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U.S. Department of Transportation
Fiscal Year 2008 Budget In Brief

I appreciate this opportunity to share the highlights of President Bush’s fiscal year 2008 budget plan for our Nation’s transportation programs.

Building on the Administration’s success in cutting the deficit in half three years ahead of schedule, the President’s 2008 proposal puts America on a track to balance the Federal budget by 2012. Reaching this goal requires both setting priorities and restraining spending.

Our priorities at the Department of Transportation are clear. We are working on real transportation solutions that will keep America moving forward in the 21st Century:

• Solutions that will make travel safer;
• Solutions that will fight congestion by improving system performance; and,
• Solutions that employ advanced technologies and contemporary problem solving to meet today’s challenges.

The President’s $67 billion request for the Department reflects these priorities. Nearly than one-third of the Department’s resources will be devoted to transportation safety. Over the past six years, we have made impressive progress. Record numbers of Americans are wearing safety belts, and commercial aviation has just come through its safest three-year period ever. Trucking, pipelines, and rail transportation are delivering steadily improving safety records, and public transit continues to be one of the safest forms of transportation available.

But there is no acceptable fatality rate when it is your loved one - or your community - at risk. So the President’s FY 2008 budget proposes resources for equipping our Nation’s airports and roadways with new safety technologies, for targeting growing problem areas like motorcycle crashes, and for supporting aggressive inspections of trucks, tracks, and pipelines to assure the highest safety standards are met.

In addition to supporting our efforts to raise the bar on safety, the President’s FY 2008 budget will help improve the performance of America’s transportation network.

When our network performs as it should, our economy grows stronger, consumers pay less for goods, and families spend more time together, not stuck on congested highways or circling overcrowded airports.

The President’s FY 2008 budget gives the country new resources to confront congestion by supporting the comprehensive, department-wide Congestion Relief Initiative announced last year. It includes $175 million for two key components - form UrbanPartnershipsto test combinations of leading-edge approaches such as congestion pricing,flexible work schedules, transit, and real-time traffic information, and accelerating development of our most critical trade and travel Corridors for the Future.

Today’s challenges call for fundamental changes in the way we operate and fund transportation programs to keep America moving. Nowhere is this more true than with respect to aviation. The President’s FY 2008 budget sets the stage for meeting the air travel demands of the future with a proposal for revamping Federal Aviation Administration financing.

The Bush Administration’s plan replaces the current commercial aviation excise tax structure built largely around the ticket tax with one that more closely ties what various users pay to what it costs FAA to provide services.

This package puts incentives in place that will make the system more efficient, as well as more responsive, to the needs of the aviation community. This more rational, equitable, and stable approach will facilitate transformation of the aviation system to keep up with demand that is changing radically and growing exponentially.

The President’s FY 2008 budget requests almost $175 million to support key FAA investments in satellite navigation systems and other components of the Next Generation Air TransportationSystem. The flying public will see dramatic improvements in safety, security, and convenience as we replace our 1950s architecture and bring the air traffic system into the 21st Century.

The programs in the President’s FY 2008 budget reflect the Department of Transportation’s priorities. They give us a foundation for building a modern transportation system that is very safe, very efficient, very effective, and gives America every possible competitive advantage in the global economy.

Thank you. I look forward to working with you as we move forward.

Mary E. Peters
Secretary 

“We are results-oriented people, and we work on behalf of the taxpayers. And when we find wasteful spending, we work to eliminate it. When we find a program that is making a significant difference, we work to enhance it.”

President George W. Bush
October 13, 2006

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) continues to be a leader among Federal agencies in supporting the President's Management Agenda and instituting the use of performance-based budgeting in its internal processes. The fiscal year (FY) 2008 budget request builds on DOT's successful implementation of the Government Performance and Results Act of 1993 by strengthening the linkages between budgetary resources and programmatic and performance outcomes that benefit the Nation. The resources requested in the Department’s FY 2008 budget will enable DOT to achieve a transportation system that is safe, efficient, and secure. At the departmental level, performance goals and measures focus on core transportation missions, and reflect the Secretary's transportation priorities of safety; reduced congestion; global connectivity; environmental stewardship; security, preparedness and response; and, organizational excellence.

The budget documents for DOT's individual operating administrations reflect the successful steps to integrate budget and performance. Beginning with the FY 2004 budget cycle, DOT organized its Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and congressional budget submissions in such a way that the linkages between additional resources and improved performance would be more apparent. The linkages were further strengthened for the FY 2005 budget submissions. The FY 2006 budget submission began DOT’s efforts to take performance budgeting to the next level by estimating the marginal cost of changes in program performance goals at different levels of funding. FY 2007 extended this effort across the Department as each operating administration estimated the marginal cost of performance for at least one of their performance goals. The Department is increasing the use of marginal cost information in FY 2008 by requiring operating administrations to identify marginal cost for certain programs with discretionary budget changes.

