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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: JBTFD who wrote (679423)	4/14/2005 2:55:56 PM
From: Bill	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769670

You sound like a moron.

To: JBTFD who wrote (679423)	4/14/2005 9:42:32 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Respond to of 769670

A Highway Paved with Pork If at first you don't succeed, try, try again. Or, in Congress's case, try for the seventh time to get a transportation bill to the president's desk. George Bush said during last year's campaign that he would refuse to spend more than $256 billion over six years. But last month he unveiled a budget that would allocate $284 billion, which is what the House version calls for -- though still some $30 billion less than the Senate version. Congress's inability to control its spending urges is why a transportation bill has suffered so many false-starts -- indeed, only stopgap resolutions have kept money flowing to needed infrastructure projects since 2003. The president continues to threaten to veto any highway bill that can't be sustained fully by federal gasoline taxes. Normally the transportation bill is a porkaholic's delight, and this year is no different. The House version contained $300,000 for improvements at Springfield Symphony Hall in Massachusetts, $25 million to ease congestion between Portland, Ore. and Vancouver; and $625,000 for a bike path in Fayetteville, Ga. (courtesy of Reps. Richard Neal, Earl Blumenauer and Lynn Westmoreland, respectively). This is just a sampling of the handouts buried in the legislation. Tom DeLay could yet prove an obstacle as the bill faces a floor vote today. His state of Texas is one of the so-called "donor" states, which gives more in gasoline tax than it gets back in highway spending. Texas got only 89 cents for every tax dollar its drivers paid at the pump in 2003; while Rhode Island, for example, received $2.25. This is one concern that knows no ideological bounds: Mr. DeLay's great soulmate on the "minimum guarantee" issue is Rep. Nancy Pelosi, whose state of California is also a net donor. But construction season traditionally begins shortly after Memorial Day, so Congress is under pressure from road contractors and campaign contributors back home to get moving. Yesterday the White House reiterated its veto threat. Still, don't be surprised, given the president's track record of never vetoing anything, if the House and Senate end up "compromising" on a final figure bigger than either bill today. -- Michael Philips