Senate passes transportation bill

The Senate overwhelmingly passed a spending bill this week to inject $295 billion into the nation's highways and transit systems.

The action foreshadowed a possible showdown between the Republican-led chambers of Congress and President Bush, who has threatened to veto any surface transportation plan that calls for more than $284 billion — the amount passed by the House in March.

The House and Senate have to reconcile the differences between the two bills before May 31, when the sixth funding extension expires.