Treasury Department Touts Transit and Infrastructure Investments

Department of the Treasury
The Treasury Department issues a report, A New Economic Analysis of Infrastructure Investment, that argues in favor of expanding transportation options as an avenue for economic growth, citing research on location-efficient neighborhoods and emission reductions due to transit ridership, among other evidence. Also covered is what the Administration is doing currently in terms of investments in infrastructure and speeding project delivery.

The report also speaks in favor of a national infrastructure bank and benefits to the middle class of wise infrastructure investment, including a benefit to Lincoln, NE, of 1000 jobs for making Metro North train cars that seat commuters from Westchester and Connecticut traveling into the city each day. (Yes, New York City, Grand Central, specifically.)

No Pie on Transit* - Except Pi Day?

Public health benefits are touted as a reason to invest in transit.

Using data on individuals before (July 2006 to February 2007) and after (March 2008 to July 2008) the completion of a light rail system in Charlotte, North Carolina, they find that the use of light rail to commute to work is associated with a nearly 1.2 point reduction in body mass index as well as an 81 percent reduction in the odds of becoming obese. Moreover, improved perceptions of neighborhoods as a result of the availability of light rail were associated with 15 percent lower odds of obesity as well as higher odds of meeting weekly recommended physical activity levels for walking and vigorous exercise (9 percent and 11 percent, respectively).

In addition to all of the personal benefits associated with a healthier life style, overall costs on our health care system are substantially reduced when obesity rates are lowered, given that health care costs for the obese are almost twice the rate for normal weight individuals. Finkelstein et al. find that between 1998 and 2006, the prevalence of obesity in the United States increased by 37 percent, adding $40 billion dollars to health care costs.

A separate study by Stokes et al. estimates that health care savings in Charlotte from the creation of the first segment of their light rail system could reach a cumulative $12.6 million by 2015. These facts also suggest that targeted investment in creating new public transportation systems could translate into large-scale savings in health care costs. Furthermore, many other academic studies show that proximity to public transportation and more rationally-designed neighborhoods tend to be associated with increased walking and other physical activity for the general population, working or otherwise. [Footnotes omitted.]

Transit ridership growth is declared as well as increased demand for transit service. There is more in the report.

* [For all of you non-math nerds, Pi Day is March 14, as in 3.14159 etc., used in circle radius, circumference, diameter and other calculations. It is also the birthday of Albert Einstein and my mother. That would make her happy. Some schools ask parents to make pie donations for math class celebrations. Not that math classes are unhealthy; other than the last day of the term, that's pretty much the only day for less-than-healthy eating in algebra, geometry, trigonometry, calculus and beyond classes. Well, at least the ones I am aware of.]

Occupy Transportation? and State Updates

Amalgamated Transit Union
ATU is generating attention for April 4 as a National Day of Action for Public Transportation, called by Occupy Boston on the anniversary of Martin Luther King's speech about Vietnam and American poverty. The April 4 event "is about demanding public transportation for the 99% by spreading the word about the mass transit crisis out to riders and the general public." Occupy Boston voiced its concerns for transit funding at a recent public hearing. ATU's website links to the Occupy Boston announcement.

National Conference of State Legislatures
NCSL releases its monthly transportation newsletter, which includes an overview of reauthorization activity in Congress, high-speed rail developments, and an update on state funding for transportation.

President's Budget - What Are National Organization's Saying?

I am currently perusing websites of the members of the National Consortium on the Coordination of Human Services Transportation with an eye toward responses to and analyses of the Obama Administration's proposed budget for fiscal year 2012. I am especially looking at organizations that are not specifically transportation related to find out their perspectives.

Public Health

Children’s Health Fund
CHF's reaction to the President's proposed budget did not discuss transportation per se. It did discuss access to health care, and praised:

the investment of an additional $300 million to create 25 new health centers nationwide; additional incentives for 2,800 new primary care providers who practice in areas where there is an existing shortage of doctors and high poverty rates; and retaining the majority of funding for the implementation of national health reform.

However, CHF criticized the requested cuts in Medicaid and other publicly-funded health insurance for children, as well as a proposed decreased investment in the Prevention and Public Health Fund, established as part of the new health reform law.

