November/December 2001 · Vol. 65 · No. 3

November/December 2001

Creating a Landmark: The Intermodal Surface Transportation Act of 1991
by Richard F. Weingroff

PART I

Introduction
The date is Wednesday, Dec. 18, 1991. The scene is Tarrant County, Texas, on a State Highway 360 construction site not far from Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport. The weather is cold and rainy - and no one can do anything about the mud throughout the site.

President George H.W. Bush signs ISTEA on Dec. 18, 1991, at a construction site in Texas. From left, construction worker Arnold Martinez, Rep. Bud Shuster, President Bush, Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan (in hat), Rep. John Paul Hammerschmidt, Rep. Robert Roe, and Rep. Norman Mineta.

Powerful congressional leaders stand by as construction worker Arnold Martinez, still wearing his hard hat, introduces the president of the United States, George Herbert Walker Bush. Martinez reminds the president, the members of Congress, and the crowd of 300 or so state and local officials, national transportation leaders, and construction workers that the recession that began in 1990 is "sometimes scary and financially difficult."

Then, using a large cable spool as a table, President Bush hunches over as he signs the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (ISTEA) - the landmark bill that had been nicknamed "ICE TEA." The congressional leaders who had crafted ISTEA - Sens. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y.; Harry Reid, D-Nev.; and Lloyd Bentsen, D-Texas, and Reps. Robert Roe, D-N.J.; Norman Mineta, D-Calif.; Bud Shuster, R-Pa.; and John Paul Hammerschmidt, R-Ark. - leaned forward to watch and receive, along with Martinez, the pens that the president used in making ISTEA law. Also on the platform are former Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner, who had just become the president's chief of staff, Acting Secretary James Busey, and master of ceremonies Arnold Oliver, the executive director of the Texas Department of Transportation.

Thomas D. Larson, federal highway administrator.		Richard D. Carlson, executive director of the Federal Highway Administration.		Eugene McCormick, deputy administrator of the Federal Highway Administration.

The leadership of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), including Administrator Thomas D. Larson, Deputy Administrator Eugene McCormick, and Executive Director E. Dean Carlson, looks onfrom the crowd, as does Administrator Brian Clymer of the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, which ISTEA renames the Federal Transit Administration.

ISTEA is, the president says, "the most important transportation bill since President Eisenhower started the Interstate System 35 years ago." He tells the cold, wet crowd, "this bill also means investment in America's economic future, for an efficient transportation system is absolutely essential for a productive and efficient economy." He adds, "The future of American transportation begins today."

But the line the media picks up on is a more direct explanation of ISTEA for a nation worried about its economic future: "It's summed up by three words - jobs, jobs, jobs."

Donning a hard hat emblazoned with the words "The President" and an American flag, President Bush tours the construction site, meets with workers, and poses for pictures with them in front of their construction equipment. Then, in his muddy limousine, President Bush heads to nearby Coppell, where he joins Martinez and six other constructionworkers for lunch at Café 121. Finishing his chicken-fried steak, Bush agrees to pick up the $48.10 tab after double-checking his wallet and extracting several twenties. "I'm loaded!," he laughs.

He concludes his morning with a speech at the Dallas-Fort Worth Hyatt East before an ISTEA Implementation Conference of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) - the reason the White House had scheduled the signing ceremony in Texas instead of Washington as originally planned. Larson, McCormick, Carlson, and Clymer had agreed to brief state transportation officials on the new law.

In 1987, Richard D. Morgan, who was then the executive director of the Federal Highway Administation, formed a task force to take a strategic look at issues, trends, technologies, and programs that would affect highways in 2005 and in 2020.

Introducing President Bush, AASHTO President A. Ray Chamberlain of Colorado assures him that AASHTO members will do everything in their power "to ensure that the benefits of the new law flow to the American people as quickly as possible." The president responds that he had "instructed the Department of Transportation to get the money moving now" and challenges AASHTO members to join in "making sure this money gets to its destination swiftly, gets used wisely, and helps Americans build the foundations for the next American century."

Describing ISTEA as laying the foundation for the most significant revolution in American transportation history, the president concludes his 20-minute remarks by saying, "Today, we act. We start improving our roads and bridges and railways, our equal opportunities to the future. And so, when we look back years from now to this landmark day for America's transportation, we'll be able to say mission defined, mission accomplished."

Entering a New Era
The Interstate Highway Program launched in 1956 has often been called the greatest public works projects in history. It also has been one of the country's most successful federal programs, more than fulfilling President Dwight D. Eisenhower's prediction that it "would change the face of America."

The Interstate era began with consensus across the spectrum of transportation interests and political shadings about the desirability of building the Interstate System. However, by the end of the 1980s, the Interstate System was 97.5 percent completed, and over the 30 years of accomplishment and controversy, that consensus had disappeared.

Transit had gone from a private industry to a public utility with its own demands for federal funding. The environmental movement, which had not entered the public consciousness in 1956, had created new national commitments that challenged the builders of the Interstate System. State and city officials had conflicting transportation goals. And the federal government's role in transportation had been challenged by President Ronald Reagan, who favored a New Federalism under which activities believed to be state responsibilities under the Constitution would be devolved to the states.

Anthony R. Kane, director of the FHWA Office of Policy Development in 1987, was selected by Executive Director Morgan to lead the Futures Group task force.

So, when the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987 (STURAA) became law on April 2, 1987, it was widely seen in Congress and the transportation community as the last authorization bill of the Interstate era. It authorized $87.6 billion over five years, including $17 billion for Interstate construction, which the conference report said "will provide the states sufficient funds to complete the system."

As Sen. Moynihan told the Senate during the STURAA debate, "We are about to enter a new era." Everyone agreed that the post-Interstate era would be established in 1991 when STURAA authorizations ended. The mystery was what would replace it.

In early 1987, FHWA formed a task force known as the Futures Group. The charge from Executive Director Richard D. Morgan was to take a strategic look at the issues, trends, technologies, and program options that would ultimately impact highways in the mid-range future (2005) and the long-range future (2020). This would be, he said, a zero-based review. If the conclusion was that the federal-aid highway program was no longer needed after the completion of the Interstate System, so be it.

Morgan asked Anthony R. Kane, director of the Office of Policy Development, to head the Futures Group initiative. Kane divided senior managers into 19 working groups to prepare papers as input for policy-makers. The Futures Group created 19 unpublished papers on all aspects of surface transportation and the role of government. In November 1988, FHWA published a synthesis of these papers - America's Challenge for Highway Transportation in the 21st Century: Interim Report of the Future National Highway Program Task Force. The interim report would turn out to be the final report.

America's Challenge
In many respects, America's Challenge is a tentative document. It did not recommend a future surface transportation program. Instead, it considered options and discussed their merits, but it did not choose among them.

To the senior FHWA managers, one thing was certain - the federal government has an important role to play in transportation. The Futures Group concluded that the federal role is justified by four main responsibilities: national defense, interstate commerce, equity, and uniformity and efficiency.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Anthony Kane retired from his position as executive director of FHWA in February 2001 and joined AASHTO as director of engineering and technical services.

The federal government's responsibility for national defense is not subject to debate, and the role of highways in national defense is also clear. The Department of Defense places a high priority on the Interstate System and the non-Interstate components of the Strategic Highway Network (STRAHNET).

Section 8 of the United States Constitution assigned to Congress the power to "regulate Commerce," and this power had been the primary constitutional basis for the federal-aid highway program. The federal government has a role to play in ensuring the highway network continues to enhance our economy, productivity, and international competitiveness.

Developing a national program in a diverse nation poses many problems, not the least of which is that some states are better able to contribute to their own welfare than others. The goal should be fairness to each state while achieving national purposes.

To achieve greater efficiency in transportation investments and meet national objectives such as interstate commerce, national defense, and safety, the federal government must provide a central focus on design and operational uniformity.

The Futures Group also found that some activities, such as research and implementation programs and dissemination of information, can be more economically carried out by the federal government than by each state or local government.

