An angry Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) threatened to quit on Thursday if $125 million in federal highway funds were diverted from a costly bridge project.

"I will put the Senate on notice -- and I don't kid people -- if the Senate decides to discriminate against our state, to take money only from our state, I'll resign from this body," Stevens was quoted as saying. He said if the bill sponsored by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) passed, "I will be taken out of here on a stretcher."

No stretcher was required, however. The Senate voted 82-15 against transferring the money to rebuild a bridge in New Orleans that was destroyed by Hurricane Katrina.

Stevens secured $454 million for a project that critics have derided as a "bridge to nowhere." The project consists of two bridges in rural areas that of the state.

Get the Story:
Stevens says he'll quit if bridge funds diverted (The Anchorage Daily News 10/21)
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Senate bid to divert bridge funds fails (The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner 10/21)
Senate Retains Money for Disputed Alaska Bridges and Other Pet Initiatives (The New York Times 10/21)
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