NH Delegation Open to Cutting Transportation Bill to Offset Katrina Costs
WASHINGTON, Sept. 29-New Hampshire lawmakers say they would be open to measures that would cut funds from the special congressional projects earmarked in the federal transportation bill.
“Earmarks” are added to spending bills by congressmen seeking to win more money for special projects in their home districts; this year’s $286 billion transportation bill has been assailed by critics for its 6,371 earmarks valued at more than $24 billion.
“At this point, everything is on the table,” Rep. Charles Bass (R-N.H.) told the Union Leader. “All possible offset options remain open, including reconsidering highway projects sought by members in the transportation bill.”
New Hampshire Rep. Jeb Bradley said he would support cutting the earmarks in the bill that seemed excessive.
“I think the transportation bill is an area we ought to look at,” he said. “There are some special projects in there that I think would save us money, like some of the bridges in Alaska and some snowmobile trails.” Bradley did not identify any New Hampshire projects that he would consider eliminating.
One earmark authorized for Alaska involved $315 million for a bridge that would serve a rural town of 50 people. Another, authorized for Vermont, allocated $5.8 million for a snowmobile trail, according to Taxpayers for Common Sense, a nonpartisan watchdog group critical of “pork barrel” spending.
The suggestion of cutting earmarks to pay for Katrina first caused a stir last week when Rep. Mike Pence (R-Ind.), chairman of the Republican Study Committee, announced he would be willing to give up the funds for his special projects and urged other lawmakers to do the same.
But because so many congressmen oppose losing the special-project money promised to their districts, cutting the earmarks appears somewhat unlikely, according to Bradley.
“A lot of people are talking about it, but it comes back to what is likely to happen,” he said. “Across-the-board reductions in discretionary spending in agriculture, food stamps, Medicaid., that scenario is likely to gain more support.”
At $69 million, New Hampshire ranks last in the country in terms of earmarks. Among them are $5.2 million to improve Route 110 in Berlin, $4 million for a study of the effect of salt on the surface of Interstate 93 and $3.6 million to realign an intersection in Claremont.
Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.), the chairman of the Budget Committee, was one of only four senators to vote against the highway bill. He supports efforts to offset Katrina spending through budget cuts, but did not specify where the cutting should take place.
“Congress has provided $60 billion already for reconstruction, recovery and rehabilitation efforts to help the people in the Gulf Coast region get back on their feet,” Gregg told the Union Leader. “Currently, I am working with a number of my colleagues to come up with viable options for finding offsets for this emergency spending. I look forward to finding consensus on a solution that will make the most sense to ensure that we do not deficit-spend.”
Sen. John Sununu (R-N.H.) supports cutting transportation earmarks to pay for hurricane relief.
“As many are well aware, the bill included thousands and thousand of earmarks–about $24 billion worth of earmarks,” Sununu said in a press conference last week. “Eliminating those–scaling them back across the board–provides an opportunity for tens of billions of dollars in savings. Although the funding may have been well-intentioned, the budget requires fiscal responsibility, particularly in light of the dire needs associated with reconstruction in the Gulf States.”
Critics of the transportation bill have called for the removal of the earmarks as well.
“We support the effort to give back the earmarks, and cutting those projects would be a great start,” said Erich Zimmermann, senior policy analyst for Taxpayers for Common Sense. “I hope Congress doesn’t leave the hard work for another day, given we are facing record deficits.”
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