BELTWAY ROBBERY

By Karen Tumulty/Washington

IN A WASHINGTON OUT TO CUT federal spending, 12-term Congressman Bud Shuster is an unrepentant pork-barrel spender. Now it appears the chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has converts. More than half his House colleagues--including a hefty majority of those reform-minded G.O.P. freshmen--are backing a bill that would lift constraints on highway and airport projects. If the Truth in Budgeting Act is passed by the House next week, it would give Shuster's committee great latitude to tap some $33 billion in transportation trust funds.

The measure has mobilized a formidable lobbying coalition, uniting organized labor and big and small business, state and local governments and such esoteric trade associations as the Precast/Prestressed Concrete Institute. Their goal is not only passage but also a veto-proof 289 votes.

Supporters argue rightly that the money would go where it was intended, building roads and upgrading airports. But the supposedly untapped funds are actually an accounting figment. Using them would increase the deficit or force greater cuts in other programs. Budget Committee chairman John Kasich and Appropriations chairman Bob Livingston are vehemently opposed. Attempts by Newt Gingrich to reconcile them and Shuster have come to naught. Meanwhile, Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan broke with his custom of staying neutral to advise against passage.

--By Karen Tumulty/Washington