Transportation, Treasury, and Independent Agencies Appropriations Act, 2004

H.R. 2989 was a major appropriations bill that provided approximately $89 billion in federal funding for the 2004 fiscal year to support national infrastructure, financial systems, and government operations. For the average citizen, the bill’s primary impact was the modernization of daily travel through significant investments in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the construction of the Hoover Dam Bypass Bridge, and the maintenance of the Interstate Highway System.

Beyond transportation, the act funded the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to process tax returns and the U.S. Postal Service to continue its operations, including the extension of the "Breast Cancer Research" special postage stamp. It also mandated a 4.1 percent pay increase for federal civilian employees and included provisions to protect taxpayer money by requiring agencies to verify the creditworthiness of employees before issuing government travel or purchase cards. While this specific bill was eventually incorporated into a larger "omnibus" spending package (H.R. 2673) before becoming law, its provisions set the budget and operational priorities for the Department of Transportation and the Treasury for that year.