However, while it identified the core federal role and trends affecting transportation, America's Challenge used vague phrases such as "may be appropriate" in presenting the pros and cons of a wide range of options for future directions, financial assistance, operational alternatives, and external program controls. Still, the document made clear that in thinking about the next 20 or so years, fundamental change was needed. America's Challenge identified two themes that would recur throughout the debates leading to ISTEA: the need for a "national highway system" and increasing state and local flexibility and authority.

The federal government is responsible for a "national highway system" that serves federal interests. It consists of the Interstate System and at least a portion of the larger network of which it is a part - the federal-aid primary (FAP) system. Preserving the Interstate System, enhancing the FAP routes of greatest federal interest - about 114,000 miles (183,000 kilometers) out of 260,000 miles (418,000 kilometers) - and maintaining STRAHNET were essential. Some expansion of the capacity of the existing Interstate highways "may be warranted," but America's Challenge barely mentioned increasing Interstate mileage.

Charles L. Miller, then head of the Arizona Department of Transportation, was selected to lead the AASHTO 2020 Consensus Transportation Program.

Restricting the FAP, America's Challenge explained, "would focus federal funds on those highways ... most likely to serve functions that conform to federal involvement criteria. Such a program could provide many of the benefits of a program to expand the Interstate System while avoiding some of the potential problems, such as controversy involving the extent of the mileage to be added." And a restricted program could also allow the states greater flexibility than is available on the Interstate System to establish design standards more suited to their individual needs.

This first point would prove to be especially important in the evolution of ISTEA. America's Challenge mentioned several options for the FAP, such as retaining it, expanding it, or restricting it to principal arterials not included in the Interstate System.

Other elements of the existing programs were of "a much lower federal interest." The Futures Group explored ways of increasing state and local flexibility and authority - an issue that reflected the philosophy of the departing Reagan Administration and would become the touchstone of future debates.

America's Challenge was intended to generate discussion about the future of highway transportation in the United States. It did not endorse the limited FAP, but simply offered it as an alternative for consideration. In looking to legislation in 1991, the report stated a simple goal. "A consensus about what that legislation should contain must be achieved within the next two years. It is hoped that this report will contribute to reaching that consensus."

AASHTO's 2020 Initiative
But where political constraints made FHWA tentative, AASHTO would be bold.

AASHTO had been considering future transportation needs for some years. The pending completion of the Interstate System created "an opportunity ... to make a systematic transition and redefine the federal role in national highway programs." So in June 1984, AASHTO established a Task Force on Future Directions for the Federal-Aid Highway Program, headed by Fred D. Miller, director of the Oregon Department of Transportation.

In addition to visionary work on the federal, state, and local roles, the task force adopted 45 recommendations on April 30, 1985. The task force called for a "System of Highways of National Significance" that would include the Interstate System, FAP, and bridges on all current federal-aid systems - the highways "of truly national importance" - and a block grant program for highways of state and local interest.

The work by Miller's task force led AASHTO to launch the 2020 Consensus Transportation Program. On Feb. 10, 1987, the Policy Committee approved Administrative Resolution 1-87. It authorized AASHTO "to develop and implement a strategy for achieving public and private sector consensus on, and commitment to, a redirected national highway and transportation program that will address transportation needs and federal, state, and local roles well into the 21st century." This multiyear, multiorganizational, multimodal effort, headed by Charles L. Miller of the Arizona Department of Transportation, would include:

• Analysis by transportation professionals from AASHTO member departments, FHWA, the Urban Mass Transportation Administration, and organizations representing local governments and transit agencies.
  
  
• An advisory committee to help AASHTO sponsor public outreach through 65 forums nationwide.
  
  
• A futures conference in June 1988 under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board (TRB).

Connecting the Reagan Washington National Airport to northern Virginia, southern Maryland, and the District of Columbia via the Washington Metro subway/light rail is an example of intermodal transportation. Airline passengers arriving at or departing from the airport have a convenient transition from one mode of travel to another.

In September 1988, AASHTO released The Bottom Line: A Summary of Surface Transportation Investment Requirements, 1988-2020. It documented the need for increased and continuing investment in transportation. A companion volume by the Advisory Committee on Highway Policy, Beyond Gridlock: The Future of Mobility as the Public Sees It, documented the views of Americans who participated in 65 public forums.

The task force's main product, Keeping America Moving: New Transportation Concepts for a New Century, was released in December 1988 with a modified final edition in October 1989. Keeping America Moving covered the full range of transportation modes, as well as research, development, and technology transfer, and it promoted an intermodal approach to transportation - a transportation system in which all modes interact efficiently with one another.

In the context of the pending 1991 reauthorization of STURAA, the sections on highway and public transportation, called "the most important links in the intermodal chain," were most significant. Keeping America Moving urged the commitment of funds needed to sustain and enhance these modes - an increase to $26 billion for highways and $5 billion for transit in 1995.

Instead of separating highways and transit, Keeping America Moving recommended a two-pronged approach:

• A categorical program for systems of national importance, including a new National Highway System (NHS) consisting of the Interstate System, selected principal arterial roads, and major transit systems.
  
  
• A flexible state and local program to address urban mobility, suburban congestion, rural access, and modal links by granting funds for rural and urban highway needs beyond NHS and to states and transit agencies for public transportation.

In these and other recommendations, Keeping America Moving fleshed out the concepts of the growing consensus. The key was to focus federal efforts on the programs with the highest level of federal interest, namely NHS, while leaving state and local officials to address other highway and public transportation needs with maximum flexibility.

The Shape of Consensus
On Nov. 11, 1987, AASHTO's efforts led to creation of the Transportation Alternatives Group (TAG) to receive and analyze information gathered during the Transportation 2020 program and to identify alternative national transportation strategies for the future.

Members of the Transportation Alternatives Group Established by AASHTO American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials American Automobile Association American Public Transit Association American Public Works Association American Trucking Associations Inc. Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility National Association of Counties National Association of Regional Councils National Conference of State Legislators National Governors' Association National League of Cities U.S. Conference of Mayors Chair, Thomas W. Bradshaw Jr. Exec. Dir., Stephen Lockwood

In January 1990, after analyzing the data gathered by Miller's task force, AASHTO's public forums, TRB's futures conference, and a two-day workshop in October 1989, TAG released its consensus policy recommendations for a national surface transportation program with the mission "to maintain and improve mobility through the provision of safe, efficient, convenient, cost-effective, and environmentally sensitive transportation. This program should support fundamental national economic, social, and security goals."

Flexibility was a primary feature of TAG's proposals for programs, transportation planning, and project selection. TAG supported the concept of a national highway system with routes to be selected collaboratively by federal, state, and local governments to "serve multiple goals and interests." Beyond NHS, the program should include substantial simplification and increased flexibility and discretion to allow state, regional, and local governments to more effectively meet specific urban, suburban, and rural transportation needs.

TAG endorsed increasing system productivity, providing incentives to increase use of public transportation and other forms of shared ride services, and developing strategies to improve air quality. TAG also promoted a scenic byway system, state-of-the-art high-speed intercity rail service in high-density corridors, and research into a new generation of vehicle and "guideway" technology.

On funding, TAG called on the federal government to "renew its commitment to a strong transportation program in support of the nation's economic health and prosperity." It supported the continuation of the Highway Trust Fund. In one of the more difficult decisions for the diverse membership of TAG, it recommended that federal-aid highway funds should continue to be allocated to the states, thereby rejecting calls from cities for direct allocation for the first time since the federal-aid highway program was authorized in 1916.

Now it was up to the administration and Congress to create legislation for the post-Interstate era.

PART II

Toward a National Transportation Policy
When President Bush took office in January 1989, he de-emphasized the New Federalism concepts that had marked the Reagan administration's approach to transportation. His new secretary of transportation, Samuel K. Skinner, would confront the post-Interstate era head-on.

On March 8, 1990, President Bush and Secretary of Transportation Samuel K. Skinner Introduce Moving America: New Directions, New Opportunities, which explained the new national transportation policy.

