Congressman Boswell calls for more spending on road construction

Congressman Leonard Boswell, a Democrat from Iowa, says the Republican-led Congress is taking the wrong tack on the transportation bill that provides federal money for road and bridge construction. Boswell says there should be an increase in spending to stimulate the economy by providing money for construction jobs.Boswell says the money’s there. Boswell says everytime you buy a gallon of gas, you’re paying a federal gas tax that’s used for roads, bridges and other transportation-related projects. But Boswell says the temptation Republicans seem to be giving in to is to use the money for other purposes, such as holding on to it so the federal budget deficit doesn’t look so bad. Boswell says the White House and the Republican leaders in the House don’t want to dip into it. Boswell says now’s the time to use it because transportation projects create high-paying jobs. But he predicts President Bush and the Republican-controlled Congress will probably win this battle, and no new funds will be plugged into transportation projects.Boswell says construction won’t stop, but project managers who were counting on having the increased gas taxes passed along for their projects won’t get the money because it’ll be held in reserve.