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President Bush Signs Massive Transportation Bill

Aired August 10, 2005 - 11:30   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We are right at the half hour. I'm Daryn Kagan, let's take a look at what's happening now in the news.
We begin in east Tennessee. The search goes on for an escaped prisoner and his wife. Police in Kingston, Tennessee say Jennifer Hyatte gunned down a guard, yesterday, to help her husband, George Hyatte, escape. The incident happened outside a Roane County Courthouse. At least one of the Hyattes is believed to have been shot in the incident.

Near Detroit, huge fire balls shot skyward after an explosion at a chemical plant. That blast drove several hundred people from their homes. So far, no serious injuries are reported.

In sports, Kenny Rogers heads back to the mound for the Texas Rangers when they visit the Boston Red Sox, tonight. An arbitrator reinstated Rogers. He has served a little over half of a 20-game suspension handed down, watch out, by commissioner Bud Selig for shoving two cameramen in late June.

Iran's state-run news agency reports that the country has removed seals at a nuclear processing plant. That paves the way for full operation at the Iranian conversion facility. The seals were placed at the site by the U.N.'s International Atomic Energy Agency. The United States accuses Iran of having a covert nuclear weapons program. Hold the music, there, a moment, please. Iran says its program is strictly for peaceful purposes. All right, now the music.

Or we'll just keep going. President Bush about to sign a massive transportation bill. Billions go to highways, bridges, and mass transit. Billions of dollars also go to Congress's pet projects, otherwise known as pork. Live to Montgomery, Illinois, for the signing in a moment. But first, while we wait, let's check our correspondent, Dana Bash, who's at the White House.

Dana, the president is calling this a fiscally responsible bill.

DANA BASH, CNN CORRESPONDENT: We'll probably hear the president say something along those lines later today. You know, the White House says if some members of Congress had their way, this could be have been about $400 billion, a lot more than what it has been brought down to. It is not exactly as low as the president asked for when he issued a veto threat for this bill. But certainly, it is better than they had expected.

White House spokesman Trent Duffy said earlier that the president believes it's a balanced bill that funds transportation without breaking the bank. What you're seeing on the screen, now, is what the critics say the problem is. Six thousand special projects in this particular bill. That's a cost of $24 billion. That's about 9 percent of the overall bill that is supposed to build highways across the country.

Now, we're talking about bridges, we're talking about sometimes snowmobile trails, for example, in Vermont, and other things of that nature. What you're looking at right now is actually the president now arriving in Illinois, getting ready to speak. He's facing some critics saying that he shouldn't be signing this. Deficit hawks saying that this is proof that he is not sticking with his promise to hold down out of control spending.

KAGAN: Dana, House Speaker Dennis Hastert introducing the president. This is his district. What's the significance of going there to sign the bill?

BASH: Well, it is interesting that this president is there. According to one watchdog group, he is actually the recipient of the -- the third highest recipient, I should say, of the special projects that are coming out of this bill. And we actually have some of the goodies, if you will, that his district is going to see.

For example, $3.3 million for a commuter parking deck. $2.5 million for a coordinated trail system. $2.4 million to increase the height of a railroad underpass, and $960,000 for a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge. That's just some of what Speaker Hastert's district is going to get. It actually adds up to tens of millions of dollars.

KAGAN: They're all probably pretty happy, there. Dana, we're going to have you stand by. As we said, the speaker is introducing the president. We're going to go back to Montgomery, Illinois, once the president begins to speak.

But while we do that, we want to do a little fact checking for you. And critics of this transportation act say it's loaded down with what they're calling these pork projects, pet projects often found in districts belonging to the bill's chief supporters. Those members of Congress say they are providing needed infrastructure and jobs.

But watchdog groups say the projects are a gross misuse of federal funds. So, we thought we would take a look at the bill to find some of the big surprises. Here's what we found.

One of the biggest ticket items, a $230 million bridge in Alaska. The bridge will replace the seven-minute ferry ride from the town to Gravina Island, where the local airport is. Congressman Don Young of Alaska fought for the funds, saying his state needs more money to develop its infrastructure in order to catch with up the rest of the country. Critics, though, are calling it the bridge to nowhere, to an island where the number of residents are counted in dozens.

Another project highlighted by watchdog groups, $2 million to add landscaping to the Ronald Reagan Freeway in southern California. A local congressman argues that the road needs aesthetic upgrades. But one of bill's chief opponents, Senator John McCain, says, Ronald Reagan would certainly not be pleased.

To the town of Columbus, Georgia, the federal government will spend $400,000 to build biking and jogging trails. Also, a trolley. Columbus is one of the many communities getting money for trails for everything from bikes to snowmobiles.

And one more item of note, the bill earmarks $50 million to reconstruct a road in Montana's Glacier Mountain National Park. Going-to-the-Sun Road runs through the park's high mountain passes where, due to winter snow, it's impassable for at least six months out of every year.

And while we stand by, waiting for the president to speak, we're going to fit in a break. I'll be back after this.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: We're live, now, to Montgomery, Illinois. Here's President Bush.