Program Assessment Rating Tool

The Department uses a standard questionnaire developed by OMB called the Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART) to evaluate many of its programs. The PART asks approximately 25 important, yet common sense questions about a program's performance and management. For each question, there is a short answer and a detailed explanation with supporting evidence. The answers determine a program's overall rating. Once each assessment is complete, we develop a program improvement plan so we can follow up and improve the program's performance.

PART assessments help us learn how we can achieve better results for the American people - we are always striving to make improvements, regardless of whether a program performs well or not.

The rating indicates how well a program is performing, so the public can see how effectively tax dollars are being spent. Programs can receive one of the following five ratings:

• Effective -- This is the highest rating a program can achieve. Programs rated Effective set ambitious goals, achieve results, are well-managed, and improve efficiency.
• Moderately Effective -- In general, a program rated Moderately Effective has set ambitious goals and is well-managed. Moderately Effective programs likely need to improve their efficiency or address other problems in the program’s design or management in order to achieve better results.
• Adequate -- This rating describes a program that needs to set more ambitious goals, achieve better results, improve accountability, or strengthen its management practices.
• Ineffective -- Programs receiving this rating are not using your tax dollars effectively. Ineffective programs have been unable to achieve results due to a lack of clarity regarding the program's purpose or goals, poor management, or some other significant weakness.
• Results Not Demonstrated -- A rating of Results Not Demonstrated indicates that a program has not been able to develop acceptable performance goals or collect data to determine whether it is performing effectively.

The table below lists the PART assessments that have been conducted for DOT programs along with the responsible Operating Administration (OA), the associated budget cycle the assessment was completed, and the overall rating:

1/ The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Grants PART Rating was upgraded to Moderately Effective in FY 2005.

Note:
Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Federal Transit Administration (FTA)
Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Maritime Administration (MARAD)
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) Office of the Secretary (OST)
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Saint Lawrence Seaway Development Corporation (SLSDC)
Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA)

The FY 2008 budget formulation process continues to fully incorporate the use of OMB’s PART findings in resource allocation decisions. The PART is intended to gauge whether a program's design and purpose are clear and defensible; weigh whether the agency sets valid annual and long-term goals for programs; rate agency management of programs, including financial oversight and program improvement efforts; and, focus on results. The PART process is meant to complement traditional management techniques and to stimulate a constructive dialogue between program managers, and budget and policy officials. The information gathered through the PART was provided to senior officials and was instrumental in making decisions regarding programmatic funding requests.

Managing for Results

Fiscal responsibility requires sound stewardship of taxpayer dollars. This means that once the Congress and the President decide on overall spending levels, taxpayer dollars should be managed to maximize results. The President’s Management Agenda (PMA) is creating a results-oriented Government, where each agency and program is managed professionally and efficiently and achieves the results expected by the Congress and the American people.

The PMA, launched with the broad goal of making the Government more results-oriented, focuses on achievement and accountability. Areas of emphasis, or sub-components, were identified for the Agenda, as well as expected levels of achievement, or “Standards for Success.” Implementation of the PMA has brought focus and attention to how DOT operates, and identified ways that it can be more effective.

To highlight the successes of Federal agencies in implementing the PMA, the Presidential Award for Management Excellence – the President’s Quality Award (PQA) – is bestowed upon agencies that best achieve the objectives of the PMA. The PQA is the highest award given to Executive Branch agencies for management excellence. During the 2006 awards ceremony, the Department of Transportation was recognized for its achievement in both Budget and Performance Integration and Competitive Sourcing.

The PMA initiatives are identified in the following PMA Scorecard Table, along with OMB’s assessment of the Department’s efforts to improve performance in each initiative area. OMB provides both a “Status” and “Progress” rating for each initiative. The “Progress” rating indicates the direction of the Department’s efforts as it strives to improve its “Status” rating.

PRESIDENT’S MANAGEMENT AGENDA SCORECARD

Green = Satisfactory
Yellow = Good Progress
Red = Unsatisfactory

Performance Progress Report

1/ Italicized numbers represent preliminary estimates or projections from trends.
2/ Starting in FY 2008, the measure was redefined to include accidents/incidents resulting from trespassers onto railroad property. Previous years’ data have not been adjusted, which results in a higher FY 2008 target.
3/ Starting FY 2008, the measure was redefined to include only serious incidents. Previous years’ data adjusted accordingly.
4/ Beginning in FY 2007, the average percent change in transit boardings per transit market will no longer be adjusted for changes in employment levels. Previous year’s data will be adjusted accordingly.
5/ The goal in FY 2008 is to reduce congested travel by 0.2 percent below 2007 target levels.
6/ Starting in FY 2008, this measure replaces the “Tons of hazardous liquid materials spilled per million ton-miles shipped by pipeline” measure. Previous years’ data were adjusted accordingly.