American Public Health Association
APHA responded in a press release to the Administration's budget proposals with disappointment, stating that public health and prevention would be shortchanged.

With today’s proposed $664 million in cuts to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the agency will have seen its budget authority slashed by $1.4 billion since fiscal year 2010, a more than 20 percent reduction. In addition, the Prevention and Public Health Fund established under the Affordable Care Act is slated for additional cuts of more than $4 billion over 10 years. The budget would also divert monies from the fund to backfill cuts to the CDC and other public health agencies. This maneuver not only puts the integrity of the CDC’s budget at risk but violates the fundamental spirit of this historic law. It robs Peter to pay Paul.

State and Local Perspectives

National Association of Counties
NACO's members are feeling the pinch of county budget cutbacks. For federal appropriations, NACO recommends assistance to state and local governments to mitigate further layoffs; investment in state and local infrastructure because it produces private sector jobs; and finding ways to reduce the federal deficit without "shifting costs to counties and their residents, imposing unfunded mandates, or preempting county programs or taxing authority."

National Association of Development Organizations
NADO released a proposed budget explanation that analyzes funding ramifications for rural programs, particularly economic development, and other programs that serve rural areas. It lists which programs would be eliminated, and which would suffer severe reductions. The document also reviews programs by federal departments, including transportation and reauthorization proposals.

Local and Regional Priorities

NADO and NACO joined to present testimony at a Senate hearing in February regarding rural development. Federal support for self-determined priorities and ease of access to federal programs were the major themes.

A criticism of USDA Rural Development is that its investments are not always driven by local and regional priorities. Instead of rural communities and small businesses working regionally on common goals, they often are forced to fit their economic development initiatives into federal priorities and funding stovepipes. I would urge a greater recognition and support of existing regional development strategies, including the EDA CEDS and our region’s Grand Vision and the 3E Initiative, which could assist Rural Development in making sound decisions regarding their investments.

National Conference of State Legislatures
NCSL provides an overview of what the President's budget proposals mean for funding across a broad spectrum of federal programs, including transportation. This is a good document for skimming to find out where the Administration's priorities are on everything from agriculture to transportation.

Equity, Human Services and Health Care

American Public Human Services Association
APHSA posts a list of what the proposed budget would mean for medical and human services programs. It does not include transportation, but is quite detailed about programs targeting vulnerable populations of older adults, children, people with disabilities, and people living in poverty.

PolicyLink
PolicyLink has issued the 99% Agenda to explain and respond to President Obama's proposed budget. The equity-oriented organization applauds the proposals to increase transit investment, to award transportation innovation, to develop multimodal corridors, and to enhance livability, foster mobility, and expand transportation choices via the inter-agency Partnership for Sustainable Communities.

People with Disabilities

Association of Programs for Rural Independent Living
Though not billed as related to proposed budgets, APRIL hosted two Capitol Hill briefings on Feb. 23 - one on the House side and the other on the Senate side - with the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, the Leadership Conference Education Fund, and the American Association of People with Disabilities. The briefing examined civil rights enforcement, accessible transportation, job creation, workforce development, and legislative priorities critical to the disability community.

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities
As mentioned in the last Express Stop post, NASUAD posted a chart that translates both the President's proposed budget and expected funding in terms of programs that serve senior citizens.

[Editor's Note: Due to the strict limit on the number of characters allowed to label each post, this post will only be labeled under Legislation and Funding, but not under the label for each organization discussed.]

Aging and Disabilities Organizations: Federal Budget Proposal; State Services and Funding

National Association of States United for Aging and Disabilities
NASUAD posts a chart that translates both the President's proposed budget and expected funding in terms of programs that serve senior citizens. Transportation is included, but the list is vast. NASUAD also released a state-of-the-state report that reviews state aging services. This is one of those reports with fascinating and informative tables for anyone interested in what states pay for which services and what is covered by Medicaid in different states.

AARP
Related to the reports described above is one that AARP prepared with NASUAD staff. On the Verge: The Transformation of Long-Term Services and Supports discusses state budgets, staffing and policy trends. Notable is a discussion of the uncertainty of the Affordable Care Act.

Paralyzed Veterans of America
PVA and other veterans groups release the annual Independent Budget, a veterans-focused analysis of the President's budget proposals, with advocacy for increased funding in particular areas. There are sections relating to employment, education and medical care. Transportation is discussed in the medical care section.

