The House of Representatives showed strong support for the highway and bridge industry earlier in the week, passing legislation (410-5) which would restore $4.4 billion in federal money to the Highway Trust Fund.
In his FY 2003 budget, President George W. Bush proposed $23.3 billion--a drop of $8.6 billion from the current level. The FY 2002 budget earmarks $31.8 billion.
The restoration bill now moves over to the Senate, where 74 of the 100 senators have co-sponsored similar legislation.
The nation's governors had urged Congress to restore the full $8.6 billion, citing detrimental impact such a loss would have on employment and transportation projects. But they also urged Congress to act quickly because of the coming highway construction season and because the fiscal year begins for many states in June.
