Senate OKs 65-M.P.H. Speed Limit : Senate OKs Speed Limit of 65 M.P.H. on Rural Roads

The Senate today approved a 65-m.p.h. speed limit for rural interstate highways as part of an $88-billion road construction bill that President Reagan said he will veto as too costly.

The Senate voted 60 to 21 to allow states to authorize faster driving on about three-fourths of the nation’s 43,000-mile interstate system. The speed limit proposal was attached to the highway bill previously approved by the House and Senate, which now goes to Reagan.

The vote came after Minority Leader Bob Dole (R-Kan.) abandoned plans to force a showdown over $890 million worth of special road projects that Reagan had criticized.

On to White House

Instead of attempting to use the 65-m.p.h. bill as a vehicle to strip the so-called “demonstration projects” from the highway bill, as he had originally planned, Dole agreed to let the new speed limit pass quickly and the highway bill go to the White House for a promised veto.

Reagan, in a statement issued at the White House today, said he would veto the highway bill even if it contained the 65-m.p.h. speed limit, which he and many lawmakers from rural and Western states favor.

“Congress can’t have it both ways,” Reagan said. “They can’t talk about cutting unnecessary deficit spending and then vote in favor of bills that bust the budget.

“My vote will be to veto bills that spend unnecessary billions on projects the American people cannot afford.”

Not Sure of Votes

Dole’s aides said he abandoned his fight on Reagan’s behalf because he wasn’t sure he had the votes to strip the $890 million in demonstration projects--which Reagan called “special interest projects”--from the bill.

In view of the President’s veto threat, the aides said, Dole anticipated that there would be new negotiations between the White House and members of Congress from both parties looking toward a compromise on the highway bill.

Although the Senate approved the main highway bill Thursday on a 79-17 vote, Dole told his colleagues today that the vote on overriding a presidential veto would be much narrower. Senate Majority Leader Robert C. Byrd (D-W.Va.), asked whether he had the votes to override, replied, “I don’t know.”

The highway bill headed for Reagan’s desk was approved by the House on Wednesday.

Dole’s original aim, abandoned today, was to try to get the Senate to amend the 65-m.p.h. speed limit resolution into the original Senate highway bill, which omitted the House-approved money for about 150 demonstration projects favored by many lawmakers for their home states and districts.

The $88-billion House-Senate compromise sent to the White House today contains $70 billion for highway construction projects and $18 billion for mass transit projects, which Reagan had criticized.