At last. After nearly two years of delays and weeks of grueling Capitol Hill negotiations, a new, long-term transportation billthe largest public works measure in U.S. historyis about to become law. On Aug. 10, President Bush is expected to travel to House Speaker Dennis Hasterts Illinois district to sign the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, which guarantees $244 billion over five years. Big as SAFETEA- LU is, its passage was greeted more by sighs of relief than shouts of joy. Thats partly battle fatigue after the long struggle to finish the bill. But lawmakers and industry officials also say the funding infusion, though huge, falls well short of national needs. Click here to view chart
SAFETEA-LUs name combines the Senates SAFETEA and the Houses TEA-LU, which takes the name of the wife of House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska). The bill spans fiscal 2005 through 2009. When 2004s funding is added, six-year authorizations total $295 billion. Of that, $286.5 billion is guaranteed obligations, including $228.7 billion for federal-aid highways, $52.6 billion for transit and about $5 billion for highway safety.