropolitan planning programs and State
planning programs will continue through March 31, 2011.
Section 3: Special rule for urbanized area formula grants
This section extends until March 31, 2011, the special rule
permitting some urbanized areas with populations over 200,000
to use funds for operating.
Section 4: Allocating amounts for capital investment grants
This section provides that the allocations for small
starts, ferry boats, the fuel cell bus program, intermodal
terminals and bus testing will continue at the 2009 authorized
levels through March 31, 2011.
Section 5: Apportionment of formula grants for other than urbanized
areas
This section provides that the apportionment for the tribal
transit program will continue at the 2009 authorized level
through March 31, 2011.
Section 6: Apportionment based on fixed guideway factors
This section provides that the apportionment for fixed
guideway modernization will continue at the 2009 authorized
levels through March 31, 2011.
Section 7: Authorizations for public transportation
This section provides that funding for the Metropolitan and
Statewide Planning (section 5305); Urbanized Area Formula
Program (section 5307); Clean Fuels Grant Program (section
5308); Fixed Guideway Modernization (section 5309(m)(2)(B));
Bus and Bus-Related Equipment and Facilities (section
5309(m)(2)(C)); Elderly Individuals and Individuals with
Disabilities (section 5310); Other Than Urbanized Area Formula
Program (section 5311); Job Access and Reverse Commute (section
5316); New Freedom (section 5317); Paul S. Sarbanes Transit in
the Parks Program (section 5320); National Transit Database
(section 5335); Alternatives Analysis (section 5339); Growing
States and High Density States (section 5340); Over the Road
Bus Accessibility Program (section 3038 of TEA-21); Capital
Investment Grants (section 5309(m)(2)(A); Research Programs
(section 5338(d)); and FTA Administration (section 5338(e))
will continue at the 2009 authorized levels through March 31,
2011.
Section 8: Amendments to the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users
This section extends until March 31, 2011, at the 2009
authorized levels, the following programs: Public-Private
Partnership Pilot Program (section 3011); Elderly Individuals
and Individuals with Disabilities Pilot Program (section 3012);
Obligation Ceiling (section 3040); and Allocations for National
Research and Technology Programs (section 3046).
In addition, Project Authorizations for New Fixed Guideway
Capital Projects entering preliminary engineering and final
design (section 3043) are extended until March 31, 2011.
IV. COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION
The Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs met in
executive session on July 23, 2009, and by a voice vote ordered
the bill reported.
V. CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE COST ESTIMATE
Section 11(b) of the Standing Rules of the Senate, and
Section 403 of the Congressional Budget Impoundment and Control
Act, require that each committee report on a bill contain a
statement estimating the costs of the proposed legislation. The
Congressional Budget Office has provided the following cost
estimate:
S. 1533--Public Transportation Extension Act of 2009
Summary: The Public Transportation Extension Act of 2009
would extend through March 31, 2011, the federal transit
programs authorized by the Safe, Accountable, Flexible,
Efficient Transportation Equity Act (SAFETEA-LU; Public Law
109-59). The bill would set the amount of contract authority
(the authority to incur obligations in advance of
appropriations and a mandatory form of budget authority) at
$8.4 billion for 2010 and at $4.2 billion for the period from
October 1, 2010, through March 31, 2011. The bill also would
authorize discretionary appropriations of $3.0 billion over the
same period for several programs that do not receive contract
authority.
Consistent with the rules in the Balanced Budget and
Emergency Deficit Control Act for constructing the baseline,
CBO assumes that funding provided by the bill for the first six
months of fiscal year 2011 would continue at the same rate
through the rest of that year and in each of the following
years. Hence, CBO estimates that enacting the bill would result
in baseline contract authority totaling $84 billion over the
2010-2019 period. That funding level represents an increase of
$1 billion ($100 million per year) above the amounts of
contract authority for public transportation programs currently
projected in CBO's baseline for the 2010-2019 period.
CBO expects that most spending for public transportation
programs will continue to be controlled by limits on annual
obligations set in appropriation acts. Consequently, the
changes in contract authority would not increase mandatory
outlays. CBO estimates that, subject to the enactment of annual
obligation limitations for the 18-month period of program
extension, as well as the discretionary appropriations that
would be authorized by the bill, implementing this legislation
would increase discretionary spending by $15.4 billion over the
2010-2019 period. CBO estimates that enacting the bill would
not affect revenues.
The bill contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act (UMRA)
and would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal
governments.
