Monday, March 23, 1998
10:00-11:30 a.m., 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

You are invited to a briefing on the reauthorization of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) of 1991 and its potential impacts on the environment. The Senate passed its ISTEA reauthorization bill Thursday, March 12, increasing transportation funding to $214 billion over the next six years. Now the House is poised to act, and the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee may mark-up its bill Tuesday, March 24. The current extension of ISTEA expires May 1, and there is considerable pressure to pass a bill before the summer construction period begins.

ISTEA is a primary source of funding for transportation systems and infrastructure. The transportation sector has enormous impacts on the environment; it is a leading cause of air pollution and a major source of carbon monoxide, particulates and the smog precursor, nitrogen oxide. Additionally, transportation is the fastest growing source of carbon dioxide emissions, the primary greenhouse gas.

Transportation also affects water and land. Studies show that nitrogen emissions from motor vehicles lead to water pollution in the Chesapeake Bay and Great Lakes. Other studies identify highway runoff as a major cause of water pollution in streams, lakes, rivers and estuaries. Highway construction is a primary consumer of wetlands and other natural habitats. And many believe that road building fuels metropolitan sprawl, causing increased dependence on automobiles and exacerbating environmental harm from transportation.

Much is at stake in the more than $200 billion ISTEA reauthorization debate. As in the Senate, many amendments with environmental implications are expected when the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee resumes work on its version of ISTEA, which was approved last year but never "reported out" of committee.

The following panelists will discuss how ISTEA and potential amendments to it could impact the environment and what to expect in the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee markup:

• Dave Clawson, program director for policy and planning, American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials;

• Kaid Benfield, senior attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council;

• Bill Fay, president, American Highway Users Alliance; and

• Roy Kienitz, director of federal affairs, Surface Transportation Policy Project.

The briefing is free and open to the public with no reservations required. For more information, contact Michael Chelius at (202) 662-1885.