By Peter Cohn, CongressDaily
© National Journal Group Inc.
Friday, May 5, 2006

A provision freeing $50 million for a road in Montana was added Thursday to the FY06 emergency supplemental but not before the senators from the state tangled over who would get credit. The five-year project to repair the scenic Going-to-the-Sun Road in Montana's Glacier National Park sparked the election-year dispute between Finance ranking member Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont., who is facing a tough re-election fight. Baucus attached language releasing the money -- held up by a bureaucratic dispute over language in last year's highway bill -- as an amendment to the $109 billion supplemental. When Baucus began circulating the amendment this week, Burns asked if he could sign on as a co-sponsor, but Baucus balked. "He wasn't going to let me on there," Burns said. "It's an even-numbered year." Baucus relented when Transportation-Treasury Appropriations Subcommittee Chairman Christopher (Kit) Bond, R-Mo., insisted on Burns' inclusion. Asked if it was difficult for him to allow Burns as a co-sponsor, Baucus replied: "No, it's great. The more the merrier."

	"He wasn't going to let me on there." -- Sen. Conrad Burns, R-Mont.

As a senior negotiator on the massive $286.4 billion highway bill last year, Baucus hailed the $50 million project as the capstone of his many earmarks for Montana. It was one of the largest single project authorizations in that measure. Rep. Dennis Rehberg, R-Mont., described it as an "expensive fix" but noted the road is among the most heavily traveled of all the national parks. "It was Charles Kuralt's No. 1 place in the whole country," he said. Because the project was drafted in a manner that made it subject to annual appropriations, rather than "contract authority" that would have made the money flow immediately, the Transportation Department has not spent the funds. Baucus argued the department was not following the intent of his highway bill language. To get DOT's attention, earlier this year he slapped a hold on President Bush's nominee to head the Federal Highway Administration, Richard Capka. The agency has said its hands are tied unless Congress appropriates the money. But Baucus' actions might spur a compromise, as a statement released Friday by the agency hints. "The Federal Highway Administration supports the park roads program, and the Glacier National Park's Going-to-the-Sun Road is an important project," said the statement. "We're working with the Montana congressional delegation and the National Park Service to find a solution to this issue." An agency spokesman declined to elaborate. Baucus said Thursday he would keep his hold on Capka's nomination until the issue was resolved, either administratively or if House-Senate conferees agree to include his supplemental language.

But the amendment could cause problems with other lawmakers. Due to fiscal constraints, Baucus had to offset the cost, which he did by rescinding unused highway contract authority. He insisted that would not affect any other state's project funding. But the amendment would take the $50 million from "unobligated funds apportioned to each state" under the highway law, which an aide involved in the negotiations described as "problematic." Another aide said since appropriations and authorizing bills are scored differently, Baucus' offset might apply only in the fiscal year covered by the supplemental.

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