ISTEA Reauthorization

The Intermodal Surface Transportation and Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which sets transportation policy and authorizes highway and transit funding, expired on September 30, 1997. Changing the formulas for allocation funds among the states, increasing transportation infrastructure investments in a balanced budget environment, and promoting alternative transportation that meet clean air standards are but a few issues that will be considered.

ISTEA's reauthorization is a major priority for Congresswoman McKinney. On March 13, 1997, Congresswoman McKinney, accompanied by MARTA Vice President Jack Stephens, testified for the second year in front of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. Addressing the proposed widening of I-285, the Congresswoman brought the concerns of neighborhood associations to the Committee's members, and she asked the Committee to consider authorizing a transit study of the I-285 corridor to provide an alternative to GDOT's alarming proposal.

Along with encouraging mass transit as an alternative, Congresswoman McKinney brought the Committee's attention to the need of safety and beautification of Candler Road, Memorial Drive, and Buford Highway. Enhancements of these arterial ways is one of the 13 transportation priorities that Congresswoman McKinney submitted to the Committee for authorization in this year's ISTEA.

The House passed the bill by a vote of 337 to 80, after agreeing to two amendments. As passed by the House, the bill porvides $219.0 BILLION over six years, a 41% increase over spending provided by the last highway bill, the 1991 Intermodal Surface Trasportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA). The bill's total includes $180 BILLION for highways (including more tha $9 BILLION earmarked for projects in specific localities), $37.3 BILLION for mass transit programs, and $2.1 BILLION for highway safety activities. It takes the Highway Trust Fund "off-budget" in FY 1999, thereby exempting spending from the fund from spending caps and deficit calculations under the Budget Act.