Safeguard Your State's RTP Money

Action Alert

For Immediate Release
01-25-06
Contact: Mark Eller, IMBA Communications Specialist

303-545-9011

Last summer, Congress approved a five-year federal transportation bill that substantially increased funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). RTP funds have helped communities build and repair thousands of miles of trails, involving more than 7,000 projects in all 50 states.

Congress has since decided to reduce the transportation funds. The action comes through three rescissions -- Congressional actions which take back previously appropriated money. Rescissions are not new, but the 2005 actions are unusually large and threatening.

In upcoming weeks, your state's department of transportation will decide whether to take a small percentage of its RTP money to meet the rescissions, or to eliminate entire programs.

Protect Your State's RTP Money

What needs to be done to protect RTP funding in your state? For now, it's mostly a matter of keeping an eye on budgetary decisions. This is not the time to launch a public letter-writing campaign or to contact the media, as in most cases RTP funds will likely go untouched. The last thing you want to do is alert unfriendly attention to RTP funds.

Here are four suggestions from the Coalition for Recreational Trails, a group that IMBA works with on RTP matters:

Find out how your state typically channels RTP funds. If the money is administered by the department of natural resources or the parks department, it's likely that they will protect their RTP funds. However, in states where the department of transportation administers the funds, watch out for cuts.
Contact your state trail administrator and offer your assistance if trail funds are targeted for cuts.
Find out if dollars from FY 2005 or earlier remain in your state's budget. If those funds aren't spoken for soon, it's quite possible that they will go to the rescissions.
If RTP cuts seem likely in your state, make sure that RTP isn't trimmed more than other programs. Use "our fair share and not a penny more" as a talking point. Contact IMBA for support.

RTP funding will drop from the $70 million we had hoped for in FY06, but the amount of the drop will not be clear for some time. And, the drop in RTP funding is completely unknown as each state will treat it uniquely. In the best scenario, if the RTP funds were reduced proportionate to the total rescission, and if states were forced to reduce spending from FY06 dollars only, we would only lose about $5.5 million.

More Information About Rescissions

Congress took three separate actions in late 2005 which could reduce RTP funding in FY 2006.

The first action was a flat 1 percent rescission of most federal spending during the year -- that is very likely to result in a spending reduction of $700,000, 1 percent of this year's $70 million appropriation for RTP.

The second rescission came in the Transportation appropriations measure for FY06 in late November. It reduced SAFETEA-LU spending by $2 billion, out of about $40 billion in FY06 spending, or roughly 5 percent. But this reduction does not affect all transportation bill programs. The reduction in money is based upon funding provided under the following programs: Interstate Maintenance (IM), National Highway System (NHS), Bridge, Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) programs.

The mandated spending cuts may be taken from these programs as well as (1) un-obligated funding from prior years and (2) a variety of other programs, including RTP.

The third rescission was made in the Department of Defense appropriations bill which become law on December 30, 2005. This third rescission is structured similarly to the second rescission -- a reduction in allowed state spending, but giving the states discretion on how to allocate the cuts.

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	Safeguard Your State's RTP Money Action Alert For Immediate Release 01-25-06 Contact: Mark Eller, IMBA Communications Specialist 303-545-9011 Last summer, Congress approved a five-year federal transportation bill that substantially increased funding for the Recreational Trails Program (RTP). RTP funds have helped communities build and repair thousands of miles of trails, involving more than 7,000 projects in all 50 states. Congress has since decided to reduce the transportation funds. The action comes through three rescissions -- Congressional actions which take back previously appropriated money. Rescissions are not new, but the 2005 actions are unusually large and threatening. In upcoming weeks, your state's department of transportation will decide whether to take a small percentage of its RTP money to meet the rescissions, or to eliminate entire programs. Protect Your State's RTP Money What needs to be done to protect RTP funding in your state? For now, it's mostly a matter of keeping an eye on budgetary decisions. This is not the time to launch a public letter-writing campaign or to contact the media, as in most cases RTP funds will likely go untouched. The last thing you want to do is alert unfriendly attention to RTP funds. Here are four suggestions from the Coalition for Recreational Trails, a group that IMBA works with on RTP matters: Find out how your state typically channels RTP funds. If the money is administered by the department of natural resources or the parks department, it's likely that they will protect their RTP funds. However, in states where the department of transportation administers the funds, watch out for cuts. Contact your state trail administrator and offer your assistance if trail funds are targeted for cuts. Find out if dollars from FY 2005 or earlier remain in your state's budget. If those funds aren't spoken for soon, it's quite possible that they will go to the rescissions. If RTP cuts seem likely in your state, make sure that RTP isn't trimmed more than other programs. Use "our fair share and not a penny more" as a talking point. Contact IMBA for support. Read more about the Coalition for Recreational Trails. Read more about what RTP funds mean to trail advocates. RTP funding will drop from the $70 million we had hoped for in FY06, but the amount of the drop will not be clear for some time. And, the drop in RTP funding is completely unknown as each state will treat it uniquely. In the best scenario, if the RTP funds were reduced proportionate to the total rescission, and if states were forced to reduce spending from FY06 dollars only, we would only lose about $5.5 million. More Information About Rescissions Congress took three separate actions in late 2005 which could reduce RTP funding in FY 2006. The first action was a flat 1 percent rescission of most federal spending during the year -- that is very likely to result in a spending reduction of $700,000, 1 percent of this year's $70 million appropriation for RTP. The second rescission came in the Transportation appropriations measure for FY06 in late November. It reduced SAFETEA-LU spending by $2 billion, out of about $40 billion in FY06 spending, or roughly 5 percent. But this reduction does not affect all transportation bill programs. The reduction in money is based upon funding provided under the following programs: Interstate Maintenance (IM), National Highway System (NHS), Bridge, Surface Transportation Program (STP) and Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) programs. The mandated spending cuts may be taken from these programs as well as (1) un-obligated funding from prior years and (2) a variety of other programs, including RTP. The third rescission was made in the Department of Defense appropriations bill which become law on December 30, 2005. This third rescission is structured similarly to the second rescission -- a reduction in allowed state spending, but giving the states discretion on how to allocate the cuts.


Help \| Site Map \| Copyright