As investigators and engineers examine the I-35 bridge in Minnesota for clues about what caused it to collapse, officials in Washington have a moral obligation to conduct a similar review. We can honor the victims by asking: Are there structural flaws in our political system that allow tragedies like this to occur?Unfortunately, this discussion has, so far, produced little more than partisan recriminations and knee-jerk demands for increased spending and gas taxes. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) was right to call the bridge collapse a “wake-up call” but it was intellectually dishonest for him to add that “since 9/11 we’ve taken our eye off the ball.”
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) also brought more heat than light to the debate by slamming President Bush’s threat to veto infrastructure bills that bust the budget. “The lack of investment in infrastructure is frightening,” Murray fumed, “This is what [Bush] is threatening to veto -- investment in infrastructure for [roads] we go to work on every day.”
It is undeniable that official Washington has “taken its eye off the ball” with respect to bridge safety, and a host of other issues. Yet, the true structural flaw in our political system is not insufficient spending, but misplaced priorities.
No area better illustrates Congress’ misplaced priorities than pork-barrel spending. The Federal Highway Administration declared the bridge “structurally deficient” in 1990 and directly warned Minnesota officials. Yet, since 1990, Congress has show more devotion to pork-barrel spending than repair work.
The 1981 transportation contained only 10 earmarks. President Reagan vetoed a transportation bill in 1987 that contained 121 earmarks, saying, “I haven't seen this much lard since I handed out blue ribbons at the Iowa State Fair.” Moving ahead to 2005, Congress passed a transportation bill that included an astonishing 6,371 earmarks, or ten percent of the bill’s total $286 billion cost. Unfortunately, President Bush refused to veto this bill, giving his tacit approval to Congress’ earmark spending binge...
An excellent, much-needed argument from Senator Tom Coburn. Read it in its entirety in this Human Events article.
