Lawmakers scramble to revive highway funds

President Bush’s transportation budget would cut federal highway funding for Maine by an estimated $39 million. Three days after that proposal, lawmakers introduced legislation to restore $21 million for the state.

The swift reaction illustrated the high priority lawmakers placed on recovering the funds.

“This legislation is very important to Maine,” said Rep. John Baldacci, D-Maine, a member of the House Transportation Committee. “It would restore a significant portion of the proposed nationwide cut in highway funds and boost the amount of federal money coming into the state for needed road and bridge improvement projects.”

The budget shortfall occurred because highway construction funds are paid by taxes on gas, which suffered last year in the recession. Economists overestimated how much Congress should spend by $4.5 billion.

To make up the difference, Bush proposed to spend $8.6 billion less this year on highway construction, leaving about $23 billion. The proposal led to an outcry from lawmakers and state officials worried about the drop-off in construction and lost jobs.

By Thursday, bipartisan legislation was introduced by leaders of the House Transportation Committee and the Senate Public Works Committee to require at least $27.7 billion for highway construction.

The identical bills still must be approved and reconciled with the rest of the budget, and the figures could be whittled down.

For now, Maine would get an additional $21.5 million under the bill, or a little more than half of what Bush proposed to cut, according to committee estimates.

“Our approach is a reasonable, fiscally responsible one,” said Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, chairman of the Transportation Committee.