By Ron Thaniel
July 24, 2006

According to the American Public Transportation Association, transit ridership in the U.S. grew by 4.25 percent in the first quarter of 2006, compared to the same period in 2005.

The Senate Appropriations Committee on Transportation, Treasury, the Judiciary, HUD, and Related Agencies approved the fiscal year 2007 spending bill July 20.

This bill funds the Department of Transportation, Treasury, and Housing and Urban Development, as well as the Federal Judiciary and Supreme Court, Amtrak and the Federal Election Commission. The House approved its version of this spending bill on June 14.

The bill funds Amtrak at $1.4 billion, which is about $500 million more than President Bush requested and about $300 million more than the House approved in June.

While the Conference of Mayors applaud the increased funding for the railroad, over the long-term, significantly higher levels of investment will be needed to get Amtrak into a state of good repair. The Conference supports Amtrak’s FY07 request of $1.59 billion.

In March, before a Senate Subcommittee, U.S. Department of Transportation Senior Economist with the Office of Inspector General Mark R. Dayton said, “To maintain the currently configured system in a steady state of repair and after accounting for the reform efforts already underway, the Fiscal Year 2007 appropriations for Amtrak would need to be about $1.4 billion.”

At $1.4 billion, “If an operating problem arose that affected revenue or expenses, such as the Acela brake problem, or if an unexpected capital expense arose, such as a bridge failure on the Northeast Corridor, Amtrak could face insolvency, particularly if the problem were to occur late in the fiscal year after the majority of funds had been spent or committed,” said Dayton.

The spending bill also funds mass transit programs at $8.8 billion. The House measure would fund these programs at $8.9 billion.

The Senate measure matched the House funding level at $39.1 billion for the Federal Aid Highway programs.

The spending bill rejected severe spending cuts proposed by the Administration for the Airport Improvement Program (AIP). The Conference opposed these cuts as outlined in the resolution adopted by the mayors last month during their 74th Annual Meeting. At $3.5 billion, the AIP funds runway improvements, terminal modifications and other important capacity and safety projects at airports.

Overall, the Senate bill funds the Federal Aviation Administration at $14.2 billion. At $15.2 billion, the House measure also restored AIP funds.