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[Excepts of the Senate Report, H.R. 106-309. Omissions are indicated by ellipses: "* * * * *"]
[From Thomas, a service of the U.S. Congress through its Library. Check for accuracy before
citing or quoting.]
=========================================================
Calendar No. 596
106 th Congress
2d Session
SENATE
Report
106-309
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS
BILL, 2001
June 14, 2000.--Ordered to be printed
Mr. Shelby, from the Committee on Appropriations, submitted the following
REPORT
[To accompany S. 2720]
The Committee on Appropriations reports the bill (S. 2720) making
appropriations for the Department of Transportation and related agencies
for the fiscal year ending September 30, 2001, and for other purposes,
reports favorably thereon and recommends that the bill do pass.
* * * * *
GSA RENTAL PAYMENTS
[Dollars and square feet in thousands]
* * * * *
Bureau of Transportation Statistics
Fiscal year 1999 actual
Funding 750
Square feet 20
Fiscal year 2000 estimate
Funding 729
Square feet 26
Fiscal year 2001 President's budget
Funding 930
Square feet 32
* * * * *
CHANGES IN FISCAL YEAR 2000 DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
APPROPRIATIONS [In thousands of dollars]
* * * * *
Bureau of Transportation Statistics\2\
Public Law 106-69 DOT Appropriations Act
Appropriations and obligation limitation [31,000]
GP 319 TASC [-182]
GP 338 Motor carrier
GP 365 Transfer to EPA
Public Law 106-113
Sec. 225 transit
Sec. 301 0.38 percent cut
Public Law 106 79 Sec. 8131 Transfer from DOD
Public Law 106 31 Sec. 3029 Ellsworth settlement
Net appropriation and obligation limitation [30,818]
\2\BTS funding included within Federal-aid highways.
* * * * *
FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION
SUMMARY OF FISCAL YEAR 2001 PROGRAM
* * * * *
National personal transportation survey .--The Committee
recommendation does not provide the request for a national personal
transportation survey under this heading. The Committee has included
funding for this activity within the Bureau of Transportation Statistics
appropriation.
* * * * *
LIMITATION ON TRANSPORTATION RESEARCH
Limitation, 2000\1\.................
Budget estimate, 2001\1\............
Committee recommendation\1\........($437,250,000)
\1\Resources available in fiscal year 2000 and requested in
fiscal year 2001 are assumed within the Federal-aid highways obligation
limitation.
The limitation controls spending for the transportation research and
technology programs of the FHWA. This limitation includes the
intelligent transportation systems, surface transportation research,
technology deployment, training and education, and university
transportation research. The Committee recommendation provides an
obligation limitation for transportation research of $437,250,000 for
the following programs:
Surface transportation research $98,000,000
Technology deployment program 45,000,000
Training and education 18,000,000
Bureau of transportation statistics 31,000,000
ITS standards, research, operational tests, and development 100,000,000
ITS deployment 118,000,000
University transportation research 27,250,000
Subtotal 437,250,000
* * * * *
[Under Surface Transportation Research / Highway Research and Development]
Policy Research .--The Committee recommends $4,600,000 for policy
research. Additional funds to complete the NPTS should be obtained from
the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Because of budgetary
constraints, the Committee has deleted funds for research cooperation
with various international organizations and requests to be consulted
before future international agreements are consummated that are likely
to require financial support.
* * * * *
Highway Operations and Asset Management .--The Committee recommends
$5,200,000 for highway operations and asset management. Funds provided
under this category support a variety of research projects seeking to
improve highway operations, including work to improve the manual of
uniform traffic control devices, work zone operations, technologies that
facilitate operational responses to changes in weather conditions, and
freight management operations. Of the $600,000 provided for asset
management, the Committee has not included any funds for statistical
analysis of the National Quality Initiative. Such analysis shall be
performed by the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Of the funds
provided, up to $800,000 is to support the innovative infrastructure
financing best practices research ongoing at the University of Southern
California and up to $1,000,000 is for the road life research program at
New Mexico Highway 44.