Shortly after taking office in 1989, Skinner launched a long-term initiative to develop a National Transportation Policy (NTP) based on a complete assessment of the U.S. transportation system and transportation needs through the year 2050.

To head the initiative, Skinner selected Deputy Secretary Elaine Chao and Federal Highway Administrator Thomas D. Larson. Larson tapped Anthony R. Kane, now FHWA's associate administrator for engineering and program development, to be director of the NTP team.

The NTP team reviewed attempts by previous transportation secretaries to develop a national transportation policy. Unlike those efforts, which typically came as the secretary was leaving office, Skinner's plan would come early in his term while he had time to implement it. Also in contrast with the earlier plans, the NTP team would conduct an extensive public outreach, including more than 30 public hearings around the country. By the time the NTP team released its report in March 1990, the members had the benefit of the Futures Group reports and proposals by AASHTO, TAG, and other groups interested in transportation.

Even as NTP was getting underway, FHWA concluded its Futures Group initiative by announcing its ideas to AASHTO's Policy Committee in July 1989. They included a major consolidation of categories. The System of Highways of National Significance would include the Interstate System, selected principal arterial highways, and STRAHNET. The federal share of costs would vary - 90 percent for Interstate 3R work (resurfacing, restoration, and rehabilitation), 60 percent for construction of new facilities and improvement of NHS routes, and 50 percent for new toll road construction.

All roads not in NHS - except local roads - would be eligible under a Rural and Urban Block Grant with a federal matching share of 50 percent. Transit programs might be eligible as well. FHWA proposed to eliminate many federal requirements on such projects, including project approval, agreements and inspections, sanctions, and maintenance requirements. Other elements of the programs included a high-cost discretionary bridge program, federal lands funds, and an expanded research initiative.

Other groups, including the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility and the American Road and Transportation Builders Association, also made proposals.

Unveiling the National Transportation Policy
In a ceremony at the Old Executive Office Building on March 8, 1990, President Bush and Secretary Skinner released Moving America: New Directions, New Opportunities, which explained the new national transportation policy. Moving America called for a shift in focus "from building the nation's basic transportation system to adapting and modernizing transportation facilities and services to support economic growth, meet the competitive demands of the international marketplace, contribute to our national security, and improve the quality of life for all Americans."

NTP presented 169 guidelines and 65 legislative, regulatory, budget, and program initiatives. The directions for future transportation policy were summarized under six major themes:

• Maintain and expand the nation's transportation system.
  
  
• Foster a sound financial base for transportation.
  
  
• Keep the transportation industry strong and competitive.
  
  
• Ensure that the transportation system supports public safety and national security.
  
  
• Protect the environment and quality of life.
  
  
• Advance U.S. transportation technology and expertise.

The National Transportation Policy Team U.S. Department of Transportation Anthony R. Kane, director, National Transportation Policy Team, and Federal Highway Administration associate administrator for right-of-way and environment Patrick Murphy, deputy assistant secretary for policy and international affairs Galen Reser, assistant secretary for governmental affairs David Prosperi, assistant secretary for public affairs Dale McDaniel, Federal Aviation Administration acting associate administrator for policy Bill Watt, Federal Railroad Administration associate administrator for policy Arnold Levine, director, Office of the Secretary, Office of International Transportation John Cline, Urban Mass Transportation Administration associate administrator for budget and policy Joe Rhodes, FHWA director of policy development Mark Dowis, Research and Special Programs Administration executive assistant to the administrator

The emphasis was on preserving our infrastructure and managing it better, providing a "level playing field" for officials trying to decide between highway and transit options, enhancing operations through management systems and operational and technological advances, and implementing transportation demand management and pricing strategies to address congestion by diverting motorists to other modes. NTP also emphasized using incentives to increase private sector involvement in the funding of infrastructure improvements, providing intermodal and rural connections, and ensuring that new capacity is provided in transportation systems of national significance.

Although NTP did not propose or directly comment on NHS, one of NTP's strategies for action was to focus on systems and projects of national significance. For other purposes, transportation programs should move from categorical grants to broader, more flexible federal assistance while eliminating rigid standards and requirements. Recipients of federal aid should pay more of the cost, while state and local governments should also increase flexibility in their use of resources across modal choices. The role of metropolitan planning organizations should be strengthened.

For highways, Moving America's strategies for action included providing incentives to preserve highways and requiring the use of sound infrastructure management programs as a condition of aid. The state and local shares would be increased. Other strategies involved improving highway and motor carrier safety and adding resources for research and development.

For transit, Moving America called for restructuring mass transportation programs to reduce reliance on general fund revenues, eliminating barriers to private sector participation in mass transportation systems, and reducing federal operating assistance for urban transit.

While Moving America made a strong commitment to financing the federal role in transportation by spending transportation trust fund balances over time in a fiscally responsible way, it also sought to foster state and local funding initiatives. Aside from proposing to increase state and local matching shares, Moving America favored relaxation of federal restrictions on the ability of state and local governments to raise funds - for example, through tolls. State and local governments would be encouraged to make use of innovative financing options, such as joint public-private initiatives and benefit assessments on property owners. The private sector was seen as a vast untapped resource that must be stimulated to invest in transportation as well.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Elaine Chao, former deputy secretary of transportation, was president and CEO of the United Way of America and a distinguished fellow at The Heritage Foundation before being nominated by President George W. Bush to become the secretary of labor. The Senate confirmed her for the post on Jan. 29, 2001.

Beyond program issues, Moving America made a strong commitment to protect the environment and quality of life. The issue was stated bluntly: "Many aspects of transportation have adverse effects on the environment." Across the spectrum of modal activities, the U.S. Department of Transportation must minimize the negative effects. Suggested measures included supporting the updating of the Clean Air Act of 1970 (CAA); encouraging the development of transportation facilities that fit harmoniously into communities and the natural environment; preserving scenic and historic sites; developing cleaner, more efficient motor vehicle systems as well as a new generation of transportation for high-density intercity travel; and extending access and mobility improvements to all Americans.

During the ceremony introducing Moving America, President Bush referred to it as "our blueprint ... for this new world." Most of all, he said, it was "a strategy to unleash the creative genius of American technology." He called on the private sector to join federal, state, and local officials in the effort to improve transportation.

"Such a partnership has already built a transportation system that is the envy of the world. And if we work together in this joint venture, America can continue to be the world leader in transportation," the president said.

Reaction to Moving America
Moving America was a challenging document that addressed many complex issues, and the NTP team under Chao, Larson, and Kane wanted their efforts to be judged on the basis of the policy principles. These elements of the plan were received positively. AASHTO President Kermit Justice of Delaware applauded President Bush and Secretary Skinner "for this important initiative." He agreed with the document's emphasis on such policies as a balanced and safe transportation system and greater flexibility in the use of federal funds. The Wall Street Journal praised the plan for making U.S. transportation policy "more local, more private, and less regulated." And there was general agreement that Moving America addressed vital issues in a comprehensive way.

This is the cover of Moving America

However, the focus of the reaction was on the funding elements of the proposal, particularly the idea that the states should contribute more in the form of higher matching shares. In the same statement in which he praised the initiative, Justice noted that "the road to a sound transportation future cannot be paved with good intentions. It will also take dollars." He rejected any notion that the states weren't doing their share, and he said that AASHTO would work with the Bush administration and Congress "to ensure that the needed investment is made at all levels."

As Justice's statement on behalf of AASHTO suggested, reaction within the transportation community depended on how each interest was treated. While the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association, a national advocate for toll financing, described Moving America as "an excellent and forthright document," the American Trucking Associations and the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility objected to the increased reliance on toll roads. The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) thought that the new policy was "long on advice and short on help." According to APTA, Moving America would decrease federal support for mass transit, put people out of work, and make it impossible for others to get to their jobs.

As for the media, some issues are more easily explained to readers than others. On the day after the ceremony and in the weeks ahead, the focus was on money. The headline in the Chicago Tribune on March 9 — "Plan Shifts More Costs to Users, States" — focused on the one point that everyone took from Moving America.

