The House Appropriations Committee yesterday approved the last of 11 fiscal year 2006 spending bills - the $66.9 billion Transportation, Treasure and HUD spending legislation.

The bill includes funding authorized for FY '06 under the House version of the six-year transportation bill, even though House and Senate conferees have yet to reach a deal on the bill.

The bill contains $37 billion for federal-aid highway spending -- an increase of $1.9 billion over last year's mark. Also included in the bill is $8.48 billion for transit programs -- an increase of $836 million over FY '05 funding.

Democratic amendments that failed during yesterday's markup included an additional $1.2 billion for Amtrak, $180 for IRS tax enforcement, $250 million for Community Development Block Grants, and $800 million to help states pay for new voting equipment.

The bill contains no earmarked transportation construction projects. Instead, those will be added in conference between the two chambers.

Full Committee Chairman Jerry Lewis (R-California) said the panel's approval of the bill will allow the House to stay on track to complete all the spending bill's by the Fourth of July recess. The Senate lags far behind this schedule. The chamber has only held full committee markups on three appropriations bills and has yet to bring any to the floor.