Sen. James M. Inhofe, R-OK, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, will lead the conference responsible for hammering out a final highway bill for President Bush’s signature.

The first meeting among Democratic and Republican conferees is expected June 9, according to Congressional Quarterly.

The immediate task will be to settle funding differences among the Senate, House and White House.

White House Chief of Staff Andrew H. Card Jr. has reiterated the Bush administration threat to veto any transportation bill that exceeds the $256 billion that President Bush has requested.

In a May 28 interview with Fox News, Card said, “Both the House- and Senate-passed highway bills ... are bloated and much too big for what the country can afford right now.” He said that Bush “sent me to the Hill to convey that message over and over again.”

But the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, Republican Don Young of Alaska, and the committee’s ranking Democrat, James L. Oberstar of Minnesota, said that even the $283 billion bill the House passed (HR 3550) would be inadequate. The $319 billion Senate version (S 1072) has the backing of transportation lobby groups and many state and local officials.