Estimated cost to the Federal Government: The estimated
budgetary impact of the legislation is summarized in the
following table. The costs of this legislation fall within
budget function 400 (transportation).
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By fiscal year, in billions of dollars--
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2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2010-2014 2010-2019
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CHANGES IN DIRECT SPENDING
Budget Authority................................ 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.5 1.0
Estimated Outlays............................... 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
CHANGES IN SPENDING SUBJECT TO APPROPRIATION
Trust Fund Spending for Transit
Obligation Limitation....................... 8.4 4.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 12.6 12.6
Estimated Outlays........................... 1.3 3.1 2.9 2.1 1.6 1.1 0.3 0 0 0 11.0 12.4
Other Transit Programs......................
Authorization Level......................... 2.0 1.0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3.0 3.0
Estimated Outlays........................... 0.4 0.8 0.7 0.5 0.3 0.2 0.1 0 0 0 2.7 3.0
Total Changes...............................
Authorization Level/Obligation.............. 10.4 5.2 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 15.6 15.6
Limitation..................................
Estimated Outlays........................... 1.7 3.9 3.6 2.6 1.9 1.3 0.4 0 0 0 13.7 15.4
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Estimated discretionary outlays reflect use of funds under the 2010 and part-year 2011 obligation limitations estimated by CBO. (Outlays stemming from
additional contract authority shown in the table would be authorized in future legislation that covers the period after the 18-month program
extension.)
Basis of estimate:
Direct spending
The Public Transportation Extension Act of 2009 would
extend through March 31, 2011, public transportation programs
authorized by SAFETEA-LU, the current authorization for
transportation programs. For transit programs funded by the
Highway Trust Fund, the bill would set the amount of contract
authority (the authority to incur obligations in advance of
appropriations and a mandatory form of budget authority) at
$8.4 billion for 2010 and at $4.2 billion for the period from
October 1, 2010, to March 31, 2011.
The bill would provide contract authority (from the transit
account of the Highway Trust Fund) for transit programs at the
same level authorized in SAFETEA-LU for 2009, notwithstanding
any rescissions or cancellations of contract authority either
in SAFETEA-LU or any other act. SAFETEA-LU provided $8.4
billion in contract authority for 2009. However, the 2009
Omnibus Appropriations Act (Public Law 111-8) contained
rescissions of the 2009 program's contract authority that
totaled $100 million. The Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit
Control Act specifies that the baseline projection for the cost
of an expiring mandatory program with current-year outlays in
excess of $50 million be assumed to continue at the program
level in place when it is scheduled to expire. As a result, CBO
has incorporated the rescission in contract authority in its
baseline for transit programs over the 2010-2019 period.
Combined with the rescissions contained in the 2009 Omnibus
Appropriations Act, contract authority available for public
transportation programs is $8.3 billion in 2009, and CBO
projects that same amount in subsequent years. As a result, CBO
estimates that the bill would add $100 million (the difference
between $8.4 billion and $8.3 billion) of contract authority
annually to the baseline over the 2010-2019 period.
CBO expects that spending from contract authority available
to public transportation programs will be controlled by limits
on annual obligations set in appropriation acts. Consequently,
the changes in contract authority would not increase mandatory
outlays.
Spending subject to appropriation
CBO's estimate of discretionary spending under this
legislation reflects the proposed limitation on obligations
that would be provided under the bill and does not include
projections of that authority beyond the time period covered in
this legislation. The bill would extend the obligation
limitations contained in SAFETEA-LU--$8.4 billion for 2010 and
$4.2 billion for the first six months of 2011. CBO estimates
outlays from those obligation limitations would be $12.4
billion over the 2010-2019 period.
In addition, for fiscal year 2010 and the first six months
of 2011, the bill would authorize the appropriation of $3.0
billion for other transit programs--capital investment grants
and research and university research centers--as well as
administrative costs of the Federal Transit Administration.
Based on historical spending for those programs, and subject to
appropriation of the specified amounts, CBO estimates that
implementing those provisions would cost $3.0 billion over the
2010-2019 period.
In total, CBO estimates that implementing the legislation
would increase discretionary costs by $1.7 billion in 2010 and
$15.4 billion over the 2010-2019 period.
Intergovernmental and private-sector mandates: The bill
contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as
defined in UMRA and would impose no costs on state, local, or
tribal governments.
Estimate prepared by: Federal Costs: Susan Willie; Impact
on State, Local, and Tribal Governments: Ryan Miller; Impact on
the Private Sector: Jacob Kuipers.
Estimate approved by: Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.