[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. * * * * * Find this web page at:
http://www.bts.gov/laws_and_regulations/docs/fy01_bts_senate_rpt.html |