(Washington, D.C.) The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today opposed the pork projects and special interest tax breaks found in the conference report on the Transportation Equity Act.  The conference version of the bill passed the House of Representatives today by a vote of 412-8.  The Senate is scheduled to take up the bill before recess. 

“This legislation is yet another example of lawmakers catering to special interests,” CAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “The pork projects were not enough; Congress also had to include unrelated tax breaks in this bloated highway bill.”

The bill includes $230 million for the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere,” now renamed “Don Young’s Way,” connecting Gravina Island (population: 50) with the Alaskan mainland. 

Also coming to light are questionable tax breaks in the bill that have little to do with transportation, including:

• Repeal of special occupational taxes on producers and marketers of alcoholic beverages

• Income tax credit for distilled spirits wholesalers

• Cap on excise tax on certain fishing equipment

• Luxury transportation: Tax exemptions on air transportation provided by seaplanes and certain sightseeing flights

“This bill is just the latest in last minute pieces of pork-laden legislation that Congress has passed before summer recess,” Schatz said.  “As members of Congress pack their pork-laden bags and head out on vacation, taxpayers are left with a $333 billion budget deficit.  CCAGW recommends the following reading material for summer recess to remind Congress of the proper role of the federal government: Burning Money by Peter Grace, The Federalist Papers, and The Road to Serfdom by Friedrich Hayek.”

Here is a sampling of some of the more than 6,000 egregious projects in the highway bill:

$48,000,000    Replace and reconstruct South Capitol Street/Frederick Douglass Memorial Bridge (DC)

$40,000,000    PATCO Rolling Stock acquisition and/or renovation for use on line between Lindenwold and Locust Street (Philadelphia, New Jersey)

$16,800,000    Construct a tunnel as part of the Bremerton Pedestrian-Bremerton Transportation Center Access Improvement project (WA)

$14,000,000    Improve marine intermodal facilities in Ketchikan (AK)

$5,000,000      City of Robstown Trade Processing and Inland Center (TX)

$5,000,000      Road and transportation improvements near the Brooklyn Children’s Museum (Brooklyn, New York)

$5,000,000      Improve air quality in the Sacramento region, Sacramento Area Council of Governments (California)

$5,000,000      Completion of the first of three phases of trails in the Regional Trails Program (Oregon)

$5,000,000      University of Oklahoma, to conduct research on global tracking methods for intermodal containerized freight (Norman, Oklahoma)

$4,000,000      U.S. Route 13 Corridor Reconstruction, Redevelopment and Beautification,
                      Bucks County (PA)

$4,000,000      Develop bicycle paths and public park space adjacent to the New River (Calexico, California)

$4,000,000      Reconstruction of Ashburton Avenue (Yonkers, New York)

$4,000,000      Streetscape, Pedestrian Improvements in City Center, City of Clarkson (GA)

$3,600,000      Independence National Historic Park scenic enhancement and pedestrian walkways improvement project in conjunction with the park’s Executive Mansion Exhibit

$3,400,000      National Park Service transportation improvements to Historic Jamestowne (VA)

$3,200,000      Construct Phase 2 of the Jones Falls Trail from Baltimore Penn Station to the Maryland Science Center on the Inner Harbor   (MD)

$300,000         Complete heritage tourism work plans for communities along SR 6 (PA)

$3,000,000      Middle Fork Willamette River Path, Springfield (OR)

$3,000,000      Cedar Lake Regional Trail, Minneapolis (MN)

$2,880,000      Delta Ponds Bike/Pedestrian Path (OR)

$2,800,000      Construct bicycle/pedestrian path and facilities in the Central park area of Madison (WI)

$2,800,000      West Ridge Nature Preserve, Chicago (IL)

$2,750,000      Renovate and expand the National Packard Museum and adjacent historic Packard facilities (Warren, Ohio)

$2,500,000      Bury the power lines at India Point (Rhode Island)

$2,480,000      Construct bike/pedestrian paths, Chicago (IL)

$2,400,000      Red River National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center (LA)

$2,400,000      National Infantry Museum Transportation Network

$2,320,000      Will add landscaping enhancements along the Ronald Reagan

          Freeway Route 118 for aesthetic purposes (CA)

$2,240,000      Improvements to Intermodal Transportation Facility and Construction of Waterfront Esplanade at Fort Totten (NY)

$2,000,000      Construct an intermodal center at the Philadelphia Zoo (PA)

$2,000,000      Roadway, pedestrian, and streetscape improvements for the New Cassel Revitalization Project (North Hempstead, New York)

$2,000,000      Construction of a parking facility at the University of the Incarnate Word (San Antonio, Texas)

$1,920,000      Construct bike path, parking facility, and related transportation enhancement projects, North Riverside (IL)

$1,800,000      Construct a visitor interpretive center at the Gray Fossil Site (Gray, Tennessee)

$1,600,000      Jersey City 6^th Street Viaduct Pedestrian and Bicycle Pathway Project (NJ)

$1,600,000      Construct bicycle and pedestrian trains, Durham and Durham County (NC)

$1,600,000      Central Hall Recreation and Multi-Use Trail, Hall County (GA)

$1,600,000      Construct a bicycle/pedestrian path, and two bridges across Starkweather Creek (Madison, Wisconsin)

