House Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James Oberstar today said next year's highway and transit reauthorization measure could total as much as $450 billion, dwarfing the 2005 bill, which clocked in at $286.4 billion. "We're not going to do a wimpy bill [like the 2005 measure]. It's going to be in the range of $450 billion," Oberstar said at a Congressional Steel Caucus hearing. "We're talking about a lot of steel." After the hearing, Oberstar characterized $450 billion as a target but said it was in line with the recommendations of a bipartisan commission examining national infrastructure needs. That will likely include an increase in the federal gasoline tax as well as other "alternative financing" that lawmakers are considering, he said. The report by the National Surface Transportation Policy and Revenue Study Commission this year recommended an annual increase of 5 cents to 8 cents per gallon in the gas tax over six years to fund construction and maintenance projects.

Oberstar's comments came during a hearing to examine remedies to help U.S. steel manufacturers compete with cheaper Chinese imports. Oberstar said next year's highway bill will contain stricter "Buy America" standards so that construction projects use U.S.-produced steel. Reps. Peter Visclosky, D-Ind., and Phil English, R-Pa., said they are planning to introduce legislation today to impose a 100 percent "Buy America" requirement on all projects financed by the Defense, Transportation and Homeland Security. Homeland Security departments came under particular criticism at the hearing for using Chinese steel pipe for parts of the border fence with Mexico. "If the Department of Homeland Security had been purchasing our product, we probably wouldn't have torn down the facility in Sharon, Pa.," said Mickey Bolt, a steelworker representing employees of Wheatland Tube Co. The company laid off 500 workers last year when it closed down its Sharon plant, which is located in English's district.

English said his complaints to Homeland Security officials fell on deaf ears and added that has been working for over a year to get the leadership of the House Ways and Means Committee to move on legislation dealing with what he and others see as China's unfair trade practices. Those include keeping its currency pegged to the dollar instead of allowing it to float, making it cheaper to buy Chinese goods, and subsidizing production of goods for export. English said he did not think the issue was dead for the year, however, as members from manufacturing districts with tough re-election fights make their voices heard. "There's going to be tremendous pressure to move on China trade legislation," he said.