Senate Passes Highway Bill


This afternoon, by a vote of 96 to 4 the U.S. Senate approved the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) which provides funding for highways, bridges and recreation trails across the nation. Sen. Chuck Grassley issued the following comment.

"This bill is good news for Iowa. Federal funding for Iowa roads will increase 65 percent over the next six years, according to the Iowa Department of Transportation (IDOT). This substantial increase should accelerate projects already in progress, thus clearing the way for much- needed new projects to receive approval from IDOT. "In addition, this highway bill includes my amendment to extend the ethanol incentive to the year 2007. Ethanol is good for the environment, for the economy of rural America and for energy independence."