The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968 authorized $300,000,000 for the establishment of the Right-of-Way Revolving Fund. This fund is utilized to make cash advances to the States for the purpose of purchasing right-of-way parcels in advance of highway construction and thereby preventing the inflation of land prices from causing a significant increase in construction costs. When right-of-way aquisition has been made and highway construction is initiated, the State becomes eligible for Federal grants under the various Federal-aid highway authorizations. At the point when progress payments are made to the State for construction, the State in turn reimburses the revolving fund for advances made to that State for right-of-way acquisition. Utilizing this method of funding, all reimbursements made to the revolving fund may be reallocated to other States requiring advances. In order to assure prudent management of Federal credit programs, a fiscal year 1988 limitation of $47,850,000 on gross obligations is provided.

The motor carrier safety mission is to protect the public from risks inherent in commercial truck and bus transportation by highway. The program involves Federal safety inspection and law enforcement over the highway operations of commercial interstate carriers. The administration proposed financing of this program from the Highway Trust Fund.

The bill includes a total of $23,740,000 for motor carrier safety. This is $260,000 below the House allowance and $1,004,000 less than the ad

ministration request. The Committee has not approved the administration's request to have the administration of motor carrier safety funded from the Highway Trust Fund. The funding level provides 433 full-time permanent positions for the Bureau of Motor Carrier Safety [BMCS], which was the administration request.

The amount provided includes for operations, $21,440,000; for safety contract research, $2,000,000; and $300,000 for administrative support.

WORK FORCE AND WORKLOAD

On March 12, 1986, the administration asked the Senate and House Appropriations Committees to approve a reprogramming of funds within this account in order to hire 150 additional safety specialists, and bring the total of safety specialists to 300. This request was granted. With the approval, the Federal Highway Administration was authorized to bring the field complement to 354 employees, and the entire office to 431.

As of March 31, 1987, the entire complement was 388 empoyees. Based on testimony presented to the Committee there was a concern about the high rate of attrition among the new hires. The Committee believes that the Office of Motor Carrier should make every effort to improve the retention rate and build up an experienced work force as soon as possible.

The Committee believes that under the funding recommended full enforcement and implementation of the mandatory single commercial driver's license will go forward as mandated July 1, 1987. In addition, the Committee expects that the Department will proceed with the development of standards for testing commercial motor vehicle drivers, issuing licenses, and insuring driver fitness as required by July 15, 1988, under the Commerical Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986.

In addition, over the next 3 years FHWA is planning to establish safety fitness ratings and monitoring the activities of approximately 185,000 motor carriers currently operating without a rating. This effort along with the above is designed to mitigate or eliminate the risks associated with preventable accidents on the highways.

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-re

lated 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 $50,000,000 level which is the same as the administration request and that provided by the House allowance.

LIMITATION ON OBLIGATIONS

The Committee is also recommending an obligation ceiling of $49,465,000 for motor carrier safety grants. The Commercial Motor Vehicle Safety Act of 1986 increased the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program to $50,000,000 with $5,000,000 earmarked for the Commerical Driver's License Program, and $250,000 for administration of the grant program.

With the funds provided it is estimated that States will be able to perform more than 1 million commercial vehicle inspections. It is projected that State roadside inspections will result in 400,000 unsafe vehicles being removed from service and 84,000 drivers placed out of service. Increased activity by the States in removing unsafe vehicles and unsafe drivers should allow the Office of Motor Carrier Safety specialists to devote less time to this activity and more time to identifying and taking action against problem motor carriers.

ACCESS HIGHWAYS TO PUBLIC RECREATION AREAS ON CERTAIN LAKES

Appropriations, 1987..

Budget estimate, 1988.

House allowance.

Committee recommendation...

$5,000,000

1,880,000

The bill includes a general fund appropriation of $1,880,000 for access highway to lakes that meet existing statutory criteria. This is $1,880,000 above both the House allowance and the budget request.

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.

Due to the limited resources available in fiscal year 1987, not all eligible projects received funding. The fiscal year 1988 funding is for an access road to the Piney Grove public use area now under construction by the Corps of Engineers on the west side of Bay Springs Lake, MS.

Due to budgetary constraints, the Committee recommends deletion of a trust fund appropriation of $15,000,000 for reconstruction of the Baltimore-Washington Parkway. The authority for this appropriation is provided under the authorization contained in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1970. There was no budget request for this activity.

The waste isolation pilot project [WIPP] roads funds improvements to existing roads in New Mexico that would serve as transportation routes to the disposal site of transuranic nuclear wastes.

Funds are authorized by the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1987, section 106(b), Public Law 100-17. That act authorizes the appropriation of $58,000,000 for fiscal years beginning after September 30, 1986. Without the authorization in place, through fiscal year 1987, $38,800,000 has been appropriated for this activity. For fiscal year 1988, the Committee recommends funding of $16,320,000.

AIRPORT HIGHWAY DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Appropriations, 1987.

Budget estimate, 1988.

House allowance..

Committee recommendation.........

$1,887,000

No further funding for this demonstration project to depress a highway and extend an airport runway in Shawnee, OK, is required. There was no budget request for this project.

EXPRESSWAY GAP CLOSING DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Appropriations, 1987.

Budget estimate, 1988.

House allowance..

Committee recommendation........

$6,200,000

8,300,000

The Committee does not provide any additional funding for this activity to close an expressway gap on California Route 113 between the cities of Davis and Woodland, CA, as authorized by Public Law 99-190. There was no budget request for this activity.

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.

Due to budget constraints the Committee recommends no funds for this project. There was no budget request for this activity.

Public Law 99-500 and Public Law 99-591 authorized four demonstration projects in Mississippi. A total of $15,000,000 was provided in fiscal year 1987 and the House has recommended an additional $10,000,000 in fiscal year 1988 funds. There was no budget request for these projects.

The Committee recommends a funding level of $4,950,000 for fiscal year 1988.

AIRPORT ACCESS DEMONSTRATION PROJECT

Appropriations, 1987.

Budget estimate, 1988.

House allowance..

Committee recommendation..

(HIGHWAY TRUST FUND)

$4,000,000

The Committee does not include additional funding for the airport access demonstration project in the vicinity of the Ontario International Airport in San Bernardino County, CA. This project was authorized in Public Law 99-591 and the Surface Transportation and Uniform Relocation Assistance Act of 1987, Public Law 100-17.

The House has included report language regarding this project's matching requirement.

The Committee has not been informed on the necessity of this lan