Republican presidential contender John McCain proposed the moratorium but Obama, D-Ill., said the proposal would do little more than take money out of national highway and bridge construction funds, The Chicago Tribune said Sunday.

"It will save you about $25 (over three months)," Obama said. "Remember that bridge in Minneapolis?" (The Interstate 35W Bridge in Minneapolis collapsed into the Mississippi River Aug. 7, killing 13 people. Federal investigators gave the bridge a "structurally deficient" rating in 2005.)

Obama backed a temporary tax holiday in Illinois as a state senator in 2000.