By John Crawley
WASHINGTON, July 25 (Reuters) - A key Senate committee approved and sent to the full chamber on Thursday a $64.6 billion transport spending bill for next year that would provide $4.95 billion in funding for aviation and other post Sept. 11 security priorities.
The legislation approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee exceeded the White House budget blueprint for transport security by $150 million.
Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta told another Senate committee earlier in the day that he would seek an amendment to the fiscal 2003 spending bill for significantly more money to pay for creation of a federal force to screen passengers and checked baggage at 429 airports.
He did not offer a revised figure and a top deputy said analysis of the new request had not been completed. "We have to see how big the hole is," the senior official said.
The appropriations bill included $1.2 billion for Amtrak, the financially beleaguered national passenger rail system, and $13.5 billion for the Federal Aviation Administration.
The measure also restored nearly $9 billion in federal highway funds that the Bush administration sought to reduce in the next budget because of declining gas tax receipts and highway revenue projections that fell short. Total highway spending would be $31.8 billion.
The transport bill's total of $64 billion is roughly $3.7 billion over the amount provided by Congress for the current fiscal year and $9.2 billion over the amount requested by the White House for 2003.
Congress is not expected to approve transport spending legislation until fall.
The next fiscal year begins Oct. 1.
AIR SECURITY A PRIORITY
Mineta blames $1 billion in cuts in emergency spending legislation approved by House of Representatives and Senate lawmakers this week for hampering his agency's efforts to establish a federal airport security system by the end of the year as required by Congress.
"Congress has given us a strict and inflexible mandate and insufficient funds to meet it," Mineta told the Senate Commerce Committee.
In landmark aviation security legislation approved in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 hijack attacks, Congress required the Transportation Department to overhaul airport passenger screening by Nov. 19 and checked baggage screening by Dec. 31.
With Mineta moving further away this week from his confident promises to meet the goals, an effort to extend the bag screening deadline for another year was bogged down in the House as part of debate on homeland security legislation.
Mineta reiterated that it could cost close to $1 billion to arm the nation's 70,000 commercial pilots with guns. The Transportation Security Administration, under new administrator, former Coast Guard Adm. James Loy, is reconsidering that security option.
Loy replaced John Magaw, who was fired last week and who adamantly opposed giving flight crews lethal force. Loy said he was hesitant about arming pilots, but did not totally reject the idea as Magaw did before the same committee two months ago. Mineta also objects to letting airline pilots carry guns.
The Transportation Department may never have to propose a pilot gun program because Congress could do it first.
The House has passed legislation to arm commercial pilots and a bill in the Senate being pushed by Montana Republican Conrad Burns has gained bipartisan support in recent weeks. A Republican aide said that bill could be attached to the Senate's version of homeland security legislation.