Caterpillar last week hosted President George W. Bush at the company’s manufacturing facility in Montgomery, Ill., where he signed HR3, the Transportation Equity Act, into law. The measure sets funding levels over the 2004-2009 time frame for critical infrastructure projects.

Caterpillar’s Montgomery operation is one the company’s largest U.S. manufacturing facilities, and it is located in House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert’s 14th Congressional District.

“This highway bill will not only fuel America’s economy by growing jobs, but it addresses the need for a national transportation system suited to the 21st century’s economy,” said Hastert. “It is estimated that for every $1 billion we spend on road construction, nearly 48,000 jobs are created. With more than 67 percent of the nation’s freight moving on highways, economists believe that our ability to compete internationally is tied to the quality of our infrastructure.”

In addition to the infrastructure initiatives, the legislation funds programs to reduce emissions from older off-road diesel equipment and sets money aside to retrofit school buses as part of the Environmental Protection Agency's Clean School Bus USA initiative. Caterpillar has actively supported the Clean School Bus USA initiative by providing $250,000 in grants in 2004 to help school districts reduce bus emissions. Caterpillar’s retrofit technology can also be used as part of a transportation bill program, enabling states to retrofit older construction equipment used in federal highway projects, including machines used in EPA non-attainment areas.

Caterpillar is based in Peoria, Ill.