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Major Transportation Bill Clears the Senate

The Senate on Feb. 12 voted to approve S. 1072, the "Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2003," or SAFETEA. The $318 billion, six-year program to reauthorize surface transportation programs was approved by a 76-to-21 margin. SAFETEA will reauthorize the "Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century," or TEA-21.

Proponents of the bill say it will create jobs and boost the economy, while its detractors rail against its high price tag at a time of dramatically rising federal budget deficits.

President Bush, who has been pushing for a ceiling of $256 billion for the highway bill, has threatened to veto the legislation if it exceeds that cost.

The House has yet to act on H.R. 3550, its $375 billion version of the highway measure, but it approved a four-month extension of the current law, which is set to expire at the end of the month. The Senate has not moved on the extension.

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In a letter to every member of the Senate last week, NAHB urged support for the transportation bill.

Home builders are particularly supportive of statutory changes to the nation’s transportation and clean air laws that would address the regulatory burdens of the transportation conformity process.

Transportation conformity is a stipulation under the Clean Air Act and TEA-21 that requires states with poor air quality to conduct air quality assessments before they can receive federal funds to construct major transportation projects.

Additionally, NAHB supports provisions in S. 1072 to strengthen the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, which provides a flexible funding source for state and local transportation projects and programs that improve air quality and congestion in areas of the country with the most severe air quality problems.

For the full legislation, click here, and enter S. 1072 in the box at the upper left.
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