Military service: 1952 to 1953, mine warfare officer, United Nations, Blockading and Escort Force (Task Force 75); 1951, U.S.S. Impeccable; 1949 to 1950, U.S.S. Linnet; 1947 to 1948, U.S.S. General J. C. Breckinridge. Professional membership: American Institute of Industrial Engineers. Legal residence: California. Home address: 1607 Forest Lane, McLean, Va. 22101. GENERAL STATEMENT Mr. VILLARREAL. Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, it is a pleasure to appear before you to present the Urban Mass Transportation Administration budget request. First, I would like to present a status report on some of the problem areas we discussed during the apppropriation hearings approximately 6 months ago. HUD-DOT COORDINATION At that time, we talked about the attempts we were making to improve coordination between our Administration and the Department of Housing and Urban Development. I am pleased to report that we have made a great deal of progress in this area. When the urban transportation program was moved from HUD to the Department of Transportation, the reorganization plan left the management of some grants and projects in the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Since then a new agreement has been negotiated between the two departments. Included in the terms of the new agreement are: All future applications for research, development, and demonstration grants, technical studies grants, and university research and training grants will be administered by UMTA. HUD will be provided. copies for comment, and will be afforded an opportunity to participate. All university research and training grant applications pending in HUD were transferred to our Department. HUD will not initiate new research, development, or demonstration projects or technical studies without UMTA review. Any that are initiated by HUD will be under UMTA contract administration, even though financed in whole or part by HUD. These changes reduce confusion among applicants over where they should apply for assistance or over application procedures. Furthermore, it will assure coordination between the activities of both Departments under the act. REVIEW OF R.D. & D. PROGRAM During my last appearance before this committee, I indicated that I was undertaking a review of all the projects in our research, development, and demonstration program. This review has been made of these projects and we have taken certain actions. Some projects have been phased out and others have been receiving major redirection-both as to approach and as to funding levels. Mr. Robert A. Hemmes was recently appointed to the position of Assistant Administrator for this program. Mr. Hemmes' background is well suited to the responsibilities of this functional area. He has been a professor at Stanford University for 8 years, concentrating his efforts on subjects relating to the management of research programs. We have restructured our entire research, development, and demonstration program. This can be best explained by the following table: The columns divide the program into research, development, and demonstration functional phases. The rows partition the program into the modal aspects of transportation, plus a category that applied to the entire program. This structure will facilitate the management and review of the program. In our redírection efforts, we have moved from the passive role of reacting to applications from various communities to the role of a more active participant in the actual planning and direction of the projects. Also, this restructuring permits us to determine where our funds are explicitly applied. For example, since 1966, program emphasis has been upon research and development. In 1971, we are changing this program so that more than 50 percent of the available funds will be used for demonstration projects. We want to emphasize the development of short-term projects which will prove meaningful in the movement of people and goods in our Nation's cities during the seventies. Now we can monitor and control a logical flow of effort, starting with the research on an idea, moving forward to the development of a working prototype, and ending with a demonstration in an urban environment. The functional phases can be directly related to the modal programs and projects that we are undertaking. BUS PROGRAM An example of a modal program structure is our bus program. In this program, there are three major subareas: Vehicle, propulsion, and management. The vehicle area consists of projects to improve the design, maneuverability, comfort, safety, and consumer appeal of the bus. The propulsion area consists of projects to improve the propulsion system, including demonstrations of steam, electric, and gas turbine engines; of battery and flywheel energy storage devices; and of pollution-removing or reducing devices and design techniques. The management area includes projects for the more effective use of existing bus systems. These include investigations of exclusive bus lanes on freeways, exclusive busways, and traffic signal control in congested areas to give buses priority. In addition, we have already made substantial progress in better methods of bus scheduling and routing, of driver and vehicle assignment, and of fare collection. Other anticipated projects include electronic vehicle monitoring which will enable the dispatcher to keep buses on schedule and to "balance the street," automatic fare collection, and automatic maintenance procedures. There are similar groupings of projects for rail systems and new systems. In all of the groupings, the research strategy and development plan calls for us to inventory possible improvements in existing systems, equipment and management, and to take reasonable incremental steps to advance the technology. Such steps will be taken only if there is confidence that the objective can be accomplished within a period that does not forego management control and does not exceed budget constraints. Each project area is managed by an area manager who continuously monitors ongoing projects, adds new projects that augment the program, and weeds out projects of negative or marginal value. In the selection and management of all projects, the goals of the program are constantly in mind. Projects not in consonance with these goals will not be continued nor initiated. GOALS OF PROGRAM The goals of our program in the urban area are to enhance the transportation function by (1) reducing transportation time, (2) increasing transportation availability, (3) improving transportation amenities such as comfort and convenience, and (4) emphasizing safety. In the accomplishment of this function, capital investment should be minimized as well as social costs, such as air pollution, noise vibration, and disruption of urban spatial arrangements. REVIEW ON MANAGERIAL ACTIVITIES During my