(Washington, D.C.) Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW)  released a list of the most egregious pork barrel projects spilling over in the $284 billion transportation bill passed yesterday by the House of Representatives.  The passage of the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (H.R. 3), by a vote of 417-9, coincides with the federal government posting a record $113.94 billion budget deficit in February.  President Bush last year threatened to veto any bill costing more than $256 billion, but has since raised the ceiling to $284 billion. 

“The transportation bill is a perfect illustration of why the government continues to accrue record deficits despite higher tax receipts and a growing economy,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “Members of Congress see every bill as an opportunity to stovepipe funding for pet projects to their home districts and states.”    

The transportation bill contains more than 4,000 earmarks worth approximately $12 billion, including:

·                     $200 million for a bridge in Alaska that would serve an island with 50 residents

$125 million for a bridge in Anchorage, Alaska

·                     $15 million to purchase three ferries and establish a ferry system from Rockaway Peninsula to Manhattan, New York

·                     $3 million to renovate and expand the National Packard Museum and adjacent historic Packard facilities in Warren, Ohio

·                     $2.88 million to construct a bike/pedestrian path in Delta Ponds, Oregon

·                     $1.7 million to reconstruct Union Station in North Canaan, Connecticut for a transportation museum

·                     $1.5 million to plan for “The American Road,” at the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan

·                     $1.3 million to construct a recreational visitor center on the Mesabi Trail in Virginia, Minnesota, part of which will be used for bike and rollerblade rental. 

·                     $580,000 to reconstruct a historic bridge crossing Maxwell Creek in Sodus, New York

·                     $500,000 to establish a transportation museum on the Navy Pier in Chicago, Illinois  

·                     $300,000 for Yonkers, New York, to buy a trolley

·                     $200,000 to construct a bicycle path in Petal, Mississippi

Citizens Against Government Waste is the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

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