House Passes Transportation Bill

The US House of Representatives passed a highway bill that would halt the US Department of Transportation’s pilot program for Mexican trucking companies. In addition to killing funding for the cross-border program are provisions as wide-ranging as $1 billion for bridge inspections and maintenance and an amendment prohibiting tolling on Interstate highways in Texas.

The bill, which passed on November 14th by a vote of 270 to 147, appropriates $2.3 billion more in highway spending than the Bush Administration version. As a result, the President has threatened to veto the legislation.