Senator Christopher Bond has decided to play hardball over a Democrat filibuster in the U.S. Senate over the appointment of conferees to iron out the differences between the Senate and House versions of the federal Highway Bill. Bond, who chairs the Senate Transportation Subcommittee, is refusing Democratic requests for an extention of the current Highway Bill – which expires May 1st. Without the appropriations, there will be layoffs and some projects will come to a halt. Bond’s concern is that the Democratic leadership in the Senate is filibustering the attempt to appoint conferees to work out the differences between the House and Senate versions of the Highway Bill. The Senate version calls for $318-Billion in spending, while the House version is for $275-Billion. President George W. Bush has already threatened a veto if the final figure is above $256-Billion.
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