Sen. Tom Coburn, R-OK, and Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, are probably the first two names that come to mind for a listing of senators most likely to spot problems in the federal budget. And taxpayers should thank them for putting the truth ahead of popularity because no other pair of senators does as much to highlight waste, fraud, abuse, hypocrisy and apathy in government.
They recently asked the Government Accounting Office (GAO) to see how much money from the federal Highway Trust Fund goes to pay for projects other than road and bridge maintenance. They just got the response back from GAO. Here’s a small selection of the $87 billion GAO found that should have been spent to keep roads and bridges – remember the 1-35 bridge collapse in Minnesota? – but which was instead spent on other projects, many as a result of earmarks in transportation appropriation bills:
· Over $2 billion on 5,547 bike paths and pedestrian walkways, including $878,000 for a pedestrian and bicycle bridge for a Minnesota town of 847. An additional $2 million in federal stimulus funds for a bike lane along a deteriorating road in Pennsylvania, where exasperated local officials say the road is so bad they may be forced to drive on the bike path instead.
· $850 million for 2,772 “scenic beautification” and landscaping projects around the country;
· $121 million for 63 ferry projects and ferry terminal facilities, including $1.6 million for a ferry boat program in Oklahoma that featuresSaturday morning cartoon cruises with Bugs Bunny and Wile E. Coyote on the ferry’s flat screen T.V.;
· $84 million for 398 pedestrian and bicyclist safety projects, including a brochure that encourages bicyclists to “Make eye contact, smile, or wave to communicate with motorists. Courtesy and predictability are a key to safe cycling”;
· $3.1 million in federal stimulus funds to make a historic canal boat a permanent floating museum in New York, in addition to the $28 million already obligated for transportation museums from FY2004-2008;
· $18 million for motorcyclist safety grants; which helped fund a “cruisin’ without bruisin’” brochure reminding bikers to “Obey traffic lights, signs, speed limits, and lane markings … and always check behind you and signal before you change lanes”; and
· $3.4 million in federal stimulus funds for a road-kill reduction project in Florida, which will help turtles and other wildlife pass under a highway.