Reaction in Congress, where both houses were controlled by the Democrats, was equally unenthusiastic. Rep. Mineta, chairman of the House Public Works Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, said that NTP gives states "the shift and the shaft." Sen. Bentsen, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, said the policy "sounds like they're trying to pour five pounds of sugar in a two-pound sack." Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., a member of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, acknowledged that in the "push-pull" between the federal and state governments, "Congress is going to have to sit and referee that battle."

Editorial cartoonists across the country had a field day.

Auth, the editorial cartoonist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, epitomized NTP in a two-panel cartoon. In the first panel, a smiling President Bush says, "I have a vision! I see a clean environment! I see well-educated citizens! I see a transportation system the envy of the world!!" In the second panel, he looks over a group of street beggars labeled "states," "cities," and "burbs," and exclaims, "I also see you fellas paying for it."

On March 16, The Washington Post's Herblock summarized NTP in one panel. A dump truck carrying loads with such labels as "$ for New Missiles Aimed at Poland" and "$ for Star Wars" is on a crumbling Interstate highway bridge. The caption reads, "I hope the states hurry up and fix these roads for us."

In The Kansas City Star, Schorr depicted the "Bush Infrastructure Plan" in a sketch of the Brooklyn Bridge with a sign that says, "For Sale."

The reaction was summed up by Associated Press, which quoted an unnamed critic who described NTP as "all flash and no cash."

The Clean Air Act Amendments
One of the most important events in the history of ISTEA occurred on Nov. 15, 1990. On that day, President Bush signed the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990 (CAAA). Although CAAA, like all bills, was a collaboration, it was chiefly the product of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and especially Sen. Moynihan, chairman of the Water Resources, Transportation, and Infrastructure Subcommittee.

CAAA established criteria for attaining and maintaining National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Transportation plans, programs, and projects must conform with a "State Implementation Plan" for attaining the NAAQS. Areas that had not attained the NAAQS must act within a set time frame to reduce emissions. EPA was given the authority to impose sanctions, including the loss of federal-aid highway funds, to force compliance with requirements to attain the NAAQS.

CAAA established strong requirements, but it provided no funds to state and local governments to help them comply. Moreover, CAAA reflected the growing sentiment that the automobile was at the center of the air quality problem as well as many other problems.

This new law, which placed surface transportation at the center of the fight for cleaner air, was a landmark product of the same committee that would develop ISTEA. The committee, and especially Moynihan, would see ISTEA as an opportunity to provide the funds and flexibility that were lacking in CAAA. Moynihan had long believed that the Interstate System had "destroyed our urban society," and now he was in a position to do something about it.

NTP Becomes STAA
On Feb. 13, 1991, President Bush unveiled the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1991 (STAA) in a White House press conference. It was the main legislative product of NTP.

The president said, "It's time to take the first step on the long road that lies ahead, and the status quo will simply not get us there." He emphasized the increased funding in the bill - highway investment up 39 percent to $20 billion by 1996, capital investment in transit up 25 percent, plus a 14 percent increase in funding for highway safety programs.

The proposed Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1991 permitted the use of the funds for transit capital costs and capital projects to improve intercity bus service.

Before completing STAA, Secretary Skinner had to clear it through the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), which shaped its content, particularly with regard to revenue issues. This was a sensitive issue for the White House. On Aug. 18, 1988, while accepting the presidential nomination of the Republican Party, Bush had emphasized his determination to resist all pressure to raise federal taxes with a vivid phrase concocted by speechwriter Peggy Noonan in the spirit of tough-guy actor Clint Eastwood: "Read my lips - no new taxes." Since October 1990, when he reached a budget accord with Congress that included a tax increase as a way of reducing the deficit, he had been battered politically for breaking his "no new taxes" pledge. His decision on the budget may have been statesman-like, but it eroded his support and credibility within the Republican Party and had not yet had any discernible impact on the deficit or the economy.

The accord was embodied in the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1990, approved by President Bush on Nov. 6, 1990. It included a 5 cents per gallon gas tax increase that would expire on Oct. 30, 1995. Of the 5-cent increase, 2.5 cents went to budget reduction, and the other 2.5 cents went to the Highway Trust Fund.

With the president still feeling the sting from his own political party for violating the pledge that he made at the convention, OMB was not about to see any more tax increases, whether disguised as user fees or investments.

STAA, which proposed authorization of $105.4 billion over five years, would support this funding level by extending the Highway Trust Fund and the taxes supporting it through FY1998. However, the 5 cents per gallon gas tax increase enacted as part of the October 1990 budget accord would not be extended beyond its current expiration date of Oct. 30, 1995. The tax would be reduced from 14.1 cents per gallon to 9.1 cents. Obligation limits would continue on the federal-aid highway program through the life of STAA.

The centerpiece of the proposal was NHS, the concept that had emerged from the FHWA Futures Group and AASHTO's Transportation 2020 initiatives. Federal investment would be focused on maintaining and improving a national highway system that would serve interstate and interregional transportation. State and local officials would be consulted on which arterial roads would be included in addition to the Interstate System and STRAHNET; however, their selection was subject to approval by the secretary of transportation. Projects on the Interstate System would retain a federal share of 90 percent, but for other NHS projects, the federal share would be 75 percent.

A second key component of STAA, the Urban/Rural Program, reflected the call from all parties for increased flexibility on programs of lesser federal interest. The program would replace the federal-aid primary, secondary, and urban systems that had evolved since creation of the Federal-Aid Highway Program in 1916. Any public road - except those on NHS and those functionally classified as rural minor collectors or local roads - would be eligible. Traditional road improvements would be eligible, but officials would have the option of using the funds for transit capital costs and capital projects to improve intercity and rural bus service. Similarly, transit formula funds could be used for highways. The federal share would be 60 percent across the board to provide a new "level playing field" for modal choices.

To attract private investment, the proposal also would eliminate longstanding restrictions on the use of federal-aid funds for toll roads. Federal-aid highway funds would be available to improve existing toll facilities, construct new toll facilities, and convert existing non-Interstate toll-free facilities to toll facilities. In an important departure from existing statute, the new toll facilities would not have to end toll collection when initial construction costs were recovered as long as excess revenue was used for other highway or transit projects. The maximum federal share for such projects would be 35 percent. Toll-free segments of the Interstate System were exempt from conversion.

Another state/local revenue option was "congestion pricing." STAA called for demonstration projects under which rush-hour fees would be imposed on drivers in cities with serious air quality problems. The goal was to motivate peak period drivers to car pool, use transit, or shift to less congested times. The fees could be collected through higher parking prices or, as suggested by the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association, by electronic toll metering. Tolls could be imposed on Interstate highways as part of a congestion pricing demonstration project.

Transportation planning would be strengthened. All urbanized areas must have a metropolitan planning organization (MPO) and produce a transportation improvement program of all projects to be funded under NHS, the Urban/Rural Program, and the expanded Bridge Program. In areas with a population greater than 200,000, the transportation improvement program must be developed through a new technical process emphasizing multimodal consideration, coordination with land-use planning, and mitigation of transportation-related air quality problems. STAA called for congestion management systems as well as cooperation with the states in developing pavement management, bridge management, and safety management systems. Projects to increase the vehicle-carrying capacity of a transportation corridor could not be approved unless they were consistent with the congestion management system.

Flexibility under the Urban/Rural Program was a key component of STAA's transit proposals. Since the early 1970s, transit advocates had achieved increased access to highway user revenues, with the greatest previous success occurring when the STAA of 1982 had increased the gas tax by 5 cents per gallon, of which 1 cent was credited to a new Transit Account in the Highway Trust Fund to finance capital expenditures. In addition to the $16.3 billion included in the new STAA proposal for mass transit, a major portion of the highway funds in STAA could be transferred to transit projects (and vice versa, although officials expected transfers to favor transit).

This was a major change. Coupled with the new multimodal planning requirements and the equal matching shares, the new flexibility would allow state and local officials to decide the most effective transportation projects for each area, rather than have their choices driven by the larger amounts and lower state/local matching shares for highway projects.

