According to NSSGA, congress agreed to an emergency supplemental appropriations bill on May 25 which the president quickly signed. The Senate approved the $120 billion bill by an 80-14 vote after the House passed it earlier. Of specific interest to the aggregates industry are transportation related provisions in the domestic spending portion of the bill. The final package contains $871 million, up from $682 million contained in an earlier version, in supplemental spending for the Federal Highway Administration’s emergency relief program. Despite opposition of House Transportation and Infrastructure committee Chairman James Oberstar (D-Minn.) and senior Republican John Mica (R-Fla.), the new emergency relief money is offset by an equivalent $871 million rescission of highway contract authority balances held by states. The offset is unnecessary because emergency response money is designated as an off-budget emergency and does not need an offset. Your comment?