GEORGE W. BUSH, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: There's going to be more demand for the machines you make here. And because there's more demand for the machines you make here, there's going to be more jobs created around places like this facility.

So thanks for letting us come. I was telling some of the fellows I met behind the stage that there's a cat (ph) working on the ranch right now. And I'm not driving it. I'm honored to be here with Denny Hastert. The best words that I've recently heard were these: Denny Hastert is running for office again.

Denny Hastert is a great speaker of the House of Representatives. He also loves his district. And he loves the people in his district. He was telling me the other day -- the other day, just a second ago, that he finished in the top 55 in his high school class. The high school is right around the corner. He also mentioned that there's only 55 people in his class.

He's been here a long time and he's seen this district grow and change, and he's always had a heart for the people here. And I'm thrilled his wife, Jean, and his family's with us today. Thank you all for coming. Somebody said the governor may be here. Governor, if you're here, thanks for being -- there he is. Governor Blagojevich, I'm honored you're here. I appreciate you coming.

Last time I saw you was at the Lincoln Library opening, and you were You're kind to be there then, and you're kind to be here today. I'm proud you're here. With me, today, is the secretary of transportation, Norm Mineta. Norm is doing a fantastic job as our secretary of transportation.

We got key members from the United States Senate, the United States House, who are here to witness this bill signing. A Senator Jim Inhofe, from the state of Oklahoma, is with us today. He flew up from Texas. He and Senator Kit Bond from Missouri were the main leaders in the United States Senate to get this bill done, and I'm proud to hear it. Thank you for coming.

Congressman Jim Oberstar from Minnesota is with us. Congressman Tom Petri from Wisconsin is with us, two key members on the committee. And you don't know the next one, but we do. And we know him well. He's a man of great accomplishment. He's the chairman of the House Ways and Means, he was very instrumental in getting the highway bill out of the house and out of conference. And that's Congressman Bill Thomas.

I want to thank the members of the Illinois delegation that are here today. Senator Dick Durbin, Senator Barack Obama, Congressman Jerry Costello, Congressman Bobby Rush, Congressman Ray Lahood, Congresswoman Judy Biggert, Congressman Rahm Emanuel, Congresswoman Melissa Bean. Thank you all for coming.

Somebody said his honor may be here. There he is. Mr. Mayor, thank you for coming. I have gotten to know Mayor Daly over the last five years. I got to know him in the 2000 campaign in a way that wasn't all that pleasantly, frankly. Let me just say, you want him on your side.

But since I have become the president, he has been on the side of doing what he thinks is right for Chicago. He is a great mayor of a great city, and I'm proud the mayor is here. Last four years, this economy has been through a lot. You know what I'm talking about. We've been through a recession, a stock market decline, corporate scandals, we had an attack on the homeland, and we've had the demands on an ongoing war against the terrorists.

To grow the economy and help the American families, we acted. We passed significant tax relief. And the economic stimulus plan we passed is working. Thanks to the efforts of our workers and entrepreneurs, this economy is strong and it is getting stronger.

Real disposable personal income is up. Homeownership is at an all-time high. Small businesses are flourishing. And last week, we learned that we've added over 200,000 new jobs in the month of July. National unemployment rate is 5 percent. Since May of 2003, we've added nearly 4 million new jobs. More Americans are working today than ever before in our nation's history.

But we recognize, in Washington, more needs to be done. That's one of the reasons I signed an energy bill. In order to keep this economy growing, we've got to become less dependent on foreign sources of oil. And that's why I'm proud to be here to sign this transportation bill, because our economy depends on us having the most efficient, reliable transportation system in the world.

If we want people working in America, we've got to make sure our highways and roads are modern. We've got to bring up this transportation system into the 21st century. I mean, you can't expect your farmers to get goods to market if we don't have a good road system. You can't expect to get these caterpillar products all around the United States if we don't have a good road system.

This road system that we have is going to be modernized through the Transportation Equity Act. It provides more than $286 billion over six years to upgrade our nation's network of roads and bridges and mass transit systems. The transportation act will finance needed road improvements and will ease traffic congestion in communities all across the country.

Here in Illinois, as the speaker mentioned, one of the key projects that he's been talking to me about for quite a while is what they call the Prairie Parkway. I thought that might be in Texas, but now, it's right here in Illinois.

Good folks understand what that means to the quality of life around here when you have a high way that will connect Interstate 80 and Interstate 88. The Prairie Parkway is crucial for economic progress, for Kane and Kendall counties, which happens to be two of the fastest growing counties in the United States.

In other words, this bill is going to help modernize the highway system and improve quality of life for a lot of people. And these projects will require workers. Highways just don't happen. People have got to show up and do the work to refit a highway or build a bridge. And they need new equipment to do so.

So the bill I'm signing is going to help give hundreds of thousands of Americans good paying jobs. This bill upgrades our transportation and infrastructure and will help save lives. The bill establishes a safety belt incentive grant program which will provide incentives for states to adopt laws that increase seatbelt usage.

