ISTEA REAUTHORIZATION POLICY STATEMENT AND PRINCIPLES

More than $700 billion dollars annually -- an eighth of America's economy -- is devoted to transportation products and services: everything from auto manufacturing to air travel to freight shipping. One in ten Americans is employed in the industries which provide these goods and services, and all of us depend upon them.

As the national economy becomes more fully integrated and as America increasingly becomes part of a larger global economy, transportation's role will only become more important. In recent years, transportation has dramatically increased productivity, with major benefits for business and consumers. We need to continue -- and accelerate -- this trend. In the face of growing competition at home and around the world, businesses simply cannot afford the costs imposed by an inefficient transportation system. This is especially true as they rely on effective transport to make logistical innovations such as "just-in-time" delivery systems work properly.

However, our national and regional transportation systems face growing travel demand, inadequate capacity, and bottlenecks and poor connections between different forms of transportation. These conditions pose challenges that, if unmet, could slow economic growth and reduce our international competitiveness. Nor should Americans have to endure the costs and disruptions that an inefficient system imposes on their own lives. Americans depend upon smooth-flowing, seamless transportation to get to work or school, to shop, and to provide the products they buy in stores. When these systems do not work as intended, Americans pay the price in lost time, higher prices, or diminished opportunity.

CHALLENGES

If we are to remain competitive in the global marketplace and maintain our quality of life, we must aggressively meet at least four national challenges: (1) safety, (2) continued growth of traffic and travel and its attendant congestion, (3) environmental concerns, and (4) demographic changes.

1. Safety:

   We have made great progress in the face of increasing travel. Even so, motor vehicle crashes are the leading killer of America's youth. After years of steady decline, total highway deaths are increasing. These increases came prior to the repeal of speed limit and motorcycle helmet provisions. Transportation deaths and injuries place a huge burden on our economy -- an estimated $140 billion annually. Through Medicare and Medicaid, much of this burden falls directly on the American taxpayer. Reversing this trend will be a challenge requiring Federal leadership.

2. Travel Growth:

   Traffic congestion in the Nation's 50 largest cities costs travelers more than $40 billion annually. Delays are likely to increase over the next two decades as travel nationwide increases by some 60 percent -- delays that translate directly into costs to businesses which ultimately are passed to consumers and that also rob Americans of precious personal time.

3. Environment:

   Nearly one-quarter of the areas that failed to meet ozone standards in 1990 have been reclassified as "attainment" areas by the Environmental Protection Agency. But many of our largest cities are still having problems meeting air quality standards. We must maintain our efforts to reduce air pollutant emissions in light of the continued rise in vehicle miles and the threat posed by global climate change.

4. Demographic Changes:

   Mobility for older Americans as well as those with disabilities is a critical need. The elderly are the fastest growing component of the U.S. population. More than six million Americans are over 85; that will increase 400 percent by 2050. The majority of this population is accustomed to relying on self-operated automobiles, and as they grow older, their special transportation needs will require national attention.

America's transportation needs are being addressed aggressively by the private sector but the efforts of all levels of government are also required. As President Clinton recently pointed out, the Interstate Highway System brought Americans closer together, connecting region to region, city to city, and family to family in ways that were undreamed of a half-century ago. That same spirit has always been a driving force for government investment in transportation.

From the Nation's earliest days, government has supported transportation development: building roads and canals, providing land for railroads, and financing airports, water ports and mass transit systems. Government at all levels now invests more than $40 billion annually in surface transportation infrastructure alone, with additional billions spent on operating and managing those systems.

Much of this support has been authorized through a series of legislative initiatives setting policy guidance and providing funding for highway, transit, and safety programs. The most recent of these, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (known as ISTEA), authorizes Federal programs in these areas for fiscal years 1992-1997.

