House Transportation Bill Strikes Better Balance Than Senate Environmental Defense Says

(24 March 2004 — Washington D.C)  As the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee marked up a new six-year $275 billion transportation bill today, Environmental Defense hailed the committee leaders for striking a better balance than the recent Senate bill regarding protections for air quality, parks and wildlife refuges, and public involvement in transportation decisions.

“The recently passed Senate bill wipes out the balance and common sense that evolved over the last four decades of transportation,” said Michael Replogle, Environmental Defense transportation director.  “The new House mark-up does far less to roll-back current protections for America’s health and environment.”

The House mark-up bill keeps in place more long-standing provisions that hold transportation agencies accountable for the effects of road projects. Unfortunately the bill omits good provisions in the Senate bill that expand funding for water quality improvements, and ensure consideration of wildlife conservation in transportation plans. The House bill also sharply curbs options for judicial review of bad decisions, unlike the Senate bill.  

“The transportation bill is not just a jobs bill, but one of the most important bills affecting the environment and public health,” said Replogle.  “This bill ought to do more than it does to help clean the air, provide affordable and fair transportation choices, and strengthen the role of the public and local officials in transportation decisions. We urge the Senate and House to work together to advance those transportation measures that will best protect the environment and public health.”

The Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21) is the key law that shapes the nation’s transportation investments.  Unlike the House bill, the recently passed Senate transportation bill would:
- weaken the Clean Air Act by allowing major highway expansions to proceed without regard to long-term air quality impacts,
- curb consideration of alternatives to road expansion that could protect health and the environment,
- remove long-standing protections to the country’s parks, wildlife and waterfowl refuges, recreation areas, and historic resources, and
- allow federal and state highway agencies to override local land use and transportation plans.