Government Affairs Update

Existing federal transportation legislation is set to expire on Sept. 30, and both the Senate and House have been working to develop extension legislation.  The Senate has long proposed an 18-month extension of the existing legislation; however, this week House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman James Oberstar filed and passed H.R. 3617, which would extend the existing legislation for only three months. The House also attempted to repeal the pending rescissions, but were not successful. With Fiscal Year 2009 ending Sept. 30, federal agencies will likely continue to be funded through the end of October via a continuing resolution while debate continues on how to fund and address transportation and other critical issues.

The NTTA recently sent a letter to the Dallas-Fort Worth Congressional delegation and Congressional Senate and House Transportation Committee leadership regarding federal transportation initiatives.  The letter supports an 18-month extension of the existing federal transportation reauthorization legislation to allow for a more comprehensive review of the transportation issues being discussed in Washington; additional funding for the Highway Trust Fund during the proposed extension; and repeal of the latest federal rescissions, which could negatively impact important mobility projects in Texas. The NTTA also participated in a federal transportation policy discussion this month with our partners at the Texas Department of Transportation and other Texas toll authorities.

For more information on the NTTA’s Government Affairs program, please contact the Carrie Rogers, assistant director of Government Affairs, at (214) 224-2269 or crogers@ntta.org.