STAA increased the Urban Mass Transportation Administration's (UMTA's) formula distribution to cover 80 percent of funding (up from 52 percent) and to extend funds to a larger number of cities. However, the funds would be restricted to capital needs instead of operating expenses in areas with a population of more than 1 million. Funding for "New Start" fixed guideway systems would continue at increasing levels, but only for new systems that are cost-effective and supported by a significant source of local funding.

Right-of-way on NHS could be made available without charge to a publicly or privately owned mass transportation authority for rail systems, including high-speed and maglev (magnetic levitation) facilities.

Under STAA, UMTA would also gain a new name - the Mass Transportation Administration. This proposal recognized the agency's growing role in providing service in rural as well as urban areas.

Environmental initiatives, including provisions addressing the new CAAA requirements, were an important element of STAA. Aside from the planning requirements, STAA proposed eligibility for traffic management and control, a higher federal share for demand management strategies for the Interstate System (90 percent instead of 75 percent), and 100 percent funding for bicycle and pedestrian projects. Areas having difficulty meeting the NAAQS would be permitted to experiment with congestion-pricing strategies that could make alternative work schedules, public transportation, ride-sharing, and other demand management strategies more appealing.

STAA also called for delegation of project reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) so that FHWA would yield its primary role in approvals upon submission by a state of an annual certification describing the procedures that would ensure full compliance. Future payments to the state would be withheld if a recipient failed to comply substantially. Furthermore, states could develop NHS and bridge projects costing less than $1 million without federal oversight upon certification that the projects would be developed as were other projects involving federal oversight.

STAA also recommended reauthorization of FHWA's safety grant program and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration's (NHTSA's) highway safety, motor vehicle, and consumer protection programs. However, in keeping with the NTP principle that transportation programs should be supported by those who benefit from them, STAA proposed funding all NHTSA programs from the Highway Trust Fund. STAA also proposed increased funding for truck safety inspections to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but it prohibited the states from interfering with the non-safety-related business operations of interstate motor carriers.

At the White House on Feb. 13, Secretary Skinner called STAA "a good bill - one that is balanced, comprehensive, and tailored to the unique needs of a growing America." He considered it "a new vision for the 21st century," and it was, indeed, revolutionary. Still, the program details were in many respects consistent with the concepts that emerged from the Futures Group, TAG, and other efforts to shape the post-Interstate future. Although the bill was consistent with the NTP principles, it was received more favorably within the transportation community than the more comprehensive NTP had been a year earlier. Still, the reception was mixed, with the bottom-line funding aspects causing the most problems.

Highway Robbery
An editorial in The Washington Post complimented the Bush administration for "some sensible thinking about ... the necessity of setting highway and transit priorities as America's great age of the Interstate Highway System winds down."

AASHTO President Hal Rives, commissioner of the Georgia Department of Transportation, praised the proposal for recognizing "the urgency of our national transportation needs." On a scale of 1 to 10, he gave the STAA a 6. "The concept is good. It streamlines the entire program," he said.

The increased funding for highways was praised, as was the NHS concept. Kirk Fordice, president of the Associated General Contractors of America, congratulated President Bush "for making surface transportation a top national priority and for highlighting the important role that it plays in our nation's economy."

Nevertheless, the reaction overwhelmingly focused on the bottom line. Commentators were quick to link the funding aspect of the plan to the president's political difficulties since reaching the budget accord with Congress in October 1990.

Despite the editorial praise in The Washington Post, the headline on its feature article read: "Highway Plans Shift Costs to States." Nationally, many headlines shared a theme with The Oregonian, which headlined its STAA article: "Bush Plan Bad News for Oregon." An editorial in The Tampa Tribune echoed the theme: "Florida Must Act to Stop Washington's Highway Robbery."

The Washington Times urged opposition to STAA "before we're all herded into HOV [high-occupancy-vehicle express] lanes like the sheep who run this city." According to the Times, the big winners in the proposal ranged from "bureaucrats from city and county transit authorities to federal highway administrators."

AASHTO's Rives described the funding as "clearly inadequate to meet our national transportation needs, and what money is there is not fairly distributed."

The American Road and Transportation Builders Association agreed that STAA was "a good start for dialogue," but said "it falls way short of providing the level of funding that is necessary to meet America's highway and bridge needs."

The National Governors Association praised many aspects of the plan. "Unfortunately," said Gov. Wallace Wilkinson of Kentucky, "it also shifts added costs to states" that were already paying "the lion's share of surface transportation costs."

As chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, Sen. Quentin Burdick, D-N.D., had a great deal of influence on highway-related legislation.		Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., was chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies.		Sen. Daniel Patrick Moynihan, D-N.Y., was a primary player in the development of ISTEA.

Transit interests were particularly concerned about funding. The American Public Transportation Association said STAA "truly lacks balance in terms of the total transportation system." It added the ultimate insult from a transit perspective: "It's really a highway bill." Congressman William Lipinski, D-Ill., who represented a Chicago district, said the STAA was "totally unacceptable to the mass transit community." Executive Director Mortimer L. Downey of New York City's Metropolitan Transportation Authority said the loss of operating subsidies sent a "bad message for urban America." In a New York Post article with the headline "Subway Fare Could Soar to $1.75," Downey was quoted as saying, "This is the federal government — vintage 1950s —build more roads, guzzle more gas."

In response to concerns about transit funding, UMTA Administrator Clymer joined FHWA Administrator Larson in a letter to The Washington Post that explained the proposal:

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Quentin N. Burdick, who was chairman of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, passed away on Sept. 8, 1992, of a heart condition. He served 32 years in the Senate.

"Critics charge that in dedicating funds for the NHS, the administration has ignored the important role transit plays in surface transportation. Transit does play a key role; under the administration's proposal, more than $28 billion —about one—third of the funds that would be authorized for highways and bridges —could be used for transit, if state and local transportation officials so choose.

"The administration's plan proposes a series of funding formulas that are fair to the subway rider in New York and the farmer in Idaho."

Although congressional reaction was not all negative, many members of Congress did not accept the view that the funding formulas were fair to all.

Sen. Quentin Burdick, D-N.D., chairman of the Committee on Environment and Public Works, was concerned the proposal was "unfairly weighted against North Dakota and other rural states." He was particularly concerned about the 75-percent federal matching share for NHS, a concept that implied rural roads (matching share: 60 percent) were less important.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., chairman of the Appropriations Committee's Subcommittee on Transportation and Related Agencies, said, "This bill is not a plan for the future," and indicated he would ensure "the federal government pulls its own weight."

Sen. Moynihan, whose subcommittee would consider STAA, objected to "the proposal's manifest discrimination against New York." He called it "an energy policy rather than a transportation policy" because 70 percent of the NHS apportionments would be based on fuel consumption, thus encouraging states to support driving instead of transit and other alternatives that would cost them federal dollars. The NHS proposal "appears to anticipate more lanes and yet more lanes and little else."

Rep. Roe, chairman of the Committee on Public Works and Transportation, praised many elements of STAA, such as its intermodal basis, but he was concerned that "in some cases, they are masking reduced funding with philosophy and rhetoric." He also wanted to reduce the balance growing in the Highway Trust Fund. "Let's invest the money in highways and transit and stop fooling the American people."

Rep. Mineta, chairman of the Surface Transportation Subcommittee, objected to STAA for "critical shortsightedness" in funding. He said that he would strongly support state and local flexibility "without stripping away federal funding today or making it needlessly tougher to get federal funding tomorrow."

The administration could appreciate the fact that the broad outlines of STAA were widely accepted, especially the focus on the NHS and the flexibility for other programs. Still, at best, the reception had been, as AASHTO put it, "cautious" on Capitol Hill. The fate of the proposal was uncertain.

Environmentalists Coalesce in Opposition
Pro-environment, pro-transit advocates had long opposed highway development and the way it had transformed the country, especially the urban areas. They had been influential, especially in affecting federal legislation and individual project decisions. However, passage of CAAA and the pending post-Interstate reauthorization gave them renewed incentive to seek ways to increase their influence at this critical time in surface transportation history.

