As a member of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee that approved a $375 billion highway authorization bill in 2003, I supported H.R. 3 when it passed the House despite feeling that more funding was needed. I was happy to see that the total funding package in the conference report totals $286.4 billion, a 30 percent increase over the total highway funding in the last authorization bill passed in 1998. I wish the Congress had followed the Department of Transportation's own needs assessment and funded the bill at $375 billion, but I accept this compromise as a way to get much needed money to states and localities that need it now.

   New York City will see a 23 percent increase in overall funding under this bill, about $8.5 billion dollars overall. In highway funds the city will benefit from about $3 billion, a 19 percent increase; and in transit funds the city will see $5.5 billion, a 30 percent increase. The 19 percent increase in New York City and state highway funding is of the utmost importance: it grows the state's federal funding stream above the rate of inflation and will allow for planned development to proceed.

   On the matter of the minimum guarantee, I am a firm believer that states like New York should not be punished for having efficient transportation systems that keep fuel consumption down. I advocated for a 90.5 percent minimum guarantee in the bill. Given that some of my colleagues had called for a 95 percent minimum guarantee to favor states like Texas, I accept the conference report's 90.5 percent minimum guarantee that balloons to 92 percent by 2008.

   I would also like to commend the conferees for settling on Senate language related to grants under the Intelligent Transportation Infrastructure Program. The language in the conference report will allow for new contracts to be awarded as the program expands into new cities instead of making all new projects subject to the old sole-source contract. In each case the state transportation agency will be required to consent to any grant award made. This arrangement will promote competition among vendors and place all firms capable of installing and operating traffic data collection infrastructure on a level playing field.

   Mr. Speaker, I have worked hard to ensure that this bill will make significant improvements to the lives of ordinary New Yorkers. Included in this bill are a number of projects that will enhance transportation throughout New York City and in my district in particular.

   At my urging, the bill includes:

   $15,000,000 for the New York City Department of Transportation to build the facilities and purchase the ferry boats necessary to establish high speed ferry service between the Rockaway Peninsula and Manhattan.

   $500,000 to help the New York State Department of Transportation install two permanent variable message signs that will display amber alert messages on the Belt Parkway.

   $250,000 for the New York City Department of Transportation to study and implement pedestrian safety enhancements in Gerritsen Beach, Brooklyn.

   $1,000,000 for the New York City Department of Transportation to study and implement traffic improvements to the area surrounding the Stillwell Avenue train station in Coney Island, New York.

   $600,000 for each of the boroughs of New York City to make improvements to pedestrian safety, allocated within each borough according to feedback collected on my website from New York City residents.

   $250,000 for the areas surrounding each of 10 schools in New York City. Those funds are to be spent on efforts to improve pedestrian safety surrounding those 10 schools. Students walking to IS Q114 in Belle Harbor, PS Q200 in Electchester, PS K124 in Park Slope, PS K277 in Gerritsen Beach, Prospect Park Yeshiva in Midwood, PS X81 in Riverdale, IS X194 in Parkchester, IS R72/PS R69 in New Springville, PS Q153 in Maspeth, and St. Roberts Bellarmine in Bayside will all be better protected by improvements installed with funding provided in TEA-LU.

   $500,000 to make improvement to pedestrian safety in the Riverdale neighborhood of the Bronx in consultation with Rep. Eliot Engel and New York State Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz.

   $500,000 for pedestrian safety improvements on Queens Boulevard.

   $700,000 to abate noise emanating from I-95, I-278, Mosholu Parkway, I-495, Grand Central Parkway, and Richmond Parkway: all state roadways located within New York City that are paved with concrete. ``Diamond grinding'' measures should significantly improve the quality of life of those residing within earshot of those roadways.

   $550,000 to improve the roadways surrounding the Brooklyn Children's Museum.

   $1,000,000 to be used to build a new facility for the Broad Channel Volunteer Fire Department.

