Seeking to position themselves in the upcoming (and ongoing) debate of a new federal transportation bill, and on the heels of an $7 billion transfer from the general fund to keep the bankrupt Highway Trust Fund solvent, Senators Tom Coburn (R-OK) and John McCain (R-AZ) have published a report (PDF here) that blasts Government expenditures on bike, pedestrian and other non-highway projects.
The report, titled, Out of Gas: Congress Raids the Highway Trust Fund for Pet Projects While Bridges and Roads Crumble, was released in response to a report (commissioned by Coburn and McCain, download PDF here) by the Governmental Accountability Office that $78 billion in funds from the Highway Trust Fund between 2004 and 2008 has been spent, “for purposes other than construction and maintenance of highways and bridges.”
“Flowers, bike paths, and even road-kill reduction programs, are just some of the many examples of extraneous expenditures.”
In their report, McCain and Coburn said continued bailouts of the Highway Fund and the transportation system won’t help. Instead, they write, “Congress must begin by reprioritizing funds.”
In particular, McCain and Coburn say that Congress must reign in spending on “extraneous expenditures” like, “Flowers, bike paths, and even road-kill reduction programs.”
The Senators focus a lot of their anger on the Transportation Enhancements program. TE is pot of federal money in the realm of about $800 million per year which helps to fund many bike and pedestrian related projects. In the report, McCain and Coburn specifically call out U.S. Congressman Jim Oberstar (who, as Chair of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee is front and center in pushing for a new transportation bill) as one legislator guilty of using TE funds to bring an earmark project to his constituents — an $880,000 bike and pedestrian bridge in Onamia, Minnesota.
The report lists detailed stats on how much money the federal government has spent on bike paths over the years as if McCain and Coburn are airing dirty laundry that Americans should be outraged about.
McCain and Coburn also go after $84 million spent on projects going toward safety and education of people who bike and walk. From the report:
“Efforts can be made to increase the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, but do today’s transportation circumstances warrant 398 federally funded projects costing taxpayers $84 million?”
“Efforts can be made to increase the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists, but do today’s transportation circumstances warrant 398 federally funded projects costing taxpayers $84 million?”
McCain and Coburn list many other transportation-related projects and expenditures that should not be prioritized including a new motorcyclist safety program, highway runoff pollution mitigation, and programs to reduce roadkill.
In their conclusion, the senators write:
“No one is saying our nation should be without flowers and ferries or bike paths and boat museums. But today’s choices must be about priorities. Should those priorities include spending millions on programs that tell bikers to smile and making states use funds for the safety of their turtles instead of the safety of their citizens?”
The League of American Bicyclists has already responded to the senators’ report.
In an article published by the Energy and Environmental Policy News’ Greenwire (subscription only), LAB policy analyst Darren Flusche said the accusations from McCain and Coburn that the highway fund is being depleted by bike and ped projects is “baseless.” He pointed out that in the same GAO study, it was found the the government spent less on bike and pedestrian projects in the past 18 years than the $7 billion Congress approved last week to keep the highway trust fund alive through August.