Congress to argue highway spending 
A showdown has been set between the Congress and President Bush over how much the nation should spend on transportation construction over the next several years.

And the outcome will have a tremendous effect on how much Michigan and every other state will be able to spend on road and bridge repairs, as well as new construction.

Earlier this month, the U.S. House overwhelmingly approved the spending of $275 billion over six years. Previously, the Senate voted to spend $318 billion over the same time period. President Bush, conscious of the nation’s ballooning deficit, has maintained that the nation should spend no more than $256 billion through 2009.

Also still unresolved is equity funding among the states – Michigan is one of several “donor” states that receives less in transportation dollars from Washington than it sends in tax dollars. The tremendous breach in the funding amount will be resolved in conferences between the House and Senate.

The stakes are high for Michigan in how the transportation funding issue is resolved. “The estimated difference in funding for Michigan between the Senate bill and the House bill is at least $1.2 billion,” said Michigan Road Builders Association spokesman Gary Naeyert.

Stabenow proposal tries to save jobs
The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a proposal by Sens. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.) and Jim Bunning (R-Ky.) that would significantly increase tax incentives to help U.S. manufacturers compete in the world market and help prevent more losses of U.S. manufacturing jobs.

The amendment to tax reform legislation would provide a $6.5 million boost to manufacturing companies.

“The people of Michigan recognize that our nation is in a manufacturing jobs crisis, and that Michigan – which lost more jobs than any other state in 2003 – is among the worst-hit states,” Stabenow said. “My amendment is a positive step forward in our fight to create jobs here at home.”

The key benefit to the amendment is that it provides immediate tax relief for manufacturers who create jobs in the U.S., amending a bill that would have slowly phased in tax benefits over five years.

The proposal by Stabenow and Bunning allows a company to take a pre-tax deduction equal to a percentage of its domestic manufacturing income, effectively serving as both a tax cut and an incentive to expand domestic manufacturing.

Leavey endorsed for pension trustee
Kathleen Leavey has been endorsed for Detroit Pension Board Trustee by the Greater Detroit Building Trades Council. Building trades employees of the City of Detroit are urged to vote for Leavey during the balloting, which takes place April 25 through May 5.

Leavey, an attorney in the city’s law department, is backed by a host of union endorsements, and is considered by the building trades council as an excellent choice for Pension Board Trustee.