The National Industrial Transportation League (NITL) reported congressional leaders were nearing agreement on a proposed six-year highway funding bill. Senator James M. Inhofe (R-OK) said the new measure should be based on the Bush Administration’s overall plan which called for $284 billion over six years. These remarks, said NITL, followed Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist’s comment that the new measure should incorporate the Bush figure.
The American Trucking Associations (ATA) said the Bush Administration said it has no intention of increasing spending beyond the $283.9 billion compromise reached earlier in February. Though this is more than the $255 billion the Administration had sought in 2004, it is well below the $318 billion the Senate had proposed in 2004.
