Rails-to-Trails Conservancy Action Alert

Posted Jul 5, 2005
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TEA-21 Reauthorization Nears Finish Line; Your Help is Needed before July 19th! We need all the funding we can get for Iowa Trails!

We are in the final sprint of the race to reauthorize TEA-21, and your help is needed to make sure that your community – and the trails and greenways cause – emerge as winners. From ISTEA in 1991 to TEA-21 in 1998, federal transportation laws have been increasingly helpful to the creation and improvement of trails across the country. In TEA-21, $3.6 billion was provided for Transportation Enhancements; many other programs such as Recreational Trails and CMAQ have also contributed to supporting trail projects and other bicycle/pedestrian facilities. But TEA-21 expired in 2003 and has since limped along through a series of extensions. Rails-to-Trails Conservancy (RTC) has been working to protect the programs which have benefited us, while seeking even better provisions in the next six-year transportation law. The process has been long and difficult, but the end is in sight and there’s hope on the horizon. Speaker Hastert (R-IL) has announced that an agreement was reached on funding levels for the bill that allows Senate and House conferees to wrap up TEA-21 reauthorization. The race is on to the finish line, now set for July 19 2005. The House and Senate each passed bills in the spring, and conferees from the two chambers are currently working out differences and crafting that final bill. Some programs, such as Transportation Enhancements, appear to be safe. Other programs, such as Recreational Trails, have considerable differences in funding levels between the two bills, while some important new initiatives, such as the Non-Motorized Transportation Pilot Program, exist in one bill and not the other. RTC wants Congress to adopt the “Best of Both Bills.” Click here to link to the one-page document we have been circulating on Capitol Hill. You’ll see that we highlight the programs which have significant differences between the two bills. All are important to our community, and you can help us achieve our goals. Click here for background information on each of the programs RTC is supporting. The clock is ticking, and here’s what you can do right now, while your Representatives and Senators are home for a mid-summer recess:

Read the attached one-page summary of the five programs at stake;
Select one or more programs that you want to personally support;
Contact your representative and your two senators by either:
- Calling the Capital Switchboard at 1-202-224-3121; or
- Finding local contact information at www.senate.gov and www.house.gov;
Urge them to support your program for the good of your community.

When the final bill passes, RTC will get back to you with a scorecard illustrating the success of our efforts. It has been a long race, and thanks to your help we’re looking at a strong finish. Thank you for your continued efforts. Sincerely, Keith Laughlin President Rails-to-Trails Conservancy http://www.railtrails.org/