appearance before the committee last fall, considerable time was spent in reviewing some of the management deficiencies that were identified in the committee's staff investigative report. As I indicated to you, there was no doubt of the need for improvement in the management of this program. With the increased staff provided by the Congress for the current fiscal year, we have made progress in this area. While progress has been made, I do not want to create the impression that the job is completed. There is still a great deal to be done and some of the needed changes can only be brought about through additional staff effort. We are implementing a new management information and control system which will enable us to measure the actual status and progress of our projects. It should provide us with cost and budget performance information which heretofore has been lacking. Moreover, this system will provide the operational and financial forecasts to permit the planning which we need for effective management. An effective management information and control system should enable us to correct to a major extent the deficiencies reflected in the investigative report. For example, it will give us tighter control over the flow of funds to grantees. The system will reveal deficiencies in grantee performance that heretofore have gone undetected. PROJECT AUDIT A second significant improvement made as a result of the increased staff given this program last year by the Congress, is in the area of grant project audit. In the short period that we have had our own project audit capability, we have (1) prepared a program audit guide designed specifically for the programs administered by UMTA, and (2) have implemented internal procedures to assure that outstanding program audit findings are resolved in a timely and systematic manner. These are but two examples of improvements in our tightening up of management practices. The picture would not be complete if I were only to relate those areas where improvements have been made. It is imperative that I also advise this committee of those areas of management where I feel further strengthening is urgently needed for us to do our job. For example, we are still not in a position to review adequately the progress reports being submitted by our grantees. We need to increase our staff ability to verify the adequacy of the system planning data which are submitted with grant applications. We need additional capacity to make sure the results we are achieving are made known to communities that can use this information. There is need for more frequent on-site inspections of projects to determine whether they are being carried out efficiently, on time, and in accordance with the grant contract to protect the interest of the U.S. Government. We need increased staff to provide better service to cities which have transit problems. There is no doubt that we must increase further our capability in such areas as audit, the analysis of cost estimates, other fiscal aspects, and application review. SUMMARY OF FY 1971 FUNDING In the Department of Transportation and Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 1970, Congress provided the Urban Mass Transportation Fund with an additional $214 million. This additional capital will become available in fiscal year 1971. The advance appropriation was predicated on the assumption that the President's new urban mass transportation legislation might not become law until fiscal year 1971. This committee and the Congress chose this means to assure continuity of this vital Federal program. The budget estimate before you requests an appropriation of $4 million for the salaries and expenses account and presents the UMTA program plan for fiscal year 1971 under current legislative appropriation authorities. A capsule view of the current authorities follows: New Appropriation for Salaries and Expenses (million)_. Positions: Total Increase $4 214 247 118 This request is for $4 million and 247 total positions. I consider these resources reasonable and necessary for the planned program level of $214 million. More importantly, the request is essential if the administrative deficiencies discussed during the 1970 appropriations hearings are to be corrected. Gentlemen, we are attempting to increase our level of program effort by approximately 19 percent over the current year, restructure the R.D. & D. program, and continue to improve our management. Position resources allowed in the 1970 appropriation have been of value in ini tiating corrective actions. New staff will enable our program officers to improve the review of applications and the supervision of approved grants. In our recruiting effort, we added 40 employees between December 31, 1969 and March 31, 1970. Personnel appointment actions in process on March 31 totaled 20. I believe UMTA will be able to hire the 129 employees authorized for 1970 before June 30. URBAN MASS TRANSPORTATION FUND This request does not include an appropriation for the Urban Mass Transportation Fund. The 1970 Appropriation Act provided, for fiscal year 1971, an additional $214 million capital contribution to assure the continuity of this program if the pending legislation fails to pass. The President's budget now under consideration assumes that an advance appropriation for 1972 will not be necessary because the pending legislation will be enacted. Research is being deemphasized. The 1969 program of $6.2 million and the 1970 program of $6.6 million was reduced in 1971 to $3.1 million, an average decrease of about 50 percent. Development is also being curtailed. The 1969 program of $8.4 million and the 1970 program of $12.4 million was reduced to $5.4 million in 1971, an average decrease of about 50 percent. INCREASE IN DEMONSTRATIONS On the other hand, demonstration activity is being increased. The 1969 program of $3.7 million compares with $11 million in 1970 and $11.5 million in 1971, an overall increase of about 150 percent. For this reason, Mr. Chairman, I am going to change the name of this office from "Office of Research" to "Office of Program Demonstrations." Only $20 million will be available in 1971 for all R.D. & D. activities as compared with $30 million in the current year. The increased allocation to demonstrations indicates our concern with proceeding soon with action-oriented projects. Projects currently being undertaken and those planned for 1970 are the result of UMTA's efforts to become action-oriented. Some of the concepts which were in research and development in past years are now ready for demonstration. URBAN CORRIDOR DEMONSTRATIONS UMTA and FHWA are working together to relieve congestion in the urban area corridors. Each administration plans to fund $1 million in fiscal year 1970, for the planning phase and to fund $10 million each in 1971 for continuation of the program. |