Spending: House Passes DOT Bill With Anti–Toll Rider
The House has approved a fiscal 2008 transportation appropriations bill that would hike funding for highways, mass transit and airport programs. But the bill drew a veto threat from the White House, which called its spending levels "irresponsible and excessive." The House also sparked a flap in Pennsylvania by adding an amendment that would block a plan to impose tolls on the state's lengthy stretch of Interstate 80.
The spending bill, which the House passed July 24 by a 268–153 vote, would boost the federal highway obligation limit 3%, to $40.2 billion. It would hike Federal Transit Administration spending 8%, to $9.7 billion, and increase airport grants 2%, to $3.6 billion.