DRUG-FREE TRANSPORTATION DEMONSTRATION PROGRAM

The Committee is aware that the Nation's interstate transportation system is now being utilized heavily by drug traffickers for the distribution of controlled substances. A recent report by the U.S. attorney in New Jersey detailed various methods by which illegal drugs are being transported across State lines. According to the report, the State of New Jersey has become a major transportation hub for the drug trade, as drug traffickers take advantage of the State's extensive highway system, its many airports and ports, and its location near the highly populated New Jersey/New York metropolitan area.

The Committee allowance includes $500,000 to be provided to the Department of Law and Public Safety and the State police in New Jersey for a demonstration program to seek ways of reducing the use of the Nation's interstate transportation network for drug trafficking. The program would seek to reduce such trafficking in the State of New Jersey both through enhanced interdiction efforts and through a public awareness campaign focused on the transportation industry. Interdiction efforts would include training of law enforcement officials to identify drug couriers and seize drugs in transport, enhanced monitoring of shipping containers, airport traffic and trucks, and undercover operations at airports, shipping terminals, train stations, and bus terminals.

The program's public awareness component would include training those working in the transportation industry so as to heighten their awareness about the scope and nature of the drug trafficking problem and to familiarize them with the indicators of illicit narcotics trafficking activities. Targeted groups would include truck and bus drivers, train conductors, employees of airports, train stations, and bus terminals, baggage handlers, longshoremen and offloaders. In addition, the program would include the establishment of a confidential tip line system to encourage citizens to report information that leads to the arrest and conviction of drug smugglers.

HAZARDOUS MATERIALS

The Committee has received information from the Cooperative Hazardous Materials Enforcement Development [COMED] program, an association of primarily State enforcement officers working with RSPA, that additional training is needed to strengthen the capabilities of State MCSAP and other enforcement officers to conduct hazardous materials inspections at the roadside and in carrier and shipper facilities. Consequently, the Committee directs FHWA, together with RSPA, to increase substantially the technical assistance, training programs, and information sharing offered to these State enforcement officers. The Committee expects DOT to direct its FHWA hazardous materials program managers, instructors from the Transportation Safety Institute, other FHWA and RSPA headquarters personnel to participate actively in rasing both the quality and quantity of State hazardous materials enforcement efforts. The Committee notes that there is a substantial leveraged benefit in Federal safety officers improving the capabilities of State enforcement officers.

NOTIFICATION OF INSPECTION RESULTS

Safetynet eventually will furnish both FHWA and MCSAP inspectors essential information about specific carrier and driver performance. This needed computer system, however, is not yet operating in an effective or comprehensive manner. Until this system is on-line on a national basis, the Committee believes that both FHWA and State auditing programs and FHWA's driver disqualification program are adversely affected by the unavailability of needed information. Consequently, the Committee directs that FHWA: (1) More vigorously encourage States participating in MCSAP to send copies of all MCSAP inspection reports to the appropriate FHWA offices; and (2) direct regional FHWA offices to distribute the reports to the appropriate FHWA division offices for placement in individual carrier files.

The Committee expects that these requirements be fully implemented during the first 90 days of fiscal year 1990. This requirement is especially important for those States that are not effectively using Safetynet's inspection module and integrating generated information with FHWA's computer system.

The Committee directs that these activities should continue until Safetynet provides the needed information that these manual approaches can provide. The Committee believes that FHWA and State investigators need this information in order to conduct effective safety and compliance reviews and safety management activities as well as more effective driver disqualification program.

The Committee expects to explore fully FHWA's implementation of these requirements during future hearings.

This program was first authorized by the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982. It would provide grants to States for improved enforcement of Federal and State motor carrier safety rules. It has been shown that added enforcement of truck safety rules reduces truck-related accidents and fatalities. The major objective of this program is to reduce the number and severity of hazardous materials accidents involving commercial motor vehicles.

The Committee recommends a liquidating cash appropriation of $52,000,000 level which is the same as the administration request and the House allowance.

VEHICLE REPAIR VERIFICATION

The Committee is concerned that a large number of truck drivers are not repairing critical safety defects noted during MCSAP inspections before returning to our Nation's highways. Therefore, the

Committee is considering including a provision in the 1991 bill which would prevent MCSAP funds from being allocated to a State unless that State is conducting an effective, year-round verification program to ensure, perhaps through sampling, that vehicles taken out of service are being repaired on a timely basis.

