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 Reference Complete Bill Please Note Bill is 233 pages
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PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
This account provides the necessary resources to support motor carrier safety program activities and maintain the agency’s administrative infrastructure. Funding supports nationwide motor carrier safety and consumer enforcement efforts, including Federal safety enforcement activities at the United States/Mexico border to ensure that Mexican carriers entering the United States are in compliance with Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations. Resources are also provided to fund motor carrier regulatory development and implementation, information management, research and technology, safety education and outreach, and the 24-hour safety and consumer telephone hotline.
COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATION
The Committee recommends a limitation on obligations of $238,500,000 for FMCSA’s Operations and Programs. The Committee has also provided the authority to liquidate an equal amount of contract authorization. The Committee has also appropriated $1,328,000 from the General Fund. The recommendation is $5,828,000 more than the fiscal year 2009 enacted level and equal to the budget request.
OPERATING EXPENSES
The Committee recommends $183,051,000 for operating expenses. This level is $5,551,000 more than the fiscal year 2009 enacted level and equal to the budget request.
Comprehensive Safety Analysis [CSA] 2010.—
Over the past 5 years, the FMCSA has been undertaking comprehensive evaluation and overhaul of its systems and operations. The Comprehensive Safety Analysis [CSA] 2010 initiative is designed to improve the effectiveness of the agency’s compliance and enforcement programs. The Committee strongly supports the agency’s efforts to improve its programs, and remains focused on ensuring that CSA 2010 delivers the promised results. The accompanying chart identifies the major milestones associated with the development and implementation of CSA 2010. The FMCSA has shown good progress in meeting the milestones for implementing this new system. The Committee also appreciates that the agency has taken steps to communicate to its partners and stakeholders the changes that CSA 2010 will bring. Since the FMCSA relies on its partners in the field to assist them in fulfilling its mission, continued communication with and training of its partners in the field will be critical to the success of this initiative.
The Committee notes that the FMCSA missed its target date for issuing its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking related to the safety fitness determination rating system. This rulemaking will be subject to great scrutiny, which is likely to require a significant amount of time, so delays in the rulemaking will delay the potential safety benefits of this new system. The Committee expects the FMCSA to meet its new target date of October 2009. In the agency’s report to the Committee, the FMCSA noted that the preliminary results of the test model for CSA 2010 have been encouraging. The test is slated to conclude in June 2010, with full deployment at the end of 2010.
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As such, the Committee directs the FMCSA to submit a report to the House and Senate Committees on Appropriations by March 15, 2010 regarding the results of phase I of the pilot and any preliminary results of phase II. The report should also include an update to the spend plan required in fiscal year 2009. In addition, the Committee requests that the GAO continue to monitor the implementation of CSA 2010. The GAO’s review should include an assessment of the pilot being conducted as part of the initiative, as well as a review of FMCSA’s ability to meet the milestones and cost estimates included in its spend plan. |