"In passing this bill, the Senate puts this nation on the path to better roads, on the path to shorter and safer commutes, and on the path to more jobs," said Senator James Jeffords, an independent from Vermont and a senior member of the Environment and Public Works Committee.
The measure, approved by a vote of 89 to 11, exceeds by more than $11 billion the ceiling that President Bush has set on transportation spending. Scott McClellan, the White House spokesman, said Tuesday that a final bill that surpasses the $284 billion acceptable to the administration could provoke a veto.
