President Bush probably will sign the transportation authorization bill that Congress will pass later this year despite a recent veto threat, according to a report from The Hill.com.

The president will ignore the veto threat and sign the bill because it is estimated to generate 1.6 million new jobs, something that the president needs to stem Democratic attacks on national unemployment figures, the publication predicted.

The White House threatened to veto the $318 billion version of the transportation bill that the Senate passed earlier this month. The administration claimed it was too expensive at a time of spiraling budget deficits.

House Transportation Committee Chairman Don Young, R-AK, wants to pass a version of the bill that would be even more expensive — $375 billion over six years — which means the legislation that emerges from negotiations will likely be much costlier than the $256 billion Bush wants to spend.