Senate OKs Bill Giving $7 Billion to States for Roads
Breaking a legislative logjam that began in 1984, the Senate on Saturday approved, 94 to 0, the allocation of more than $7 billion among the states for interstate highway construction and other transportation projects.
Consideration of the popular bill--estimated to create up to 200,000 construction jobs--had been held up for four days because of a filibuster over emergency agricultural credit. When farm-state Democrats dropped their speechmaking marathon, the Senate confirmed Edwin Meese III as attorney general and then turned to the highway bill.
The highway measure has been called a “clean bill,” lacking many of the “demonstration projects” and other pork-barrel specialties that led to a deadlock last year over a similar bill.
Now the bill goes to the House, where action may come as early as this week.
Senate Majority Leader Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) has said that California is in line for the biggest share, $598.8 million. The money comes from the Highway Trust Fund, into which the revenues from the federal gasoline tax flow.
Get the L.A. Times Politics newsletter
Deeply reported insights into legislation, politics and policy from Sacramento, Washington and beyond. In your inbox three times per week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