Through ISTEA, not only have we invested more, we have worked with state and local government to invest better. Americans are getting more for transportation dollars because ISTEA provided a strategic investment framework. It did so through stronger planning requirements and through programs such as the National Highway System, completion of the Interstate System, and transit capital investment that focused resources on national priorities. ISTEA's authors also had the vision to create programs, such as the Surface Transportation Program, that provided unprecedented flexibility to state and local officials and helped assure that transportation investments would meet the unique needs of their communities.

ISTEA's authority expires in October 1997, and the Department of Transportation has begun to consider what form the successor to ISTEA should take. This statement outlines some of the major principles that the Department believes should be the basis for this next authorizing bill.

POLICY PRINCIPLES

ISTEA's successor should be based upon principles that will sustain a strong, globally-competitive economy and ensure the mobility, safety and well-being of our people. The following are several key principles that serve as a framework for the deliberations on this legislation.

1. Promote economic prosperity

   America needs a well-connected transportation system that is economically efficient and that provides the foundation for us to compete in the global economy. Moving people to jobs, transporting raw materials to manufacturers, and distributing products to market in ways that are timely and economical are fundamental to our prosperity and to Americans' well-being. Post-ISTEA legislation should continue the emphasis on ISTEA's "E": efficiency.

2. Improve quality of life

   Transportation directly affects our access to activities, goods, and services which we value, defines the very shape of our communities, and determines our ability to take advantage of social, economic, and cultural opportunities. Post-ISTEA legislation should facilitate the transportation improvements Americans need to improve their daily lives.

3. Improve safety

   Travel inevitably places us at some risk. Given the high economic, social, and personal costs of crashes and other incidents, safety must be government's highest priority in transportation. ISTEA made great progress in improving the public's safety, and its successor must continue to improve safety and set standards that are reasonable.

4. Enhance the environment

   The air we breathe and the water we drink are affected by transportation, as are the cultural, historic, and natural resources that define us as a Nation. ISTEA was a major step forward in preserving and protecting them, and its successor must ensure that we continue to protect the environment and account for the full costs of transportation decisions that affect air, water, and such nonrenewable resources as wetlands and energy.

5. Ensure national security

   A sound transportation system is necessary to ensure America's national security. Both national defense and our ability to respond to disasters and other emergencies depend upon our system of highways, railroads, airports, and ports for the movement of essential equipment, supplies, and personnel. Post-ISTEA legislation must strengthen this vital aspect of our preparedness.

As planning begins for ISTEA reauthorization, we need to identify aspects of ISTEA that will continue to help us shape a transportation system for the 21st century. These basic building blocks will help us identify the specific steps we must take to move in the directions laid out in the policy principles described above.

1. Promote intermodalism

   Better modal choices and improved connections between modes can provide a unified, interconnected transportation system that meets the demands of travelers and shippers by making the parts of the system work better together to provide alternatives suited to a variety of transportation needs. Reauthorization must continue the progress toward intermodalism -- so modal categories of the early 20th century do not dictate the transportation system of the future. Post-ISTEA legislation should ensure that ISTEA's "I" -- intermodal -- remains a focus of Federal policy.

2. Improve planning and public participation

   ISTEA also brought new players to the table. And a more inclusive process does yield real results -- in the form of better, more feasible and publicly acceptable plans. The fiscal constraints ISTEA applied to transportation plans means they reflect the reality that real planning requires hard choices based on realistically available funding. There should be no question of turning back. We must continue to guarantee that investment decisions are the product of an inclusive planning process -- an informed political decision.

3. Empower state and local officials

   ISTEA created flexible programs, such as the Surface Transportation Program and the Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Program, and increased state and local officials' ability to target funds to projects that made sense for their communities. They responded enthusiastically to increased flexibility; more than $2 billion has been flexed. And by their own actions, these officials have demonstrated a commitment to even greater flexibility. ISTEA's successor should further empower these officials to invest Federal funds in the projects that best meet their needs, possibly including areas in which their investment is currently limited, including perhaps rail and intermodal projects.

