Citizens Against Government Waste (CAGW) today named House Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) Porker of the Month for August, 2007. In the wake of the bridge collapse in the congressman’s home state in which at least nine people were killed, Chairman Oberstar’s immediate reaction was to propose a “temporary” 5 cent increase in the gas tax to raise $25 billion within three years for a new bridge trust fund.A tax increase is not necessary. As President Bush said, “Before we raise taxes which could affect economic growth, I would strongly urge the Congress to examine how they set priorities. And if bridges are a priority, let's make sure we set that priority first and foremost before we raise taxes.” The nation’s aging infrastructure is not a state secret. In 2005, when Congress was considering a major highway bill reauthorization, the American Society of Civil Engineers reported that more than a quarter of the nation’s bridges were structurally deficient or obsolete.
The 2005 highway bill contained $2 billion annually for bridge reconstruction. During its markup of the bill, the House Transportation Committee considered increasing that figure to $3 billion a year. The committee not only failed to include the higher level of bridge repair funding, it opened the door for members of Congress to stuff the bill with nearly 6,500 pork-barrel projects worth more than $24 billion, about the same amount now being sought by Rep. Oberstar with his proposed tax increase. “High-priority” transportation projects in the 2005 legislation included $452 million for the infamous “Bridges to Nowhere” in Alaska, $5 million to improve air quality in the Sacramento region of California, $4 million to develop bicycle paths and public park space adjacent to the New River in Calexico, California, and $4 million for streetscape, pedestrian improvements in Clarkson, Georgia.
Chairman Oberstar himself was a participant in that earmark melee. Rather than send funds to repair and restore bridges in his state, he added five projects totaling $14.6 million for Duluth, Minnesota, including $3.2 million for the Willard Munger State Trail extension, the longest paved recreational trail in the nation. Since the bridge collapse in Minneapolis, Chairman Oberstar now says he wants his new bridge trust fund plan to eschew all earmarking and extraneous spending. Had he made that pledge in 2005, his new “temporary” increase in the gas tax would be unnecessary. Instead of talking taxes, Chairman Oberstar should demand that Congress give the Secretary of Transportation authority to immediately transfer the billions of dollars in unobligated earmarked funds to bridge repairs.The August 11 Rochester Post Bulletin quoted Rep. Oberstar as follows: "If you're not prepared to invest another five cents in bridge reconstruction and road reconstruction, then God help you." To which one might reply, “If members of Congress are not prepared to wisely spend the money they already have for bridge construction and road construction, then God help them.”
For seizing an opportunity to turn tragedy into tax increases and an unnecessary new trust fund, and for protecting transportation pork, CAGW names Rep. Jim Oberstar its August 2007 Porker of the Month.