The opportunity was seized the same week that Congress completed work on CAAA. The Environmental and Energy Study Institute convened a meeting on Oct. 26, 1990, to "put all these quality of life issues on an equal footing with those of the traditional transportation lobby." An umbrella coalition called the Surface Transportation Policy Project (STPP) emerged from this meeting.

Rep. Robert Roe, D-N.J., as chairman of the House Committee on Public Works and Transportation, was very influential in the development of highway bills.

STPP consisted of organizations, coalitions, and grassroots groups that supported a comprehensive transportation policy that "serves environmental, social, and economic interests." STPP members felt that as a united group, hosted by the National Trust for Historic Preservation, they would have more influence with Congress than they would have individually.

STPP explained its mission: "STPP's primary objective is to ensure that federal support for transportation promotes clear national mandates for environmental quality, a strong economy, energy and resource conservation, and enhances the quality of life in neighborhoods and communities."

Unlike TAG, which included diverse groups with sometimes conflicting agendas, STPP was unified in its goals, thus increasing its ability to advocate strong, even radical positions. Because STPP was formed late in the development of post-Interstate transportation policy, it would not release its proposals until President Bush and Secretary Skinner had unveiled STAA. Despite this late arrival on the scene, STPP would be influential in the public debates of 1991 and behind the scenes. They found Sen. Moynihan and his top aide, Roy W. Kienitz, supportive of STPP's goals. Kienitz, who was Moynihan's link to STPP, would join the umbrella group in 1996 and become its executive director in 1998.

On the same day that the president released STAA, representatives of STPP denounced it. Project director Sarah Campbell called it "so highway-oriented" and "short on provisions that would advance the national goals of energy conservation, air quality, efficient movement of people and goods, and a sound economy."

Rep. Norman Mineta, D-Calif., chairman of the House Surface Transportation Subcommittee, strongly supported increasing the flexibility of state and local authorities to determine the most appropriate way to spend federal surface transportation money.		Louis J. Gambaccini, general manager of the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, said, "It's time to focus our transportation on the safe and efficient movement of people, not just of vehicles."		Wayne Muri, chief highway engineer in Missouri, expressed his concern that increased federal gas taxes would require the states to increase their funding for matching shares while simultaneously restricting the states' means to raise funds.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Robert A. Roe announced in March 1992 that he would not seek reelection, indicating he wanted to pursue other interests. He remains involved in New Jersey transportation issues.

This initial reaction was followed on April 9 by STPP's surface transportation proposal, Acting in the National Interest: The Transportation Agenda. In explaining STPP's proposal, Louis J. Gambaccini, general manager of the Southeast Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, said, "Many of our problems — rising congestion and air pollution, increasing dependence on foreign oil, decaying communities, and a stagnating economy —are the direct result of government policies favoring the car. It is time to focus our transportation on the safe and efficient movement of people, not just of vehicles."

In announcing its proposals, STPP highlighted increased funding to preserve Interstate highways ($14.2 billion over five years), highway bridges ($12.2 billion), and transit systems ($26.2 billion). Unlike the STAA proposal, STPP called for uniform federal shares across the spectrum of options. New development for all modes would be funded at a federal share of 75 percent, while the share would be 90 percent for preservation and management of existing systems for non-capital projects that promote national interests such as clean air and energy efficiency. The funding increase for transit would help implement national mandates, in particular CAAA and the Americans with Disabilities Act (signed by President Bush on July 26, 1990). Funding for transit operating assistance would be retained.

Original Steering Committee of the Surface Transportation Policy Project, October 1990 America's Coalition for Transit Now! American Institute of Architects American Planning Association Bicycle Federation of America Campaign for New Transportation Priorities Center for Neighborhood Technology Energy Conservation Coalition Environmental and Energy Study Institute Environmental Consortium for Minority Outreach Environmental Defense Fund Friends of the Earth National Association of Regional Councils National Growth Management Leadership Project National Trust for Historic Preservation National Wildlife Federation Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Scenic America Surdina Foundation Inc.

STPP separated its urban and rural proposals. A Metropolitan Mobility Program ($34.5 billion) would give local officials full flexibility to invest in all modes and for all types of projects, including the development of additional capacity. The Rural Access Program ($15.5 billion) would have the same flexibility and eligibility requirements.

Acting in the National Interest also proposed a multimodal long-range state transportation plan and a shorter range transportation improvement program that includes strategies to achieve specific objectives, such as relieving urban congestion, attaining CAAA requirements, avoiding effects on water quality and aquatic resources, promoting energy conservation, and providing needed transit and road facilities in rural areas. The state transportation departments would be required to establish reasonable mechanisms for public involvement in the planning process. They also must coordinate with state agencies concerned with environmental, energy, planning, and CAAA issues and with rural organizations. The planning would cover all transportation systems, including federal and non-federal systems and highway and non-highway transportation.

Metropolitan transportation planning would be altered. Acting in the National Interest proposed increased funding for MPOs, each of which must prepare a long-range transportation plan covering all transportation systems, reflecting state and local land-use plans, and demonstrating consistency with objectives in the state plan. For MPOs serving areas of more than 200,000 in population, officials must also prepare an annual transportation improvement program, which could include only projects that have realistic funding sources.

STPP opposed delegation of NEPA responsibility. Although supportive of reducing unnecessary paperwork and delays, STPP considered the proposed delegation in STAA "too broad and poorly defined." Acting in the National Interest called for involvement of key transportation and environmental interest groups in defining the problem. The deliberations should consider design standards, "which have their own environmental and economic consequences," as well as environmental laws and regulations.

In some ways, Acting in the National Interest took concepts that FHWA's Futures Group, TAG, NTP, and STAA had advocated, and it pushed them to the next level. It was the difference between seeing transportation as a goal and seeing transportation as a means to other goals. As Acting in the National Interest put it, "It is now time to help ourselves by setting goals that both strengthen our economy and lessen the burden that surface transportation is placing on our communities, environment, and national security.

A Challenge From the President
Since Aug. 2, 1990, when Iraq invaded Kuwait, President Bush had led a worldwide coalition under the United Nations (U.N.) aimed at forcing Iraq back within its borders. On Feb. 24, 1991, after months of regional hostilities, American and U.N. forces under Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf launched a ground assault on Iraqi forces. The assault ended with a swift, decisive victory on Feb. 28 when Iraq surrendered. Operation Desert Storm was over.

Less than a week later, on March 6, President Bush addressed a joint session of Congress on the cessation of the Persian Gulf Conflict. "Tonight, we meet in a world blessed by the promise of peace," he said.

Near the conclusion of the speech, the president said that with the war ended, "Our first priority is to get this economy rolling again ... [and] enact the legislation that is key to building a better America." He challenged Congress on two bills that "we should be able to agree on quickly: transportation and crime."

"If our forces could win the ground war in 100 hours, then surely the Congress can pass this legislation in 100 days. Let that be a promise we make tonight to the American people," said the president.

His target date was June 14, 1991, and Congress appeared determined to meet that goal although not necessarily to pass all provisions of STAA. By the time Sen. Burdick began his committee's hearings on March 5, Secretary Skinner admitted that, "We do not believe this bill is anywhere close to its final form."

WHERE ARE THEY NOW? Daniel Patrick Moynihan retired at the end of the 106th Congress in 2000. He remains active in public issues. He is co-chair of President George W. Bush's 16-member Commission to Strengthen Social Security, a subject of longstanding interest to the former senator.

His recognition of political reality was confirmed by a statement released by Sen. Moynihan that day. "We have a once-in-a-generation opportunity to redefine federal transportation policy," Moynihan said. Although he questioned STAA's funding levels and use of fuel consumption as a factor in apportionment formulas, he had a broader concern: "An absolutely central point we must face is that no amount of new highways will relieve congestion. As long as there is open road to drive on, people will use their cars. Once you own one, driving a modern high-mileage car is essentially a free activity."