Under this bill, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration will set stability standards to help prevent vehicle rollovers. In other words, it's more than just a highway bill. It's a safety bill. The American people expect us to provide them with the safest possible transportation system, and this bill helps fulfill that obligation. This law makes our highways and mass transit systems safer and better, and it'll help more people find work.

And it accomplishes goals in a fiscally responsible way. We are not raising gasoline taxes in order to pay for this bill. Our secretary of transportation, Norm Mineta, will work to ensure that taxpayers get the most from this bill and that projects are delivered on time and on budget.

The United States Congress can be proud of what it has achieved in the Transportation Equity Act, and I'm proud to be right here in Denny Hastert's district to sign it. Thank you all for coming. May God bless you.

KAGAN: President Bush, sitting down to sign the transportation bill. $286.4 billion. A number of projects in there that some critics are calling pork. President Bush calling this a fiscally responsible transportation bill, saying that there was a number of in congress who wanted it to be a $400 billion bill, already about $30 billion more than what the president wants. And yet, he's happy with what he gets, and signing it in the home district of House Speaker Dennis Hastert.

More news ahead. Right now, a quick break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

KAGAN: A lot of news about lung cancer in the news this week. We all know that smoking is the major cause of lung cancer, so the announcement by Christopher Reeve's widow, Dana, that she is battling this disease came as a shock. She's a nonsmoker. And she's drawing attention to a growing health concern.

Medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has details.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Three winters ago, Sandy Britt had a feeling that something was terribly wrong.

SANDY BRITT, CANCER PATIENT: I had noticed over the winter that I was getting one cold after the other.

COHEN: Sandy, who is 43, told her doctor she was worried about lung cancer. Her father and brother had died of the disease. She says the doctor told her not to worry.

BRITT: I could have been saved. You know, at that point, it was completely curable. And now it's not. Now I have a terminal diagnosis.

COHEN: Three years later, her suspicions turned out to be true. She was diagnosed with lung cancer so advanced, it had already spread to other parts of her body. Doctors told her she had eight months to live.

BRITT: I really believe that the reason I was ignored was that I was a young, healthy looking woman who never smoked.

COHEN: Sandy Britt, Dana Reeve, part of a group you don't hear much about. Studies show that as many as 17 percent of newly diagnosed lung cancer patients are life-long nonsmokers. 80 percent of those patients are women. That's approximately 11,000 women diagnosed each year and the overall survival rates of lung cancer are grim. Six out of ten people will die within a year of being diagnosed. Eight out of ten people will die within two years.

BRITT: There's a whole subculture of us that people don't know about. And I can get lung cancer, if Dana Reeves can get lung cancer, then nobody is safe. Anyone can get lung cancer.

COHEN: Sandy says it's bad enough that she has a fatal disease, but people who don't know her well often assume she brought it on herself. But she's never smoked. Not ever.

BRITT: People don't care because they say, "Well, you know, you smoked. You brought it on yourself." It absolutely infuriates me to have lung cancer, to have a smoker's disease, when I actually hate smoking, you know. I belong to Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. I do everything possible my whole life to avoid it. COHEN: Sandy is fighting for more money for lung cancer research. Twice as many women die of lung cancer than breast cancer, but breast cancer is something that everybody knows women get. So I think it's more logical, it's more easy to accept.

COHEN: Her statistics are on target. But today, thanks to an experimental therapy, Sandy has lived three months longer than her doctors expected. But she's also writing her will.

BRITT: One to five years, if I'm lucky, I'll live five years. I mean, it could be any time.

COHEN: While she's still alive...

BRITT: You know, my mantra is, "I am a miracle. I'm going to go the distance." And, you know, I do hope and pray that I will be one of the few that actually survives this disease. I mean, I am a realist, and I have to plan for, you know, the fact that there's a good chance I'm going to die.

Elizabeth Cohen, CNN, Atlanta.

KAGAN: A chance for one more chance at the weather -- the weather. How about the weather on Wall Street. Business. Susan Lisovicz, here with that.

SUSAN LISOVICZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Very sunny like our yellow jacket.

KAGAN: Can't miss us today.

LISOVICZ: Put on your sunglasses. Stocks continuing their post- fed rate hike rally. But oil prices are creeping up a bit. That, despite a government report showing supplies of crude oil rising more than expected last week. Right now, the DOW Industrial is up 85 points. The NASDAQ up 10 points, or nearly half a percent.

We're keeping an eye on Delta shares, which tumbled, yesterday, to levels we hadn't seen in nearly 50 years. This, after Merrill Lynch slapped a dreaded sell rating on the stock. The company announced, late yesterday, it would delay its quarterly filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Fears that this Atlanta-based company filing for bankruptcy protection. Those high fuel costs certainly not helping matters. Daryn, back to you.

KAGAN: Susan, thank you. That's going to do it for this hour. I'm Daryn Kagan. International news is up next. Stay tuned for "YOUR WORLD TODAY." I will see you right back here, tomorrow morning.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

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