House passes highway bill

House passes highway bill    The U.S. House of Representatives Friday passed a six-year, $275 billion blueprint for federal spending on highway and transit infrastructure programs.
   The amount is $19 billion more than President Bush said he would accept, but amounts to $100 billion less than fought for by Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, chairman of the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Young indicated he plans to seek more money in the conference committee meeting with Senate negotiators. The Senate recently voted for a $318-billion highway plan to succeed the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century.
   'Not only did the House of Representatives increase funding for freight-related infrastructure programs that existed in TEA-21, they created new programs that focus on the ever-expanding needs of our goods movement system,' said Leslie Blakey, executive director for the Coalition for America's Gateways and Trade Corridors, in a statement. The group comprises more than 30 organizations interested in promoting funding for intermodal projects.