Sen. Phil Gramm, chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, has announced that the full committee will hold a hearing at 10 a.m. Tuesday, April 25, on delays in funding mass transit.

The hearing will focus on Section 13c of the Urban Mass Transit Act of 1964, which permits the U.S. Department of Labor to have the final word on transit projects for which funding has been approved for distribution by the Federal Transit Administration. The Labor Department, in consultation with labor unions, can block funding for mass transit projects or modify the projects if it finds that the projects will "adversely affect" workers.

"I am deeply concerned that we are seeing a pattern of action by the Department of Labor in which it uses the 13c requirement to hold up important transit projects that have received appropriations and authorization from Congress," Gramm said. "Such delays can frustrate the efforts of local governments to meet the transportation needs of their citizens."

The hearing will include testimony about the early results of an examination of the Section 13c process by the General Accounting Office.

WHAT:

Senate Banking Committee: Hearing on Delays in Funding Mass Transit

WHEN:

10:00 a.m., Tuesday, April 25

WHERE:

538 Dirksen Senate Building

WHO:

The Honorable Bernard Anderson
Assistant Secretary for Employment Standards Administration
Department of Labor
Washington, D.C.

The Honorable Nuria Fernandez
Acting Administrator
U.S. Federal Transit Administration
Washington, D.C.

Mr. John Anderson Jr.
Director of Transportation Issues, Resources,
Community and Economic Development Division
General Accounting Office
Washington, D.C.

Mr. Roger Snoble
President and Executive Director
Dallas Area Rapid Transit
Dallas, Texas

Mr. Lee Gibson
Assistant General Manager for Transit
Regional Transportation Commission of Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada

Mr. James Stoetzel
Transit Safety Management
Consultant to Bay State Transit Services Inc.
Georgetown, Massachusetts

Mr. Jimmy La Sala
International President
Amalgamated Transit Union
Washington, D.C.