Washington, D.C. –U.S. Sen. Mike Enzi, R-Wyo., agreed to support a transportation bill today, but warned colleagues that if the legislation is not improved before it is sent to the President for his signature, the bill may ultimately die.

Enzi, a member of the Senate Budget Committee, voted with the majority to pass the Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation Act (SAFETEA) by a vote of 76-21. The bill would authorize $255 billion over the next six years for highway projects and $56.5 billion for transit projects across the United States. Under the bill, Wyoming's total share for highways would increase by about $440 million to a total of $1.6 billion over the last six-year authorization, TEA 21. Wyoming's total share for transit funds would increase from about $14 million from the last reauthorization period to $41 million over the next six years.

"This legislation could mean hundreds of millions of dollars more for Wyoming road construction. There is no doubt about its importance to the state, but if we don't recognize the necessity of having a bill that is fiscally responsible we may not have a bill at all," said Enzi.

Even though the Senate has passed the bill it must still go through a conference committee where Senate and House members reconcile their versions of the bill. Each chamber must then vote on the conference committee's report.

President Bush has threatened a veto unless the bill stays within his proposed budget and the money to pay for the bill comes from gas taxes or other taxes imposed on the use of our nation's roads rather than general fund tax revenue. The President does not support increasing the current gas tax.

"I voted in favor of the transportation bill at this stage in order to send it to the conference committee. The members of that committee need to fix the bill so it fits within the budget constraints we set for the legislation, which would still be a 25 percent increase over the last authorization. We also have to make sure we use the right source of revenues to pay for these transportation projects. If we don't, we need to keep in mind the President has sent a strong veto message and the sixty-seven votes necessary to override a veto would be difficult to obtain," said Enzi. "Highways have been paid for in the past with tax money gathered by those who use the highways. We need to preserve the integrity of this system and be wary of any schemes that will reverse or upset it."

Enzi and other members of the Senate Budget Committee passed a budget resolution last year that required additional revenue to be raised if the bill became more expensive than the $272 billion authorized. As passed this evening, the bill totaled about $318 billion.

Enzi said the money provided in the President's $256 billion budget for highways is still very generous for the state. Under the President's budget, states would receive a 21 percent increase in funding above the funding levels from the last authorization.

The Senate bill includes a number of provisions Enzi worked to include in both the transit and highway titles. One of his amendments would increase the federal share for matches for capital projects and operating costs under the rural transit program and capital projects under the elderly and disabled program based on the proportion of federal lands within a state. Another Enzi amendment would increase the time frame for statewide transportation plans for transit from three to five years. Another provision Enzi worked on with fellow Republican Wyoming Senator Craig Thomas, would allow a state to opt out of some workzone safety contracting requirements if the state can certify to the Transportation Secretary that the workers in that state will not be adversely affected by opting out.