The Senate began debate this morning on the $7 billion rescue of the nation’s highway trust fund that was passed by the House late yesterday, with four GOP amendments slated for a vote.

The
first proposal, from Sen. David Vitter (R-LA), would replenish federal
highway programs with unused money from the $787 billion economic
stimulus law, as opposed to funds from the general Treasury.

Vitter
began by echoing a lament of many sustainable transport advocates —
that the stimulus spent a paltry 3.5 percent on infrastructure — but
came to a far different conclusion: "[L]et’s do real concrete
shovel-ready projects," he said. "Let’s build roads and highways and
bridges."

Sen. John Ensign (R-NV) offered an amendment
similar to Vitter’s, suggesting that un-obligated stimulus money offset
the estimated $7.5 billion in unemployment aid that is attached to the
highway trust fund fix.

Another similar proposal was filed
by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC), while a technical tweak to highway contract
authority was filed by Sen. Kit Bond (R-MO). Stay tuned for updates on
today’s votes.