WASHINGTON - Following two weeks of debate on the subject, the Senate passed the Fiscal Year 2002 Transportation Appropriations Bill on Aug. 1.

According to a recent report by The Associated General Contractors of America (AGCA), the bill will provide $33.2 billion for the total highway program, $6.8 billion for the transit program and $3.3 billion for the airport improvement program.

Sentors John McCain (R-Ariz.) and Phil Gramm (R-Texas) delayed the bill based on a provision that restricts travel of Mexican trucks across the United States as permitted by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). The version of the bill currently in the House includes an even more restrictive trucking provision, but President Bush recently stated he would veto the bill if the restrictive trucking provision is not revised.

For more information contact Brian Deery at (703) 837-5319 or e-mail deerby@agc.org.