House Committee Clears $284-billion Highway-Transit Bill
Giving a boost to prospects for a new surface transportation bill, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has approved a $283.9-billion measure that would fund highway, transit and safety programs through fiscal 2009. As expected, the funding total in the committee's bill, approved March 2 on a unanimous vote, is the same amount that President Bush recommended for the legislation last month.
Transportation committee Chairman Don Young (R-Alaska) hopes to bring the measure to the House floor as March 9 or 10, says Graham Hill, the panel's staff director. In the Senate, Environment and Public Works Committee Chairman James Inhofe (R-Okla.) is aiming to have his panel vote on the highway portion of a $284-billion bill before the Easter recess, and will be looking for floor time in early April, says Ruth Van Mark, that committee's deputy staff director.