Newswire - Lawmakers say trim pork for Katrina relief

By Jennifer Schultz

WASHINGTON, Sept. 29 - The question of how to pay for Hurricane Katrina looms large over Congress. With a record budget deficit-$427 billion-and pressure to cut spending, some lawmakers are doing the unheard of: offering up their own pet transportation projects.

Costs associated with Katrina could soar to $200 billion or more, according to Republican leaders. Congress has already approved $62 billion in hurricane relief and promises more to come.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.) said they are willing to give up money earmarked for projects in their states in the highway bill, signed into law in August.

Sen. Christopher Dodd (D-Conn.) said he might consider doing the same, but added: "You're not going to find the billions you want there. That's going to come by the president saying we're not going to eliminate the estate tax; that we're not going to make permanent the tax cuts of 2001; and by also, of course, looking at some of these other areas like the Iraq war and so forth--we need to reduce those costs."

Critics have called the highway bill "pork-filled," referring to the 6,371 state projects tacked on by lawmakers. Some projects are not very controversial. Moving a bridge project and renaming it after yourself for a whopping $231.4 million, as Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) did, is a different story.

"The most egregious ones are obviously the ones that have been widely reported," Dodd said.

Citizens Against Government Waste, a fiscal watchdog group, called foul on the highway bill. "The highway bill is a fiscal car wreck," President Tom Schatz said in a press release. "The sweet smell of pork has blinded members of Congress to the waste and inefficiency of federal transportation policy."

The highway bill will cost $286 billion, with $24 billion for member-designated projects. Connecticut will receive $2.5 billion-a 19 percent jump from the previous highway bill-over the next five years, for such projects as widening I-95 east of New Haven ($7.5 million) and replacing the Pearl Harbor Memorial Bridge ($10 million).

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