* * * * *
BUREAU OF TRANSPORTATION STATISTICS
(limitation on obligations)
Appropriations, 2000\1\ ($31,000,000)
Budget estimate, 2001 (31,000,000)
Committee recommendation (31,000,000)
\1\Excludes reduction of $182,000 for TASC pursuant to section
319 of Public Law 106-69.
The Bureau of Transportation Statistics [BTS] was established in
section 6006 of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act
[ISTEA], to compile, analyze, and make accessible information on the
Nation's transportation systems, collect information on intermodal
transportation, and enhance the quality and effectiveness of the
statistical programs of the Department of Transportation. For fiscal
year 2001, the Committee recommends a funding level of $31,000,000.
BTS offices include the Director, Statistical Programs and Services,
Transportation Studies, and the Office of Airline Information [OAI]. In
addition, effective January 1, 1996, the responsibility to collect motor
carrier financial data was transferred to the BTS after the sunset of
the Interstate Commerce Commission.
The Office of Airline Information collects and compiles financial and
traffic (passenger and cargo) data. This information provides the
Government with uniform and comprehensive economic and market data on
individual airline operations. This program includes a small field
office located in Anchorage, AK, which provides consumers and the
Government with airline data related to essential air service and the
intra-Alaskan mail rate program. The statistical aviation data compiled
by OAI includes: airline passenger traffic statistics, ontime
performance data by carrier, financial performance and certification
data, fuel purchase and consumption, and other business and consumer
directed statistics. These statistics are vitally important to the
Federal Government and the aviation industry. In some cases, it is
statutorily required that these statistics be used by the Federal
Aviation Administration and the Office of the Secretary of
Transportation in allocation of trust funds, aviation bilateral
negotiations, and other Federal transportation policy decisionmaking.
National Quality Initiative .--Of the funds provided, $600,000 is
for statistical analysis of the National Quality Initiative.
National Passenger Transportation Survey (NPTS) .--Of the funds
provided to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics, up to $5,000,000
may be used for the NPTS.
* * * * *
OFFICE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL
* * * * *
Audit of Flight Delays .--Last year, the Committee requested the
Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General (OIG) to review
the causes of flight delays to help the Department, the air carriers,
and the Congress better understand, address, and communicate the nature,
causes, and, ultimately, potential mitigating actions to improve
utilization of system capacity, the consumer's understanding of delays,
and to better focus the FAA's, air carriers', and the Congress'
investments in all aspects of the aviation system. The audit, released
in June 2000, sheds a great deal of light on some of the troubling
aspects of the current delay reporting systems, the lack of commonality
between reporting parameters, the shortcomings of current information on
the causes of delays.
Although the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reporting focus
(beginning and end points of a flight) and the FAA Operations Network
(OPSNET) reporting focus (aircraft delayed for more than 15 minutes
after coming under FAA's control) differ, both reporting regimes record
increasing flight delays and increasing duration of those delays.
The OIG audit found that most delays took place on the ground in the
form of longer taxi-out and taxi-in times and that the incidence of
taxi-out time of 2 hours or more increased substantially. The OIG found
that much of that increase in delays is masked within the increase in
the air carriers' flight schedule times--and estimated that these masked
delays added almost 130 million minutes of travel time for passengers.
In addition, the OIG found that the rate of flight cancellations was
increasing. Significantly, the OIG found that causal data for delays
varied between the BTS and OPSNET systems, with neither system or the
carriers' data providing a comprehensive picture of the cause of delays
and cancellations. The OIG identified six key factors influencing the
number of delays and cancellations. The Committee anticipates engaging
in a dialogue with the FAA, the OIG, and the carriers to foster
increased attention to the causes of delays and envisions a follow-on
effort to address the recommendations made in the OIG audit.
* * * * *
Sec. 322. Includes with modification provision allowing the Bureau
of Transportation Statistics to credit the Federal-aid highway account
with proceeds from the sale of data products. The administration had
requested that this provision be made permanent law.
* * * * *
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