WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A mammoth transportation bill due for votes in Congress this week would reduce federal deficits by $71 billion over the next 10 years, based on new revenues to be collected, the Congressional Budget Office said on Wednesday.
A report by U.S. budget information agency said the five-year legislation known as the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act or FAST Act would authorize $280 billion in spending from the Highway Trust Fund, leaving the fund with $10 billion at the end of 2020.
About $208 billion of that money would come from revenues and interest due to the fund. Another $70 billion would come from the U.S. Treasury's general fund.
CBO said the net reduction to the deficit would be $1 billion under a congressional rule that counts general fund transfers to the trust fund as new spending authority.
Lawmakers in the House and Senate hope to vote on the legislation and deliver it to President Barack Obama's desk before a temporary funding patch expires on Friday.