White House Seeks More Funds For Truck, Bus Safety Office
The federal government fleshed out its rhetoric on highway safety Feb. 7, when it announced it was seeking a 54% increase in funding for fiscal 2001 — to $279 million from $181 million this year — for its newly formed motor carrier safety agency.
The budget request for transportation represents a 9% increase from this year’s $50.2 billion. A record $4 billion of that is earmarked for safety initiatives, up 13% from last year’s $3.5 billion. The increase will be partly paid for with increased fuel tax revenue.
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The proposal came as part of the $54.9 billion budget request for the Department of Transportation submitted by Secretary of Transportation Rodney E. Slater. The proposal would continue the growth of the fledgling Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, designed to oversee truck and bus safety, and would add staff and funding to a variety of motor carrier safety programs.
Meanwhile, another delay emerged in the long-awaited reform of driver hours-of-service rules.
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