What's in the Deal for Transit and Community Programs?

I have yet to see specifics about transit or community transportation in articles about the proposed bipartisan debt-ceiling/deficit-reduction package. Instead of writing about missing details, I will take a page from the Daily Show - no, I won't attempt comedy - and look back at the bipartisan commission that is the source for the current proposal.

In late 2010, the chairs of the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, former Clinton White House chief of staff Erskine Bowles and retired Sen. Alan Simpson (R-Wyo.), released detailed draft recommendations and a PowerPoint summary explaining their plan to significantly cut the federal budget and reduce the national debt.

Lots of Details

Their recommendations included freezing federal employee salaries and cutting the federal workforce, reducing the number of contract positions, and reducing the amounts spent on federal travel. Their plan would eliminate the Economic Development Administration and merge the Department of Commerce with the Small Business Administration. For transportation, there would be a 15-cent increase in the gas tax. There is much more. If you want details, refer to both the draft recommendations and the PowerPoint because they cover somewhat different topics.

This blog covered the responses from national organizations within the transportation world in November.

In December 2010, the Commission issued its report and in January 2011, the members of the Commission released their individual statements.

Transportation

The Commission report addresses transportation specifically.

Under current law, the Transportation Trust Fund has hybrid budget treatment in which contract authority is mandatory, while outlays are discretionary. This hybrid treatment results in less accountability and discipline for transportation spending and allows for budget gimmicks to circumvent budget limits to increase spending. The Commission plan reclassifies spending from the Transportation Trust Fund to make both contract authority and outlays mandatory, and then limits spending to actual revenues collected by the trust fund in the prior year once the gas tax is fully phased in. Shortfalls up until that point would be financed by the general fund.

The Commission recommends gradually increasing the per gallon gas tax by 15 cents between 2013 and 2015. Congress must limit spending from trust funds to the level of dedicated revenues from the previous year. Before asking taxpayers to pay more for roads, rail, bridges, and infrastructure, we must ensure existing funds are not wasted. The Commission recommends significant reforms to control federal highway spending. Congress should limit trust fund spending to the most pressing infrastructure needs rather than forcing states to fund low-priority projects. It should also end the practice of highway authorization earmarks such as the infamous Bridge to Nowhere.

Transit, community transportation and other modes are not addressed. Nor were they mentioned in the President's deficit reduction speech in April 2011, covered here.

News Will Be Out Soon

Well, we will all know soon whether the current Senate bipartisan proposal will take hold in the House. If it does, the transportation and infrastructure provisions will influence reauthorization whenever that happens, and specifically funding for transit, community transportation and zero-emission modes.

How to Get Folks on the Bus

The American Bus Association posts a link to a long article on the Bloomberg Business Week news site about still-growing intercity bus services.

An absolutely fabulous article appears in the Atlantic about convincing commuters to switch to transit. It is an article about cultural change, convenience, meeting needs and making car-free (for at least one major source of trips) seem "cool." Thanks to Chris Zeilinger for the tweet about this.

Mobility Management Conference in Indianapolis on June 6-7, 2011. Sessions will cover the different partnerships that allow for customer-focused and community-generated transit and mobility services. Also, information about livability, one-call/one-click services, statewide perspectives, and employment transportation, among others. The Partnership for Mobility Management is working together to put on the conference. There will be representation from the professional worlds of transit, community transportation services, workforce,
regional planning and state departments of transportation.

President's Deficit Reduction Proposal

Yesterday's New York Times coverage of the President's deficit reduction speech, did not mention transit, high-speed rail or any medical, human service or employment transportation programs. In my pre-vacation mode this morning, I admit that I am not scouring the news sites or Consortium webpages, but there are always news alerts and emails that arrive by this point whenever a major budget-related proposal is made that mentions these programs. The President's speech echoes themes from the bipartisan National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform. A November 2010 blog post linked to the Commission co-chairs' recommendations, summaries and responses to the Commission's work. The full Commission recommended that the gas tax be increased by 15 cents and would "limit[] spending to actual revenues collected by the trust fund in the prior year once the gas tax is fully phased in." Transit and other non-motor vehicle modes were not mentioned.