The House is scheduled to vote today on a massive $275 billion highway and transit bill that some members of Congress are calling one of the most important pieces of legislation they will handle this year.
It is intended to create jobs and improve the economy but has run into threats of a veto from President Bush because of the costs involved. He prefers a smaller, $256 billion version of the bill.
It would divide more than a quarter-trillion dollars among infrastructure projects nationwide for the next six years. Some members of Congress say it would create 1.7 million new jobs.
“Jobs and the economy,” Nick J. Rahall, a West Virginia Democrat, said during congressional debate yesterday. “That’s what this legislation is about.”
Other member of Congress warned against delays.
“We are a nation stuck in traffic,” said Rep. Don Young, Alaska Republican, chairman of the transportation committee, who unsuccessfully campaigned for a much larger bill of $375 billion.
The legislation is ready for a vote today only after closed-door meetings in Congress earlier in the week and 23 amendments were tacked onto it to resolve relatively minor issues. Voting on the amendments started yesterday and was scheduled to resume today before a final vote on the bill.
A Bush administration statement Tuesday said the House bill was too costly and that the president’s advisers would recommend a veto unless changes were made. The president also threatened to veto a $318 billion bill the Senate passed in February.
The Bush administration said it would not accept any bill funded by tax increases, bonding or by raiding the general Treasury fund.
White House officials reiterated their position yesterday.
Mr. Young said he doubted the veto threat would compel Congress to rewrite the bill.
“I don’t listen to the president,” said Mr. Young, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. “He has to speak for himself.”
Disagreement also arose among congressmen over how states would divide the money. Some states, such as Florida, pay more into the federal highway trust fund than they get back from the federal government in grants. The trust fund, paid for by the federal gas tax of 18.4 cents per gallon, is supposed to fund highway and transit projects.
The $218 billion six-year highway and transit bill that expired in September guarantees states at least a 90.5 percent return on their contribution. Congress extended the funding while it debated the legislation up for renewal now.
The Senate bill would increase the return to 95 percent.
The House bill scheduled for a vote today would keep the return rate at 90.5 percent. It would spend about $225 billion for highway programs and $51 billion for transit programs.
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