摘要: |
The table where the final compromise funding formula was hammered out in the early morning hours of November 26, 1991, paving the way for the next day's passage of the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA), is still known as the "3:16 a.m. table." Now, 6 years later, ISTEA will expire on October 1, 1997, and the pressure is on Congress once again to pass a surface transportation authorization bill. And just as in 1991, the single most controversial issue is how to apportion the funds among the states so that ISTEA's successor can achieve a majority in the House and Senate. Debate over how much states will get under various proposed funding formulas has drawn lines between so-called "donor" states--those mainly southern, midwestern, and western states that received less in transportation funding from the federal government under ISTEA than they remitted to the Highway Trust Fund--and "donee" states that received more in benefits than they contributed in taxes. While the elements are in place for a funding formula compromise, no one will be surprised if ISTEA's successor ends up with its own version of the 3:16 a.m. table. A sidebar highlights the work of the Federal Highway Administration's Data and Formula Assistance Team. |