TRANSPORTATION BILL ZIPS THROUGH HOUSE MEASURE EXCEEDS WHITE HOUSE SPENDING LIMITS, FUNDS SOUTHLAND PROJECTS.

Byline: Staff and Wire Services

WASHINGTON - The House on Friday overwhelmingly approved a highway and transit measure that exceeds spending limits set by President George W. Bush, raising the prospect of the first veto showdown between Bush and the Republican-led Congress over popular election-year legislation.

House members voted 357-65 to approve the measure, which its authors said would provide $275 billion for highway construction, mass transit and safety programs over six years. It will now have to be reconciled with a Senate bill that spends $318 billion.

The White House has threatened to veto any bill that exceeds $256 billion, but both the House and Senate approved their bills by veto-proof margins.

Even as the bill was being considered on the House floor, influential lawmakers were adding last-minute projects paid for out of about $1 billion that had not yet been allocated.

Speaker Dennis Hastert received $88 million for a bridge over the Fox River in his Northern Illinois district that aides said he had wanted for more than a decade.

Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska, the chairman of the transportation committee, added tens of millions of dollars for new bridges in his state.

And Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., the Democratic leader, took home $70 million to help make the Golden Gate Bridge more resistant to earthquakes.

``These projects create jobs and will greatly enhance the economic and environmental vitality of the entire San Francisco Bay Area,'' Pelosi said.

All told, the bill includes $22.5 billion for California's highway and mass transit projects over the next six years.

In addition to funds for the Golden Gate Bridge, the bill has $15.5 million to connect the Alameda Corridor and the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach to the transcontinental rail network.

The bill also would allocate $5 million to improve the Interstate 5/14 Freeway interchange near Santa Clarita and $4.85 million for the 101/23 freeways interchange in Thousand Oaks.

The measure would allocate $10 million for street rehabilitation and resurfacing throughout the San Fernando Valley.

The bill also includes $6.6 billion earmarked for unspecified projects. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority hopes that fund will help finance a six-mile extension of the Gold Line into East Los Angeles.

Supporters of the House bill say the $275 billion amount is the bare minimum needed to keep pace with national transportation needs, and $100 billion below what they had wanted to spend. They included a provision to reopen the legislation in 2005 if spending levels are deemed inadequate.

``I will be back,'' said Young, who had initially pushed for $375 billion. ``I will continue this fight because I believe in it so strongly for this nation.''

To many rank-and-file lawmakers, the highway measure is the most important legislation of the session because it allows them to funnel money directly back into their districts. The House bill includes about $11 billion for such special projects, with 3,200 outlined in the legislation and more expected to be added in negotiations with the Senate.

Over two days of debate, House members defended their measure against a presidential veto threat, saying the legislation was essential to keeping the U.S. economy competitive and was a sure way to create high-paying jobs.

``Why some bean counters have determined that we can do this bill on the cheap when the infrastructure needs of this country are crying out for repair is beyond me,'' said Rep. Steven C. LaTourette, R-Ohio.

But the White House, seeking to demonstrate its commitment to cutting the mounting deficit, has indicated it intends to stand firm against spending increases in the legislation, and that Bush could veto a measure that has bipartisan support.

Hoping to avoid a confrontation between Bush and Congress, House leaders say they intend to keep the White House closely involved in the coming negotiations to avert a veto.