4. Strengthen partnerships

   Drawing upon the strengths and perspectives found at all levels of government and in the private sector, from both passenger and freight transport, can enhance the decision-making process and assure that transportation meets present and future needs. ISTEA strengthened the traditional Federal-state partnership and expanded it to include local governments, metropolitan planning organizations, and the private sector. Partnerships must be forged with other countries as well. As we compete in a global economy, it is essential that we work to improve transportation that facilitates the effective movement of our Nation's goods and its people. Post-ISTEA legislation should build upon these partnerships.

5. Encourage performance management

   Performance management is a way of getting at the question raised by the National Performance Review: "How can we get government to work better and cost less?" Performance management, with its outcome-oriented goals and clear measures, is a positive and flexible way to manage transportation. Greater reliance on performance management will allow us to maintain accountability for use of public resources while reducing cumbersome rules that delay improvements and add to costs. It will encourage strategies -- such as preventive maintenance and Intelligent Vehicle Systems technologies -- that, in some cases, improve the performance of the existing system more efficiently than new construction alone.

6. Promote innovative financing

   Competition for scarce public resources continues to intensify. ISTEA offered new opportunities for cutting red tape that delays projects, for involving the private sector, and for financing transportation improvements through tolls and other innovative means. Our Partnership for Transportation Investment program jump-started innovative financing suggested by ISTEA. The establishment of transportation infrastructure banks builds upon this progress. ISTEA's successor should continue these efforts to create new ways of paying for the transportation systems America needs.

7. Encourage new technologies

   Cleaner, safer, and more efficient transportation has often come because of new technologies -- some entirely new, such as the automobile, and some that have made previous advances safer or more efficient, such as seat belts. Continued development and use of advanced technology is vital if such progress is to continue. Under ISTEA, the Federal Government renewed its emphasis on applying technology to improve safety, system capacity, and travel times. Investment in research and development has been expanded, both through increased funding and through new partnerships with the private sector. The successful Intelligent Transportation Systems and Global Positioning Satellite systems deployments are products of such initiatives. Post-ISTEA transportation legislation should continue this commitment.

8. Encourage better infrastructure investment and management

   Continually improving the performance of infrastructure investment programs is always essential, but especially so in an era of limited public funding. ISTEA's successor should encourage state and local officials to base investment decisions on systematic cost-benefit analysis, and to adopt operational, maintenance, and pricing practices, that maximize the efficiency of, and return on, investment, as described in the Executive Order, Principles for Federal Infrastructure Investments.

ISTEA is visionary legislation. Its central elements -- strategic infrastructure investments, intermodalism, flexibility, intergovernmental partnership, a strong commitment to safety, enhanced planning and strategic investment -- should be preserved.

The forces shaping the debate over the role of government in our society will influence the reauthorization debate. What is the Federal role in surface transportation infrastructure? What has worked under ISTEA -- what has not? What can we do to improve our safety record? How can we increase our resources? How can we benefit more from the fiscal resources we have? Should we expand eligibility for Federal funds, for example to rail and intermodal projects?

Most of these questions require further study and discussion. But in one case -- the Federal role -- the answer is clear. We need strong Federal leadership. Efficient national cargo movement is key to our ability to benefit from expanding trade opportunities. Truckers and other freight operators need national uniformity in facilities and regulatory standards. We also need national consistency if we are going to move forward with deployment of new technology. We cannot achieve other key national priorities -- linking Americans to jobs, health care and education -- without efficient and accessible transportation. And the challenges we face in the areas of safety and the environment do not stop at state borders.

As we tackle these difficult question, the policy principles and building blocks outlined in this statement should guide us. Our goal for reauthorization is to develop a proposal for the next century that allows our Nation to preserve our competitive advantage throughout the world and maintain the well being of our citizens.

For additional information please contact:

Elizabeth Parker
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy
Office of the Secretary
U. S. Department of Transportation
Washington, DC 20590