Noting that 57 percent of Interstate construction funds had been spent in urban areas, he said: "Almost without exception, these behemoths have simply choked the inner city they surround. The problems of urban areas — congestion, air pollution, sprawl, and general disrepair — are national problems. These are the failure in highway policy that most people see every day."

Integrated planning must be another principle in the new legislation, he said. Because integrated planning was not part of the Interstate program at the start, "we have damaged neighborhoods and closed-off urban waterfronts to show for it."

His statement concluded: "More than any other thing, I fear that we will have learned nothing from the past. We must not end up with more of what Professor Kain [Prof. John Kain, chairman of the Department of Economics at Harvard University] has called a 'mindless, massive' program of highway construction."

Moynihan was not jumping on any bandwagon; he was expressing a long-held perspective. Thirty-one years earlier, in 1960, he had written an article for The Reporter magazine called "New Roads and Urban Chaos" in which he criticized the Interstate Highway Program, especially for its damaging effect on the American city. It "seemed lunatic," he wrote, to undertake such a vast program with no thought for other forms of transportation or for metropolitan planning. "Almost any effort to think a bit about what we are doing would help."

And the damage wasn't limited to the cities, Moynihan said in his 1960 article. Government "can no longer ignore what is happening as the suburbs eat endlessly into the countryside."

Moving Away From STAA
As the hearings in the House and Senate continued, STAA hit a "pothole of criticism," as the Marin Independent Journal put it in a March 7 headline.

"While Eisenhower looked forward, Bush looks backward" to policies that would increase reliance on foreign oil, complained Rep. Lipinski. Mass transit increases were essential, he said, "based on where most Americans now live and work."

The establishment of a National Scenic and Historic Highway Program, which was first included in the earlier bill proposals, survived to be included in ISTEA. This photo shows part of the San Juan Skyway in Colorado.

Commissioner Thomas Downs of the New Jersey Department of Transportation supported increased transit funding. Even after years of highway investment, "our highways are more congested, our air more polluted and our dependence on foreign oil greater than ever," Downs said.

Chairman Roe offered one of the sharpest criticisms, calling the administration's transit proposals "fraudulent." Shifting costs from the federal government to state and local governments was "a piece of sleight of hand [like] the old pea under the net scheme."

Many states were concerned that increased federal funding would require increased state funding for matching shares. Missouri's governor, John Ashcroft, and chief engineer, Wayne Muri, expressed similar concerns, especially if federal gasoline taxes jumped, thus limiting state taxing options.

"If the federal government requires more state funds and then takes away the method of raising those funds, we would be left holding the bag," Muri said.

The $11 billion balance in the Highway Trust Fund was a particular target during the hearings. The balance was partly a product of the reimbursement nature of the federal-aid highway program, under which funds are committed ("obligated") to projects but remain in the account until state expenditures are reimbursed during multiyear construction periods. The balance was needed to meet these commitments as they came due. However, the balance was widely perceived as a product of budget trickery in the form of annual obligation limitations that reduced expenditures below authorized levels to make the federal deficit look smaller.

Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I., proposed the Visual Pollution Control Act of 1990

In calling for higher funding levels, the House Public Works and Transportation Committee stated that 100 percent of the higher levels for highways and 67 percent of higher transit funding levels could be supported by current highway user tax revenues. Rep. Hammerschmidt, the committee's ranking Republican member, explained that using the balance "keeps faith with the American taxpayer by returning trust to the trust fund and by supporting a surface transportation program that will meet our needs for the 21st century."

The role of MPOs was also debated. Local officials sought more funding for MPOs and control over the programming of all highway and transit funds - a long-sought goal that would reduce the power of state transportation departments. The states opposed the concept. The "level playing field" concept, reflected in STAA by equal matching shares for most highway and transit projects, was widely endorsed. The National Association of Regional Councils endorsed proposals to "strengthen and build cooperative planning efforts by balancing rural, urban and suburban interests, environmental interests, and highways and transit interests."

NHS, as endorsed by AASHTO and proposed in STAA, attracted criticism from local officials and pro-transit, pro-environmental groups. The funds, they felt, could be better used for transit and other metropolitan needs.

Soon, bills began to emerge. In March, a new bill was introduced, the Transportation for Livable Communities Act of 1991. Developed by members of the STPP coalition, the bill proposed to strengthen the planning process, establish a National Scenic and Historic Highway System, and impose new controls on outdoor advertising (adopting provisions of the Visual Pollution Control Act of 1990 proposed by Sen. John Chafee, R-R.I.). In addition, the bill would create a new funding category called "Transportation Enhancement Activities" to fund activities such as scenic enhancement, design excellence in transportation facilities, rehabilitation of historic transportation structures, "rails to trails" conversions, bicycle and pedestrian ways, and the control and removal of billboards. The states would be required to spend 8 percent of apportioned funds on these activities.

On April 16, Democratic Sens. Max Baucus of Montana and Harry Reid of Nevada introduced the Transportation Improvement Act of 1991. It retained the basic structure of the existing Federal-Aid Highway Program, but with apportionment bonuses that would increase funding for rural areas (based on factors such as level of effort based on per capita spending on highways, adverse weather, nontaxable federal lands, and low population density). Thirty percent of non-Interstate funding could be transferred among categories. Explaining the reliance on the existing program structure, Reid cited the axiom, "If it ain't broke, don't fix it." There was nothing wrong, he said, "that spending the money in the Highway Trust Fund can't cure."

Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., transformed his state's concerns about its share of Highway Trust Fund revenues into a reauthorization bill that he introduced on April 23. His bill would revamp the Federal-Aid Highway Program "to reflect modern day priorities." Although the program elements of the proposal closely followed AASHTO's Keeping America Moving: New Transportation Concepts for a New Century, he proposed the following formula for the distribution of funds: 70 percent based on gallons of gasoline purchased in each state, 15 percent based on state land area, and 15 percent based on public road miles in each state. Bond indicated that his bill would give Missouri an additional $1.4 billion in road money over five years.

What Bond and other bill sponsors did not know is that Moynihan was about to fire a shot across the bow that would transform the debate.

Sen. Christopher Bond, R-Mo., introduced a bill that he said would revamp the Federal-Aid Highway Program "to reflect modern day priorities."		Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Harry Reid, D-Nev., proposed the Transportation Improvement Act of 1991.

PART III

1991: The Forces Come Together
Chairman Burdick, in failing health, decided not to take the lead role in the reauthorization effort. Instead, he agreed to let Sen. Moynihan, the subcommittee chairman, take the lead on one condition: that Moynihan would take care of North Dakota. Moynihan was ready for this opportunity to put all his longstanding concerns about the highway program into a legislative framework.

On April 25, Moynihan took to the floor of the Senate to introduce S. 965, the Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 (STEA). According to a news analysis in the trucking industry's newspaper, Transport Topics, Moynihan's proposal "hit the highway community like a ton of bricks."

In a "Declaration of Policy," STEA stated that the principal purpose of federal highway assistance "shall henceforth be to improve the efficiency of the existing surface transportation system." The declaration added: "It is the policy of the United States to facilitate innovation and competition in transportation modes ... and increase productivity ... through systematic attention to costs and benefits, pursuing the most efficient allocation of costs and the widest distribution of benefits."

To accomplish this policy, STEA transformed the federal-aid highway and transit programs in a variety of ways.

Interstate construction would be continued through 1996 at a total cost of $7.2 billion, primarily to complete the Central Artery/Tunnel Project in Boston.

The Surface Transportation Program (STP) would be the largest funding category at nearly $50 billion through fiscal year (FY) 1996. Highway and bridge projects would be eligible for STP funds, as would costs associated with mass transit, rail, and magnetic levitation systems; carpool projects and fringe and corridor parking; and safety improvements. The federal share would be 80 percent. Funding left over from the defunct federal-aid primary, secondary, and urban systems could be spent in the STP category. Eight percent of STP funds must be used for transportation enhancement activities. In a change known as "program efficiencies," projects were to be designed in accordance with state laws, regulations, directives, safety standards, design standards, and construction standards. Any state could notify the secretary of transportation that it no longer wishes to have federal project review of any STP project (other than projects on Interstate highways or other multilane, limited-access highways).