$1,600,000      Completion of the American Tobacco Trail (Durham and Chatham Counties, North Carolina)

$1,600,000      Street improvements, Abington Township (PA)

$1,500,000      Construct a bridge for the Paul Bunyan Trail over Excelsior Road (Baxter, Minnesota)

$1,500,000      Construction of pedestrian and bike trail campus improvements (St. Bonaventure, New York)

$1,300,000      Construct recreational visitor center on the Mesabi Trail, City of Virginia

$1,200,000      Blue Ridge Music Center install lighting/steps, upgrade existing trail system and equip interpretative center with visitor information (VA)

$1,120,000      Terry’s Corner Park and Ride on Camano Island (WA)

$1,000,000      Restoration of the Van Cortlandt Manor Entrance near Croton (NY)

$1,000,000      Improvements to access roads at the Please Touch Museum (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania)

$1,000,000      The Journey Through Hallowed Ground, Rt. 15, scenic corridor management planning and implementation, FY 2006 (Virginia)

$1,000,000      Construction and improvements from Rt. 60 to Mariners Museum and the USS Monitor Center (Virginia)

$1,000,000      Bristol Train Station--historic preservation and rehabilitation of former Bristol, VA train station (VA)

$960,000         Implement streetscape improvements on segments of Laurel Canyon Blvd. and Victory Blvd.  in North Hollywood (CA)

$960,000         Extend the Sioux Falls Bike Trail to the Great Bear Recreation Area (SD)

$960,000         Transportation enhancements to Children’s Museum of Los Angeles (CA)

$878,080         Construct a pedestrian and bicycle bridge across TH 169, Onamia (MN)

$800,000         Powerline Rearvision motor carrier backover motor carrier safety research (FL)

$800,000         Construct a parking facility and improve museum pedestrian access from trolley station (San Diego, California)

$800,000         Construct Stone-Mountain-Lithonia road Bike Lane and Sidewalks, Dekalb County (GA)

$800,000         Fries Train Station and Trail restoration of former train station for use as visitors center and construction of trail along New River (VA)

$800,000         Construct Transportation and Heritage Museum in Townsend (TN)

$800,000         Improve access from I-8 and construct a parking lot for the Imperial Sand Dunes Recreation Area Visitor’s Center (Imperial Valley, California)

$800,000         Project will revitalize staircases used as streets due to steep grade of terrain in areas in which they are located, the Bronx (NY)

$800,000         Acquisition of land along CA 86 at the Desert Cahuilla Prehistoric Site, Imperial County for environmental mitigation related to reducing wildlife mortality while maintaining habitat connectivity (CA)

$800,000         Construct Hudson River Waterfront Walkway over Long Slip Canal Hoboken and Jersey City (NJ)

$750,000         Road Improvements and upgrades related to the Pennsylvania State Baseball
                      Stadium (PA)

$700,000         Construct a bicycle/pedestrian path and facilities in the Central Park area (Madison, Wisconsin)

$640,000         Court Street & Smith Street Shopping District Enhancements (NY)

$640,000         Extend bicycle trail system in Aberdeen (SD)

$640,000         Build additional staircases, landscape, and other improvements to the marsupial bridge at the Holton St. Viaduct in Milwaukee (WI)

$576,000         Construct bike/pedestrian paths, facilities and infrastructure improvements in Spring Rock Park, Western Springs Park District (IL)

$500,000         Restore and renovate for historic preservation the 1906 AB&A Railroad Building, Fitzgerald (GA)

$500,000         Restore and expand the Maritime Heritage site (Bristol, Rhode Island)

$471,000         Edge of Wilderness Discovery Center (Marcell, Minnesota)

$432,000         Establish transportation museum on Navy Pier, Chicago (IL)

$400,000         City of Sylvester Bicycle and Pedestrian Project (GA)

$400,000         Improve sidewalks, upgrade lighting, and add landscaping in downtown Glennville (GA)

$400,000         Uptown Jogging, Bicycle, Trolley Trail, Columbus (GA)

$320,000         Plan and construct a bicycle and pedestrian trail (Shelbyville, Tennessee)

$300,000         Construct a Welcome Center and pedestrian trail (Abbeville, Georgia)

$250,000         Construct pedestrian and vehicular access road to Riverfront Park (Glastonbury, Connecticut)

$200,000         Develop trails, bike paths, and recreational facilities on Brady Mountain, Cumberland County for Cumberland Trail State Park (Tennessee)

$200,000         Extend bike trail in Pine Ridge to the SuAnne Big Crow Boys & Girls Center (SD)

$186,000         Design and reconstruct residential streets (Muncie, Indiana)

$160,000         Construction of pedestrian and bike path adjacent to Tammany Trace Rails-to-Trails Corridor (LA)

$160,000         Pedestrian Improvements for Leeds (AL)

$100,000         Construction of a traffic signal at the intersection of Independence Avenue and Sherman Way (CA)

$80,000           Construction of pedestrian walkways in Village of Northport (NY)  

$75,000           Complete construction of paths at Hamilton County Riverwalk (Noblesville, Indiana)

$33,440           Trolly Barn (Harrison, Arkansas)