LA Daily News: No fair share for roads

[question everything]

Los Angeles Daily News

No fair share for roads

Kern County steamrolls L.A. in federal highway bill
By Lisa Friedman
Washington Bureau

Tuesday, August 02, 2005 - WASHINGTON -- Despite its massive traffic-congestion problems, Los Angeles County got steamrolled in the recent fight for federal highway funds by nearby Kern County, which scored more than 15 times as much money per capita.

The difference was powerful Republican congressman Bill Thomas, chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, whose clout paved the way for Kern County -- population 744,325 -- to receive more than $722 million in the federal transportation spending bill approved Friday.

That's nearly $1,000 per resident. L.A., with 10 million people, got $625 million -- barely $60 per person.

(snip)

California lawmakers and other officials were careful not to accuse Thomas of impeding other allocations in the $286.5 billion federal transit bill now awaiting President George W. Bush's signature. But several officials in both Washington and the Southland said the amount of money obtained by Thomas -- including $140 million from a fund reserved for projects of "national and regional significance" -- underscores how parochial interests often win out when millions of dollars are at stake.

More..

http://www.dailynews.com/Stories/0,1413,200~20954~2991385,00.html#

Lisa Friedman, [phone] [e-mail]

[wtbymark]

1. hmmm, then I don't want to admit that.....

Vermont got 1billion

[papau]

3. ???Vermont got 6 earmarks for 16 million - where is the One Billion?

Under the legislation, each state would receive a share of federal highway funding depending on their contributions -- through the federal gas tax -- to the Highway Trust Fund. Vermont also got 6 earmarks for 16 million. http://www.taxpayer.net/Transportation/hr3database/states.htm

Afraid I don't see how ONE BILLION flows to Vermont!

:-)

[mrdmk]

2. The South Bound Grapevine has more traffic than Bakersfield

That is because of Los Angeles traffic is backing up! doh

[jwcomer]

4. typical of republicans

Basically you have the Democrat (a.k.a. free loaders) big city folks generating loads of tax revenues which then get siphoned off to the Republican (a.k.a. self sufficient folks) suburbs. Its just astonishing that Republicans can see themselves as anything other than free-loaders, and yet they are totally oblivious to reality.

[getmeouttahere]

5. This parellels the fact that the federal tax revunues...

disproportionately go to the states that generate much less tax revenue...so California and New York pay a large share of fixing Alabama's roads

[Sgent]

6. This is typical of both parties

One of our former reps was Jamie Whitten (D), chair of the house appropriations committee for years. As a testament to his position, we have a waterway at a cost of over 2billion dollars (in 1970's dollars) that doesn't have enough barge traffic to sustain a marina, much less justify the expense in building this monstrosity.