The findings are presented of two successful conferences which formed the foundation of a unique process of federal rule-making, and the underlying process that culminated in the conferences is discussed. The availability of new funds for urban mass transportation in 1974 raised complex questions of equitable resource allocation. Reaching answers to these questions involved the developing of consensus on a series of compromise solutions that would best reconcile the competing demands of different claimants. The first conference in February 1975 reached agreement on five principles which dealt with regional multimodal strategy, incremental planning, managing of the existing system, framework for evaluation, and public involvement. Cost effectiveness and usable segments were other areas of Administration's (UMTA) description of the implementation of 1976 was to review the Urban Mass Transportation Administrations (UMTA) description of the implementation of the proposed policy as well as to review on the revised policy on Urban Mass Transportation Investment. A number of related issues were discussed at both conferences. Documents prepared by UMTA as background to the conferences are discussed.