Department of Transportation

The Administration's FY 2007 budget request of $65.6 billion for the Department of Transportation (DOT) is $135 million higher than the FY 2006 appropriation. DOT's request would be distributed across the department's five key strategic objectives:

• Improve safety (24.3 percent);
• Increase mobility (67.1 percent);
• Increase global transportation connectivity (0.3 percent);
• Protect the environment (6.4 percent); and,
• Support national security (0.7 percent).

The balance of 1.1 percent would go toward organizational excellence, according to the DOT Budget in Brief.



Among budget highlights, $122 million is requested for the Next Generation Air Transportation System initiative, a multi-agency effort to explore new ways to manage air transportation through the use of modern technology. Of the total, $80 million would go to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for the Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, and another $24 million would fund System Wide Information Management. This ADS-B will replace current radar systems and provide more accurate surveillance coverage.



The FY07 request for all research, engineering and development at FAA is $130 million ($7 million decrease), including $88 million for continued research on aviation safety issues. The remaining research funding is for mobility and environmental issues.



The FY07 budget request of $35.2 million for the Research and Innovative Technology Administration (RITA) includes $8.2 million for R&D, a $2 million increase. RITA supports transportation research that cuts across all modes of transportation and promotes innovative transportation technologies, such as hydrogen fuels and remote sensing.



For other DOT agencies, RITA also will undertake more than $300 million in transportation-related research, education, and technology application on a reimbursable basis. Through the University Transportation Centers Program, for example, RITA will support the education of transportation professionals in obtaining advanced degrees in transportation-related programs from participating universities.



Under the Federal Highway Administration, $467.6 million is requested for R&D, including an obligation limitation of $429.8 million. The budget proposes dedicating an additional $37.8 million from the FY07 federal-aid obligation limitation for research. This level of funding will provide FHWA resources to pursue work critical to the department and its stakeholders.



The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration budget request includes $86 million to support crashworthiness research for occupant protection and biomechanics; driver distraction testing; crash causation research; the use of linked databases; and national crash data systems.



The FY07 budget request for the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) includes $61 million for National Research, to be distributed across four programs:

• $40.4 million for the National Research and Technology Program. Within this program, $1.2 million is targeted for increased deployment of new low or zero emissions technology, particularly hybrid electric buses, by a greater number of the nation's transit agencies.
• $9.3 million for the Transit Cooperative Research Program;
• $4.3 million for the National Transit Institute training programs; and,
• $7 million for the University Transportation Research Program.

Similar to FTA, and keeping with FY06 following DOT restructuring efforts, funding for Research and Special Programs under the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration would be reflected in four accounts: Hazardous Materials Safety, Pipeline Safety, Emergency Preparedness Grants, and Administrative Expenses. The total for the four accounts in FY07 would be $149 million, an increase of $20 million over FY06 appropriations.



The Federal Railway Administration budget request for R&D is $35 million, a $20 million decrease over the FY06 appropriation. FRA support research efforts in the areas of rail systems safety.



Lastly, $3.9 million in FY07 funding is requested for the Minority Business Resource Center program. Federal subsidy and administrative expenses of $900,000 would support an $18 million short-term loan guarantee program to assist small, disadvantaged and women-owned transportation-related businesses. In addition, $3 million would fund the Minority Business Outreach program, which includes a clearinghouse for national dissemination of information on transportation-related projects and grants to minority educational institutions.