The Department of Transportation (DOT) has unveiled its budget that would seek $59.3 billion in funding for the fiscal 2003 budget to help provide for improved security and safety of the country's transportation system. The 2003 budget represents an overall increase of $4.7 billion or eight percent when adjusted for a reduction in highway spending required by law, and proposes $7.7 billion overall for transportation safety funding.
"Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, we must provide for enhanced security as well as the safety of all who use the country's transportation system, " says DOT Secretary Norman Y Mineta.
The budget includes $125 million for the Research and Special Programs Administration, including $24 million to improve the safety of hazardous materials transportation, $14 million to train hazardous materials responders and improve response plans, and $64.5 million for enhanced federal pipeline safety efforts;
The budget provides $371 million for the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, an increase of eight percent, to help reduce the number of traffic accidents involving trucks and buses. Of that amount, $116 million anticipates implementation of the North American Free Trade Agreement trucking provisions and will go to improve safety enforcement operations and construct inspection facilities along the southern border. The $116 million includes $61 million for the border enforcement program, $47 million for border infrastructure improvements, and $8 million to improve state safety enforcement operations.
Transportation Deputy Secretary Michael P Jackson said that the fiscal 2003 budget for transportation includes $4.8 billion for the first full year of funding for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) and $7.1 billion for the Coast Guard, representing the largest increase in the nation's history for the Coast Guard.
The $430 million budget request for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) includes $205 million for operations and research. This amount includes funding to support implementation of the Transportation Recall Enhancement, Accountability and Documentation (TREAD) Act, which will enable NHTSA to aggressively pursue new rulemakings for dynamic rollover tests, improve child safety restraints, and resume statutory responsibilities under the Corporate Average Fuel Economy (CAFE) program.