$450 billion omnibus spending bill passed; core highway program receives $41.07

Included in the $450 billion omnibus spending bill passed by the House on Dec. 10, a $67.9 billion Transportation-HUD spending bill lead the six-bill package.

The House voted 221 to 202 in support of the bill, however, with the majority of Republicans opposing it, according to the Washington Watch report from the National Stone, Sand & Gravel (NSSGA) report. Also included in the package are the $64.4 Commerce-Justice-Science bill, the $24.2 billion Financial Services bill, the $163.6 billion Labor-HHS bill, the $78 billion Military Construction-VA bill and the $48.7 billion State-Foreign Operations bill.

According to the NSSGA report, President Barack Obama is expected to sign the bill this week.

The remaining spending bill — the Defense bill — is expected to carry legislation that would extend SAFETEA-LU for two months, as well as raise the debt limit, extend a tax-exempt products provision by a year and extend unemployment benefits, according to the NSSGA report.

In the spending bill, the core highway program received $41.07 billion —the same as provided in the House and Senate bill. According to the NSSGA report, another $650 million from the general fund will be allocated to the states via the standard apportionment formula and subject to the usual 80-20 match, as well as an additional $240 million in earmarked projects. Another $739 million in mandatory spending from the Highway Trust Fund was also included in the conference report, according to NSSGA. â€“by Tina Grady Barbaccia