Emergency Relief Program: Federal-Aid Highway Assistance for Disaster-Damaged Roads and Bridges

Robert S. Kirk
Specialist in Transportation Policy

The major highways and bridges recently damaged during Hurricanes Sandy and Irene are part of the federal-aid highway system and were therefore eligible for assistance under the Emergency Relief Program (ER) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Following a natural disaster or catastrophic failure (such as a bridge collapse), ER funds are made available for both emergency repairs and restoration of federal-aid highway facilities to pre-disaster conditions.

State departments of transportation typically have close ongoing relationships with FHWA’s division offices in each state, which facilitate a quick, coordinated response to disasters. Although ER is a federal program, the decision to seek ER funding is made by the state, not by the federal government.

The program is funded by a permanent annual authorization of $100 million from the highway trust fund (HTF) along with general fund appropriations provided by Congress on a “such sums as necessary” basis. A number of issues have arisen in recent years:

• The scope of eligible activities funded by ER has grown via legislative or FHWA waivers of eligibility criteria or changes in definitions. As a result, in some cases the ER program has funded activities that have gone beyond repairing or restoring highways to pre-disaster condition. 
• The $100 million annual authorization has been exceeded nearly every fiscal year, requiring appropriations that can lead to delay in funding permanent repairs. 
• Congress has directed that in some cases ER fully fund projects, without the normal 10% or 20% state matching share, increasing the federal outlay for disaster highway assistance on these projects and constraining the funds available for other ER requests. 

The 112th Congress authorized an emergency relief program for public transportation systems. However, this program does not have a permanent funding source, and funds are to be provided only by appropriation. No money has been appropriated to or expended under this program.


Date of Report: November 5, 2012
Number of Pages: 12
Order Number: R42804
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Surface Transportation: A Compendium

This Compendium consists of on various aspects of surface transportation, from highway and bridge programs to public transit programs and inter-modal transportation.

The documents within this Compendium that discuss highway and bridge programs consist of issues of tolling on interstate highways; legislative history of federal aid to roads and highways; repairing and reconstructing disaster damaged roads and bridges; a background and issues for congress on the role of the environmental review process in federally funded highway projects; an overview of the federal-aid highway pro-gram.

Documents that discuss the public transit program and intermodal topics range from the funding issues in surface transportation reauthorization; moving ahead for progress in the 21st Century Act (P.L. 112-114); North American Free Trade Agreement; implementation of the future of commercial trucking across the Mexican border; railroad access and competition issues within railroad companies; passenger train access to freight railroad tracks; issues and recent events on the development of high speed rail in the United States; overview and policy issues of positive train control; and the federal freight policy.


Date of Report: November 20, 2012
Number of Pages: 315
Order Number: C-12019
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Emergency Relief Program: Federal-Aid Highway Assistance for Disaster-Damaged Roads and Bridges

Robert S. Kirk
Specialist in Transportation Policy

The major highways and bridges recently damaged during Hurricanes Sandy and Irene are part of the federal-aid highway system and were therefore eligible for assistance under the Emergency Relief Program (ER) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). Following a natural disaster or catastrophic failure (such as a bridge collapse), ER funds are made available for both emergency repairs and restoration of federal-aid highway facilities to pre-disaster conditions.

State departments of transportation typically have close ongoing relationships with FHWA’s division offices in each state, which facilitate a quick, coordinated response to disasters. Although ER is a federal program, the decision to seek ER funding is made by the state, not by the federal government.

The program is funded by a permanent annual authorization of $100 million from the highway trust fund (HTF) along with general fund appropriations provided by Congress on a “such sums as necessary” basis. A number of issues have arisen in recent years:

• The scope of eligible activities funded by ER has grown via legislative or FHWA waivers of eligibility criteria or changes in definitions. As a result, in some cases the ER program has funded activities that have gone beyond repairing or restoring highways to pre-disaster condition. 
• The $100 million annual authorization has been exceeded nearly every fiscal year, requiring appropriations that can lead to delay in funding permanent repairs. 
• Congress has directed that in some cases ER fully fund projects, without the normal 10% or 20% state matching share, increasing the federal outlay for disaster highway assistance. 

The 112th Congress authorized an emergency relief program for public transportation systems. However, this program does not have a permanent funding source, and funds are to be provided only by appropriation. No money has been appropriated to or expended under this program.


Date of Report: November 1, 2012
Number of Pages: 10
Order Number: R42804
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Federal-Aid Highway Program: An Overview

Robert S. Kirk
Specialist in Transportation Policy

The federal government has provided some form of highway funding to the states for roughly 100 years. The major characteristics of the federal highway program have been constant since the early 1920s. First, most funds are apportioned to the states by formula and implementation is left primarily to state departments of transportation (state DOTs). Second, the states are required to provide matching funds. Until the 1950s, each federal dollar had to be matched by an identical amount of state and local money. The federal share is now 80% for non-Interstate System road projects and 90% for Interstate System projects. Third, generally, federal money can be spent only on designated federal-aid highways, which make up roughly a quarter of U.S. public roads.


Date of Report: October 26, 2012
Number of Pages: 12
Order Number: R42793
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Federal Civil Aviation Programs: An Overview

Bart Elias
Specialist in Aviation Policy

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) programs and activities are funded under four broad budget accounts: operations and maintenance (such as air traffic control and aviation safety functions); facilities and equipment (such as control towers and navigation beacons); grants for airport improvements under the airports improvement program (AIP); and civil aviation research and development conducted or sponsored by FAA. Additionally, aviation programs fund aviation programs administered by the Department of Transportation (DOT) Office of the Secretary, including the Essential Air Service Program that subsidizes airline service to certain small and isolated communities. These programs are funded primarily through a special trust fund, the airport and airways trust fund (AATF), and, in part, through general fund contributions.

Other federal entities also play significant roles in civil aviation. These include the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, which conducts extensive research on civil aeronautics; the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which provides research and operational support to FAA regarding aviation weather forecasting; the Transportation Security Administration in the Department of Homeland Security, which has authority over civil aviation security; and the National Transportation Safety Board, which investigates aviation accidents and makes safety recommendations to FAA. These programs are not considered in this report. This report focuses on FAA and DOT civil aviation programs addressed in the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012 (P.L. 112-95), enacted on February 14, 2012, which authorizes AATF taxes and revenue collections and civil aviation program expenditures through FY2015.


Date of Report: October 17, 2012
Number of Pages: 13
Order Number: R42781
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