By Ron Thaniel
December 8, 2003

Recently praising the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee's action on the highway title of TEA-21 reauthorization, Senators Richard Shelby (AL) and Paul Sarbanes (MD), the Chair and the Ranking Member of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, indicated that the Banking Committee's work on the transit title will not move forward until resources to support the six-year transportation are identified.

In a November 12 statement following the EPW panel's adoption of highway and research titles of TEA-21 renewal legislation, Shelby said, "I applaud Chairman Inhofe and the Ranking Member Jeffords for moving forward with a bill that seeks to address the growing highway transportation needs for this country. The Banking Committee shares the goal of creating jobs, relieving congestion and expanding our transportation options."

The statement by the Senate transit leaders also said, "The Banking Committee will mark up the transit title of TEA-21 reauthorization when an appropriate source of revenues is identified to pay for the six-year bill."

No consensus exists on how to pay for a full six-year transportation authorization, including no agreement on whether to increase the gasoline tax, a major issue for the reauthorization. The highway fund, which draws its revenue mostly from taxes on motor fuels, pays for most highway and transit programs.

For more information, visit http://banking.senate.gov/