With the clock ticking toward the adjournment of Congress in early October, it is increasingly likely that the question of how to finance a newWoodrow Wilson Bridge will have to await the November elections.
The Clinton administration has been unable to persuade a wary Congress to cover much of the shortfall, and either Vice President Gore (D) or Texas Gov. George W. Bush (R) might have to untangle the knotty issue.
If elected president, Gore would ask Congress to spend an additional $600 million to replace the Potomac River crossing, while Bush would withhold support for more money unless he was satisfied with an overall financing agreement, according to their respective campaigns.
A spokesman for the Gore campaign said Gore would maintain the same approach as the Clinton administration, which has asked Congress over the past two years to ante up $600 million more on top of the $900 million it previously approved.
"He's for the administration's proposal. As president, he would continue to support the region's delegation in trying to get support on Capitol Hill for the $600 million," said Gore spokesman Jano Cabrera.
The Bush campaign said the governor would evaluate the outcome of current discussions among Maryland, Virginia and the federal government on a complete financing plan before lending his support to any more spending on the bridge. "We need to see what the final agreement is first," said spokesman Scott McClellan.
He declined to say what conditions the agreement would have to meet to satisfy Bush. "We will address it at that time," McClellan said.
The construction of a new bridge took an important step yesterday when the initial contract for dredging the Potomac River was put out to bid, setting the stage for work to start by late October.
But complete funding for the project, now estimated at $2.2 billion to $2.5 billion, remains elusive. Maryland and Virginia have promised to contribute $200 million each and could pay more than $200 million together to cover the cost of some highway work flanking the bridge, leaving a shortage of at least $600 million. Washington area officials say it is vital for Congress to cover the shortfall, because Maryland and Virginia cannot afford it.
Though the contours of a possible deal to provide that money have been emerging on Capitol Hill, state and federal officials remain deadlocked over who should cover cost overruns. With Congress facing a mountain of unfinished business when it returns after Labor Day for its month-long final session, the odds of nailing down an agreement on the bridge and winning passage this year are long, Capitol Hill staff members say.
"We've reached the stage where every hour matters. That's part of the problem," said a staffer for a local senator. "It's crunch time in every sense of the word."
Gore's support for the additional federal money puts him in step with members of the Washington area's congressional delegation, Democrat and Republican alike. Indeed, the region's four major U.S. Senate candidates--Sen. Charles S. Robb (D-Va.) and his Republican challenger, former governor George Allen, and Sen. Paul S. Sarbanes (D-Md.) and his Republican opponent, Paul H. Rappaport--favor Congress providing an additional $600 million.
Bush's reluctance to endorse the proposed spending is similar to the skepticism expressed by many members of Congress from outside the Washington area. Key members have objected to tapping the Transportation Trust Fund, saying that would divert money from highway projects elsewhere in the country.
Some members, most notably Sen. George V. Voinovich (R-Ohio), chairman of the transportation subcommittee, have suggested they could support allocating the money from the general treasury if the two states accepted certain conditions, such as taking ownership of the span from the federal government and covering cost increases.
Despite disagreements among state and federal officials over funding, they all accept the need to replace the deteriorating bridge, a priority that Bush also recognized.
"He understands the importance of moving forward on the project without delay," McClellan said. "The governor supports the efforts of the federal government and Maryland and Virginia to reach an agreement on how to fund the project."