TRUCK SAFETY AND PUBLIC AWARENESS

The FHWA, in cooperation with the States, industry, and safety organizations, and with other Federal agencies such as NHTSA, should increase its efforts to provide useful information to the driving public concerning how to safety share the highway with commercial motor carriers. Information on blind spots, reduced ability to maneuver and stop, and operating requirements for commercial motor carriers, need to be improved and delivered to the driving public. The Committee expects FHWA to present a summary of its various efforts in conjunction with the 1991 budget submission.

LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS

The Committee is also recommending an obligation ceiling of $60,000,000 for motor carrier safety grants. This is the same amount requested by the administration and $200,000 below the amount provided in the House allowance. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 authorized $60,000,000 in fiscal year 1990 for the Motor Carrier Safety Grants Program with $13,000,000 earmarked for the Commerical Driver's License Program, and up to $300,000 for administration of the grant program.

ACCESS HIGHWAYS TO PUBLIC RECREATION AREAS ON CERTAIN LAKES

Appropriations, 1989.

Budget estimate, 1990.

House allowance.

Committee recommendation..........

$1,291,000

Section 155 of title 23 authorizes the Secretary of Transportation to construct or reconstruct access highways to public recreation areas on certain lakes. Such lakes are those bodies of water resulting from construction by various Federal agencies.

BALTIMORE-WASHINGTON PARKWAY

(HIGHWAY TRUST FUND)

Appropriations, 1989.

Budget estimate, 1990.

House allowance

Committee recommendation..........

$12,825,000

12,000,000

The House provides $12,000,000 for further work on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway.

The Committee recommendation does not include funding for the Baltimore-Washington Parkway in 1990. There was no budget request for this project.

Section 124 of the Federal-Aid Highway Amendments of 1974 authorizes a demonstration project for the construction of a high density urban intermodal transportation connection between Franklin Avenue and 59th Street in Minneapolis, MN. This provides a highway link between the central business district and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.

The House has provided an additional $10,000,000 for this project.

Due to budget constraints the Committee recommends no funds for this project. There was no budget request for this activity. HIGHWAY SAFETY AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECTS

(HIGHWAY TRUST FUND)

Appropriations, 1989

Budget estimate, 1990.

House allowance

Committee recommendation..

$8,550,000

12,000,000

Public Law 99-500 and Public Law 99-591 authorized four demonstration projects in Mississippi. The House has recommended $12,000,000 in fiscal year 1990 funds. There was no budget request for these projects.

Due to budgetary constraints the Committee does not recommend any funding for fiscal year 1990.

HIGHWAY SAFETY IMPROVEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

(HIGHWAY TRUST FUND)

Appropriations, 1989..

$1,260,000

Budget estimate, 1990.

House allowance.

Committee recommendation.........

11,000,000

The Committee does not include funding for this demonstration project, which is for a variety of improvement projects in the vicinity of Pontiac and East Lansing, MI. There was no budget request for this activity.

Public Law 99-500 and Public Law 99-591 authorized total appropriations of $32,000,000 for these highway improvements. A total of $7,960,000 was provided through fiscal year 1989 and the House has included an additional $11,000,000 for fiscal year 1990. There was no budget request for this project and the Committee has not provided any funding.

The House has included an additional $9,500,000 for a series of highway-railroad grade crossings in Mineola, NY. There was no budget request in support of the House allowance.

Public Law 99-500 and Public Law 99-591 authorized a total of $50,000,000 for this project and $21,600,000 has been provided through fiscal year 1989.

The Committee has not included any funds for this project.

The House has provided $2,000,000 for a highway widening demonstration project in King of Prussia, PA. There was no budget request for this project, and the Committee has not provided any funding.

This account provides Federal funds for 80 percent of the expenses associated with the construction of a bridge.

There was no budget request for additional funding and the Committee has not provided any. This project is the Blount Island Bridge project in Jacksonville, FL.

HIGHWAY WIDENING AND IMPROVEMENT DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Appropriations, 1989.

Budget estimate, 1990..

House allowance..

Committee recommendation...........

$4,100,000

5,000,000

This account covers 80 percent of the expenses associated with a highway widening and improvement project between Paintsville and Prestonburg, KY. The House has provided an additional $5,000,000 for this project. There was no budget request for these funds and the Committee has not provided any funding.