Federal aid

“ Continuing assistance to the States for improving the efficiency and safety of the highway system in both rural and urban areas. (Studies would be necessary to redefine the Federal-aid systems and enable sound economic analyses to reveal how and where the investment of Federal funds would be most beneficial in terms of national objectives; general economic and social benefits; and transportation service to people and commerce.) ”

“ See, e.g., S.Rep.No.628, 74th Cong., 1st Sess., 5-6, 18-19 (1935) ; H.R.Rep.No.615, 74th Cong., 1st Sess., 4 (1935) . Federal aid would mean an immediate increase in the amount of benefits paid under state programs. ”

“ The longest delays, the most unsatisfactory conferences, and the most troublesome routine in the execution of the present projects have arisen because the Federal aid and supervision of local funds was not thought of when the fiscal regulations of the States and counties were made.
We find that many States incorporate into their State road laws certain details of design and methods of construction which, in any general distribution of national aid, would at once act as checks on supervision by the National Government. ”

“ Providing that the State must have already made provisions for the State’s share of funds required each year for construction, reconstruction and maintenance of all Federal-aid highways within the State and that these funds must be under the direct control of the State highway department before any project submitted by a State could be approved by the Secretary. Liberalizing the 50 percent Federal–State matching funds by increasing the Federal share of project costs, on a sliding scale computed by formula, in those States having large Federal public land areas. ”

“ It also provided for 1-percent additions to the Federal-aid highway systems that were originally limited by the Federal Highway Act of 1921 to 7 percent of total State highway mileage, as these systems were completed according to standards acceptable to the Bureau of Public Roads.
Unemployment grew to crisis proportions, and Congress was forced to turn from the regular Federal-aid program to other types of financing, emphasizing projects that would provide for as much direct labor as possible. Thus, the regular Federal-aid authorizations were replaced with emergency appropriations. ”

“ The provisions made for loans from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation, to States that have exhausted their own resources, guarantee that there should be no hunger or suffering from cold in the country. The large majority of States are showing a sturdy cooperation in the spirit of the Federal aid. ”

“ The third innovation proposed by the legislators was to treat the Interstate System as a single huge project, comparable to an irrigation or flood control scheme, and provide in one authorization for its inception and completion. Previously, Congress had viewed Federal aid as an open-ended program of assistance to the States that would continue forever at a pace determined from time to time as circumstances might dictate. In hard times highway construction was stepped up to “prime the pump,” and at other times cut back to balance the budget. ”

“ Federal appropriations should be at least $100 million a year in order to carry out the program. The Federal-State 50-50 matching ratio should be modified to increase the Federal share in States where more than 10 percent of the area was public lands. The application of Federal aid should be restricted to those roads that would expedite completion of a national highway system. Federal appropriations for forest roads should be continued for 10 years at the level of $10 million a year. ”

“ Nevertheless, most of them voluntarily concentrated a large part of their funds and other resources on the strategic network and such access roads as were on the Federal-aid system, and they also provided engineering assistance to counties for access roads not on the Federal-aid system. By October 1941, the combined Federal-aid programs of the States totaled 11,271 miles, of which 2,884 miles were on the strategic network and 197 miles were access roads. Over 40 percent of the total funds programed were directed particularly to meeting defense needs. ”

“ The other $11 billion will be provided by allocating $1 billion of new funds and converting one-third of the money going to the present narrow-purpose aid programs into Federal revenue sharing funds for six broad purposes--for urban development, rural development, education, transportation, job training, and law enforcement--but with the States and localities making their own decisions on how it should be spent within each category. ”

“ As the need for a national payment program for relocation became increasingly urgent, Congress included in the 1968 Act the first mandatory payment program for people who must relocate because of Federal-aid highway construction. The legislation established provisions to assist individuals, families, businesses and nonprofit organizations in avoiding the human and economic shock that can result from involuntary displacement. ”

“ While many States sought the cities’ advice and cooperation in connection with programs in urban areas, their concern generally (and quite naturally) was more with getting the highway through the city in an acceptable manner than in contributing to a solution of the city’s internal transportation problems. For the next decade the problems of the States in carrying on the Federal-aid program in urban areas were far more severe in the areas of organization and administration than in the technical or even financial areas. ”

“ The report speaks of the economic importance of good roads, the constitutionality of Federal aid and gives data to show the public sentiment in favor of Federal aid. Of 10,000 replies to inquiries received from every state in the Union, 97 per cent favored Federal aid and 3 per cent opposed. ”

“ There are now numerous Federal environmental laws and regulations relating to a wide range of Federal or Federal-aid programs, of which the Federal-aid highway program is only one. To the extent that highway projects are affected, they must and do comply. ”

“ To finance the long-range Federal-aid program, including the funds specifically authorized to complete the Interstate System and an anticipated, but not legislated, escalating ABC program during the same period; to provide revenue wholly from highway-user tax revenues ”

“ Throughout this massive deflation, roadbuilding held up much better than other kinds of manufacturing. During the “Roaring Twenties,” the States built up their roadbuilding capability to the point where they could obligate $100 million of Federal aid per year. This rate exceeded Congress authorizations and was possible only because of the backlog of unexpended funds from the early years of the program. By 1928 this backlog was exhausted and the States began to cut back their programs to fit the authorizations, which were only $75 million per year. ”

