House passes temporary extension of current bill 

(Washington, D.C.)  As the House of Representatives passed a temporary 60 day extension of the current transportation bill, the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) today blasted both the House and Senate for negotiating a six-year transportation bill that is stuffed with pork and greatly exceeds the administration’s spending limit.  President Bush has threatened to veto the bill if lawmakers cannot cut the overall price.  Politicians have refused to consider eliminating pork as a means of cutting spending.

“It is time for the administration to stop allowing free-spending members of Congress to push them around,” CCAGW President Tom Schatz said.  “President Bush should utilize his veto power in order to protect taxpayers from this crime against fiscal responsibility.” 

Both the House and Senate versions call for tax increases and exceed the $256 billion limit set by President Bush.  The Senate bill, S. 1072, which costs $318 billion over six yeas calls for adjustments in the tax code to increase revenue.  The House companion, H.R. 3550, which costs $284 billion, is partly financed through an increase in the federal gas tax.  Currently, House and Senate negotiators are meeting with the administration to strike a compromise on the bill’s total cost before it heads to conference.  Many House Republicans are pushing for a provision which would allow lawmakers to revisit the bill after the election in order to reset spending levels.  An attempt to “reset” spending levels is just a cynical attempt to increase spending after the election. 

“Increasing the gas tax will only strain the economy by forcing hard-working taxpayers to pay more at the pump. Any increase in taxes will take money out of the market and place it in the hands of congressional porkers,” Schatz continued.  “In addition, lawmakers should not have the option to revisit this legislation in the future and add more pork.” 

The House measure includes approximately 3,000 parochial projects for home districts—double the number approved in the previous six-year highway bill passed in 1997.  The bill’s generous list of parochial projects include: $2,000,000 for a high-speed catamaran ferry in Massachusetts; $1,500,000 for the Henry Ford Museum in Michigan; $1,000,000 to restore and expand a maritime heritage site in Bristol, Rhode Island; and $1,000,000 for a parking lot in San Diego, California.

“If lawmakers want to cut spending from this bill, all they have to do is start with their own earmarks,” Schatz said.  “Unfortunately for the taxpayers, members of Congress want to have their pork and eat it too.  Right now, President Bush’s veto power is all that stands in the way of this legislation becoming law.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation's largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.