The Interstate Maintenance Program for restoring and rehabilitating the Interstate System would be funded at $14.2 billion. The federal share would be 80 percent. Projects primarily designed to add capacity for single-occupant vehicles would not be eligible for funding.

The Bridge Program would be continued at a total of $13.3 billion, minus the discretionary portion. The federal share would be 80 percent, but it would be reduced to 75 percent for projects that added capacity for single-occupant vehicles.

Federal-aid funds could be used for construction of new toll facilities (up to 35 percent of cost), rehabilitation of existing toll facilities, or conversion of toll-free facilities to toll facilities (80 percent). Only interstate highways were exempt from conversion. STEA also modified law on toll agreements, which allowed federal participation in costs with the understanding that tolls would eventually be discontinued. At the request of the non-federal partner, the agreements would be renegotiated to allow continuance of tolls. The transportation secretary would also establish a Congestion Pricing Pilot Program to initiate projects in up to five states.

Metropolitan planning requirements were strengthened to require a long-range transportation plan and a transportation improvement program. MPOs were to consider such factors as preservation of existing transportation facilities and using them more efficiently; energy conservation; relieving congestion; effects on land use; use of innovative financing, such as value capture, tolls, and congestion pricing; the overall social, economic, and environmental effects of all transportation projects; and transportation enhancement projects. The MPO, in cooperation with the state and transit operators, would develop the transportation improvement program, which may include projects only if funding can reasonably be anticipated to be available.

At the request of a governor, the secretary of transportation may work directly with the highway or transportation department of a municipality of greater than 1 million population in lieu of the state transportation department for purposes of project review.

Statewide planning would be required as well. The starting point would be a series of management systems for bridges, pavements, safety, and congestion. Funds could be withheld unless a state has approved systems. In addition to considering the results of the management systems, the state planning process should consider energy use goals; development or land-use plans; border crossings; access to intermodal facilities, recreational areas, monuments, historic sites, and military installations; and coordination with clean air goals.

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program would provide $1 billion a year to help achieve the mandates of CAAA. Any project would be eligible if it would contribute to achieving NAAQS, is listed in an approved SIP, and is likely to have air quality benefits. The funds may not be used to add capacity for single-occupant vehicles.

The Bureau of Transportation Statistics would be created within the Department of Transportation to conduct a comprehensive, long-term program for the collection and analysis of data related to the performance of the national transportation system.

The secretary of transportation and assistant secretary of the Army for civil works would manage a National Magnetic Levitation Design Program. After an aggressive program to produce a prototype, the program would award a construction grant to build a maglev system on Interstate highway right of way.

Where sufficient right of way exists on roads constructed with federal-aid funds, the secretary shall authorize the state to make it available for high-speed ground transportation systems, including maglev systems, buses, and nonhighway public mass transit facilities.

The secretary shall update a report required by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 on the amount the United States would have to pay the states to reimburse them for segments incorporated into the Interstate System but built at non-federal expense, such as toll turnpikes.

Projects affecting a historic facility or an area of historic or scenic value may be approved only if the project is designed to preserve these values.

To encourage safety belt use in automobiles as well as helmets for motorcyclists, STEA called for a program of incentives - grants totaling $100 million to states with appropriate laws - and disincentives - states that did not mandate usage by FY 1995 would be required to use 1.5 percent of their apportioned funds for safety projects.

A functional reclassification of all public roads shall be undertaken for purpose of classifying them as an arterial, collector, etc..

A National Recreational Trails Trust Fund would be established for revenue from nonhighway recreational fuel taxes. The funds would finance the National Recreational Trails Program to provide for and maintain recreational trails.

A number of existing programs would be continued, including the Interstate Substitution Program (for states that had canceled Interstate projects and were entitled to equal funding for other purposes), the Federal Lands Highway Program, and the Territorial Highway Program.

Although the bill had bipartisan leadership support from Sens. Burdick, Chafee, Lautenberg, and Steve Symms , R-Idaho, STEA was clearly Moynihan's initiative. It incorporated many ideas from STPP, which helped draft the bill, eliminated much of FHWA's work (confining it largely to concern about the Interstate System and roads on federal land), and made no mention of a national highway system.

STEA also incorporated some of Moynihan's pet goals, including a study of reimbursing states, such as New York, that had built turnpikes before the 1956 highway act authorized significant federal funding for the Interstate System; congestion pricing to alter modal use patterns; and promotion of maglev. Regarding maglev, Moynihan had long considered the U.S. Department of Transportation "brain dead" for its failure to promote this innovative technology that, as he often noted, had been invented in New York by scientists at Brookhaven National Laboratory.

Reaction to STEA
In introducing STEA, Moynihan said that the post-Interstate era should be based on three principles that were embodied in STEA:

• Our primary object must be to improve the efficiency of the system we now have.
  
• Second, the time has come to turn the initiative in transportation matters back to states and cities.
  
• Third, transit should be an option for cities. Which is to say that "highway" money should be fungible.

In addition to sending bureaucrats scrambling to the dictionary —"fungible" means "freely interchangeable or replaceable for another of like nature or kind" — Moynihan's statement and STEA sent shockwaves through the highway community.

Secretary Skinner's official response was restrained. He applauded the senators for moving the process forward and for "serious effort." He added, however, "We are seriously concerned that the Senate bill omits what we believe is a key element of the president's bill, namely the National Highway System. We also believe it imperative that all levels of government and the private sector increase their investment in surface transportation."

Les Lamm, president of the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility at the time of the development of ISTEA, was a legend in highway transportation community. He began a career in FHWA as a highway engineer trainee in 1955 and rose through the ranks to serve as executive director from 1973 to 1982 and deputy administrator from 1982 to 1986. Later, he also served as the president of the Intelligent Transportation Society of America.

The interests with a stake in highway transportation were less cautious. AASHTO executive director Frank Francois described the bill as "beyond any kind that anyone had ever envisioned until this point." AASHTO supported increased flexibility, but he described the Senate proposal as "flexibility run amok." Les Lamm, president of the Highway Users Federation for Safety and Mobility, said that the proposal reminded him of "the very early years of the Federal-Aid Program [1916-1920] when limited federal funding was too widely dispersed" before the system concept was introduced in 1921.

The Journal of Commerce reported that motor carrier interests "are livid over the measure." Thomas Donohue, president of the American Trucking Associations (ATA), said, "It is a no-growth bill and fails to promote productivity." The bill, he said, was designed to benefit big cities with transit systems, and New York was the big winner. It provides just enough maintenance for the Interstate System to "embalm" it. ATA also released a news advisory on behalf of highway-user organizations calling for hearings on "a bill that, in its present form, threatens the future of America's highways." An attached memo explained, "S. 965 squanders a legacy that the nation was given in 1956." It concluded: "Highways, not rhetoric, provide personal mobility, move America's goods, create jobs and help us compete in international markets. This country needs to improve its highway infrastructure — not mothball it."

A Journal of Commerce editorial was equally caustic. Under the STEA, national transportation policy is placed "in the hands of city and county bureaucrats." The bill was "a recipe for a disjointed transportation system that would make travel more difficult and erode business productivity."

In a USA Today op-ed piece, the American Automobile Association (AAA) expressed its views on Moynihan's proposal: "His bill would impose driving restrictions in many areas, price poor people off many roads by imposing new toll charges, and even penalize states with the temerity to use highway funds derived from highway users to expand highway capacity."

Many state and local officials, as well as transit and environmental interests, supported the Moynihan bill. At the California Department of Transportation, spokesman Jim Drago reported that the initial reaction was "very positive." He added that STEA "is an encouraging sign." Gov. James Florio of New Jersey said, "This will mean that New Jersey will decide what New Jersey needs to keep our state on the move." Rebecca Brady of the National Conference of State Legislatures said, "The prospect of having more flexibility at the state level ... will meet with a great deal of attraction." The American Public Transportation Association endorsed the proposal and lobbied for its passage.