“ Program analysis is the continuous maintenance of the official records of the current status of all Federal-aid and other FHWA program authorizations together with the current status, cost, and physical characteristics of each project authorized for financing. Over and beyond this generalization, it also includes the determination of the apportionments of authorizations (and obligational limitations) which are made available to the individual States; the control and maintenance of the record of transfers of funds between apportionments ”

“ By 1973 the requirements of highway legislation and other legislation having a direct bearing on the highway program were so complex that establishing procedures to be sure the requirements were being carried out was a monstrous task. Many new programs often had separate funding which meant Concern for safety characterizes today’s Federal-aid programs. ”

“ The shrinkage of $26.9 million per year in revenue from registrations and fees was more than made up by a whopping $55.5 million increase in the annual yield of the fuel tax which, with registrations, gave the States an annual highway revenue in addition to Federal aid of $807 million in 1932. [36]
This huge revenue was an irresistible magnet to hard-pressed legislatures. In the words of one commentator, “. . . the motor tax has become a big red apple within easy reach, viewed with slavering lips by every agency of government.” ”

“ For many years, advocates of federal aid denied that aid implies control, but in the light of the National Defense Education Act of 1958 they cannot very well maintain their position. Federal aid under the act is conditioned upon compliance by the States and local educational institutions with various standards and specifications laid down by the Department of Health, Education and Welfare. ”

“ Two important factors contributed to the advancement of the agency’s civil rights and equal opportunity program. Congress enacted, as part of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1968, the requirement that States submit assurances that employment and training in connection with proposed Federal-aid projects would be provided without regard to race, creed, or national origin. This legislation was followed in January 1969 by civil rights and equal opportunity hearings held by the Subcommittee on Roads of the Public Works Committee of the Senate. ”

“ Although most Federal-aid highway programs obtain their budget authority in the form of contract authority rather than through appropriations acts, in recent years Congress has made several major changes. The one that may have the most impact on the highway program was enactment of the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974 (Public Law 93-344) which was an effort to gain budgetary control over “backdoor spending,” spending not subject to year-to-year congressional or executive scrutiny. ”

“ Rural interests wanted the limit cut back to as low as $4,000 per mile to force the States to use the less expensive construction types and, thus, more rapidly provide some kind of improvement for the entire Federal-aid system, and particularly its less heavily traveled parts. ”

“ From the inception of the Federal-aid program until 1953, the audit activities of the Bureau were confined to the external audit of State claims for reimbursement, normally at the final voucher stage. These audits were made after the engineering staff (and later also, the right-of-way specialist) had reviewed the physical aspects of the work and accepted the completed project as having been built in accordance with the approved plans and specifications. ”

“ Federal programs today provide more funds for our States and local governments than ever before--$70 billion for the current fiscal year. Through these programs and others that provide aid directly to individuals, we have kept faith with our tradition of compassionate help for those who need it. As we begin our third century we can be proud of the progress that we have made in meeting human needs for all of our citizens. ”

“ In this session of the Congress, I believe we are near the breakthrough point on efforts which I have suggested, proposals to let people themselves make their own decisions for their own communities and, in particular, on those to provide broad new flexibility in Federal aid for community development, for economic development, for education. ”

“ The President, therefore, welcomed the Clay proposal to finance most of the road program outside the budget, and he included it as a major feature of the Administration’s highway bill which he sent to Congress in March 1955.
Meanwhile, Senator Albert Gore of Tennessee, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Roads, was holding hearings on his own highway bill—an expanded version of the traditional biennial Federal-aid authorization providing $1.6 billion annually of Federal funds which the States would be required to match with $1.27 billion. ”

“ Again, as noted in earlier chapters, pressure developing from farm groups, city “pleasure” vehicle owners and, almost strangely, the League of American Wheelman led the Congress in 1916 to authorize funds for the improvement of rural post roads.
Two outstanding features of the 1916 Federal Aid Road Act were the basis of apportionment of Federal funds and the requirement that the States must have or establish a State highway department adequately equipped to receive and administer the funds. ”

“ From fiscal year 1966 through fiscal year 1975, the Office of Management and Budget, through authority delegated to it by the President, regulated the rate at which Federal-aid highway funds were obligated in a given time period. It must be stressed that limitation on obligations, or impoundment, of highway program funds is somewhat different from impoundments for other Federal programs since there is no refusal to spend funds, only a slowing down in the rate at which funds may be spent. ”

“ The Committee received testimony on the effect of bad roads on the education of rural children, the quality of rural life, and migration of young people from the farms to the cities; and on the value of farm land, the labor of horses, and the wear and tear on wagons and draft gear, and the motorization of farm transportation. They sent inquiries to people in all walks of life in all parts of the country, and of 10,000 replies, 97 percent were in favor of some form of Federal aid. ”

“ For a variety of reasons, the States were slow getting started on their 1919 programs. Many did not have plans ready, and in some States, the bond funds and Federal-aid matching money did not become available until the construction season was well advanced. Early in the year there was a shortage of trained highway engineers. [N 2] There was also a shortage of contractors and construction equipment. ”