   $5,750,000 to be used by the Doe Fund to establish a graffiti elimination program throughout the city of New York. It is my intent that my $4.75 million project for graffiti removal in Queens, Brooklyn, Staten Island and the Bronx be used in the neighborhoods of Woodside, Bensonhurst, Boerum Hill, Astoria, Cobble Hill, Windsor Terrace, Hollis Wood, Park Slope, Kensington, Glendale, Borough Park, Williamsburg, Carroll Gardens, Whitestone, Jamaica Estates, Bath Beach, Dyker Heights, Crown Heights, Flatbush, Midwood, Jamaica Hills, Grand Street, and Kings Highway from Ocean Parkway to McDonald Avenue. It is further my intent that $250,000 of this money will be applied to the Soundview, Castle Hill, Throgs Neck and Morris Park neighborhoods in the Bronx, at the urging of Rep. Joseph Crowley. I have also included $500,000 for Smith Street in Brooklyn and $500,000 for the Riverdale neighborhood.

   $2,000,000 to improve transportation facilities in the vicinity of West 65th Street and Broadway in conjunction with the major capital improvements being done at Lincoln Center.

   $500,000 to be equally distributed at five locations in New York City for the New York City Department of Transportation to enhance the enforcement of truck routes. The five locations are:

   The Long Island Expressway Eastbound Service Road at 74th Street to Caldwell Ave, Grand Ave from 69th Street to Flushing Ave, and Eliot Ave from 69th Street to Woodhaven Blvd

   Avenue P between Coney Island Avenue and Ocean Avenue in the 9th District of New York

   The 9th Street and 3rd Avenue intersection in Brooklyn

   From Broadway to Irwin Ave between 232 to 231 in the neighborhood of Kingsbridge, New York

   Victory Blvd Between Travis Ave and West Shore Expressway Travis Section of Staten Island

   $300,000 for Gateway National Park to improve the Riis Park Boardwalk.

   $2,000,000 to be used to improve traffic flow in the vicinity of the Atlantic Yards Development in Brooklyn.

   $1,000,000 to be used by City and State Agencies to improve homeland security at bridges and tunnels throughout New York City.

   $500,000 to improve the roads and facilities at the Kew Gardens Long Island Rail Road Terminal.

   $950,000 to design and construct a bicycle and pedestrian walkway along the decommissioned Putnam Rail Line in the Bronx at the advice of Representative Eliot Engel.

   $2,000,000 to improve 125th Street in Harlem in conjunction with improvements being made by Columbia University.

   $2,000,000 to implement congestion reduction measures on Staten Island at the urging of New York State Assemblyman Michael Cusick.

   $500,000 to install traffic safety measures at the intersection of Rockaway Point Boulevard and Reid Avenue in the Breezy Point neighborhood.

   $1,400,000 to repair and improve streets in Astoria, Queens that were damaged by water main breaks.

   $836,000 to help Easter Seals purchase and equip cars that provide livery service to disabled New Yorkers.

   And $836,000 to establish a bus rapid transit system at a location to be determined in consultation with the Transportation Workers Union. Bus rapid transit uses a variety of traffic improvements, like exclusive bus lanes and coordinated signal changing, to speed bus travel on congested city routes.

   These high priority projects will make a considerable contribution to the lives of New York City residents. I could not have secured these and other programs within TEA-LU without the help and counsel of individuals here in Washington, as well as in Albany and New York City.

   In particular, I would like to thank both the Democratic and Republican staff of the Transportation Committee, both of whom worked tirelessly on this piece of legislation, and who deserve the entire Congress' thanks. In particular, I would like to thank Ken House, Eric VanSchyndle, Ward McCarragher, Kathleen Zern, David Heymsfeld, and Dara Schleiker of Mr. Oberstar's staff.

   I would also like to thank Tom Kearney, Tom Herritt and their colleagues at the Albany Office of the Federal Highway Administration, Nancy Ross, Fred Neveu, Ron Epstein and their colleagues at the New York State Department of Transportation, and Andra Horsch and David Woloch and their colleagues at the New York City Department of Transportation.