DATE: Thursday, September 25, 1997          TAG: 9709250014

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   52 lines

HIGHWAY FUNDING WARNER AT WORK THE SENATE APPROACH IS PREFERABLE TO THE BUDGET-BUSTING HOUSE BILL

There are miles to go before the Intermodal Transportation Act of 1997 becomes law, if it does.

But Sen. John Warner deserves credit for helping forge a coalition that gives Virginia a solid shot at improving its transportation funding fortunes over the next few years, without breaking the federal bank.

The bill, which should reach the floor of the Senate next week, provides $145 billion nationally over six years for highways, highway safety and other forms of surface transportation. It guarantees that every state gets back at least 90 cents on each gas tax dollar sent to Washington.

If that sounds less than wonderful, consider that Virginia has been getting 79 cents on the dollar under current law, which expires at the end of the month.

The proposed arrangement would bring about $565 million per year in federal transportation money into the state. That's about $150 million more than we've been getting annually over the past six years under the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act, popularly known as ISTEA (``ice tea'').

In a rapidly growing state where transportation is a critical need, those federal dollars are sorely needed. The fact that both gubernatorial candidates are talking more about tax cuts than about using state money to build roads raises the stakes.

While there is some Senate opposition to the bill in states that would fare slightly worse under the revised formula, the chief obstacle lies in the House. There, House Transportation Committee Chairman Bud Shuster, R-Pa., is pushing a bill that would provide similar funding in half the time.

House leaders and others are warning that Shuster's plan could make mincemeat of the balanced budget agreement. But it remains to be seen whether that warning will be heeded when a financial plum is being dangled.

The task of avoiding fiscal irresponsibility is eased by the presence of Senate alternative. The old ISTEA bill based the distribution of money in part on the 1980 census, a criterion patently unfair to fast-growing states such as Virginia.

The new Senate plan is based on a complex formula that takes into account such factors as vehicle miles traveled, contributions to the Highway Trust Fund, and the extent of bridge deficiencies.

As chairman of the subcommittee that drafted the Senate plan, Senator Warner and his staff worked exhaustively to find an agreement that could satisfy both the national good and the self-interest of the 50 states.

They have arrived at such a plan, and their work deserves to be approved. It will be a blemish on the Congress if House-Senate conflicts are allowed to derail a sensible plan for addressing undeniable transportation needs.

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