SECURITY ISSUES BOOST PROPOSED DOT BUDGET 8%

SECURITY ISSUES BOOST PROPOSED DOT BUDGET 8%    The U.S. Department of Transportation's proposed fiscal year 2003 budget of $59.3 billion seeks an additional 8 percent in funding, mostly aimed and improving security of the nation's transportation system.
   The budget, proposed Monday by President Bush, includes $4.8 billion for the Transportation Security Administration's first full year of funding and $7.1 billion for the U.S. Coast Guard — the largest increase in the nation's history — said Michael P. Jackson, the DOT's deputy secretary.
   The TSA budget includes $2.2 billion from passenger and air carrier fees authorized by the Aviation and Transportation Security Act, and provides funding for the more than 30,000 airport security personnel, including screeners, law enforcement personnel and screener supervisors, funding for mandated explosive detection systems, and funding for a greatly expanded federal air marshal program.
   Proposed funding for the Coast Guard includes $400 million for increased port security, $90 million to modernize the maritime '911 system' to fill gaps in coastal radio coverage, and $500 million for the Coast Guard's Deepwater project, the long-term process of replacing its aging fleet of boats, planes, helicopters and cutters.
   The fiscal 2003 budget proposes $7.7 billion overall for transportation safety funding, Jackson said. Included is $4.6 billion in the Federal Aviation Administration's budget for aviation safety. The FAA's $14-billion budget also includes $3.4 billion for airport improvement activities and $700 million for air traffic control system modernization.
   The Maritime Administration's proposed $212-million budget includes $98.7 million for the maritime security program and $11 million to remove four obsolete ships from the reserve fleet.
   The budget also includes $716 million for the Federal Railroad Administration and $21 million for the Surface Transportation Board.
   Despite the 8-percent overall increase, the proposed fiscal 2003 budget includes the first reduction in highway spending in three years. Previous budgets have enjoyed higher than expected proceeds from the Highway Trust Fund. However, declining receipts reduced the mandated federal-aid highway program obligation limitation by $4.4 billion to $23.2 billion in fiscal 2003, and the total Federal Highway Administration budget to $24.1 billion. Even with that reduction, the guaranteed funding mechanism provided by law will have resulted in more than $4.7 billion in additional funding to the states since enactment of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century to help them met transportation needs.