Yes, it is dubbed with the super-most-awesomest-name Transportation Empowerment Act.
Got that? We eliminate funding for future Federal transportation initiatives while replacing already authorized funding with block grants that the Federal government has not authority over.
Well the bill's sponsor, Mike Lee, sure has some interesting ideas on why it is necessary.
On the one hand I tend to think big, interstate projects should be handled by the feds. But on the other it does chafe me sometimes when a transit project (almost always in a blue state) gets railroaded (pardon the pun) by politicians in red states.
Now it is interesting that this is coming from the GOP as eliminating federal funding for transportation would hurt red states much more than blue states. But I worry that this would be bad for the nation as a whole. Pooling the national collective resources so that we can help everyone and thus empower the entire country is one of the benefits of a federal system.
And part of the problem is highlighted by a statement in support of the bill by the Heritage Action Group.
Yeah, people in states downwind should really just stop complaining about the pollution blowing in and demanding that the state where it originates do something about it.
Also....what is a political pet project? Is this code for any project that someone else might not like for some reason?
Quote:
A bill filed by Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) and Rep. Tom Graves (R-Ga.) would gradually eliminate federal funding of transportation projects. The measure, which has been dubbed the Transportation Empowerment Act (TEA), would lower the gas tax that currently pays for most federal transportation projects from 18.4 cents-per-gallon to 3.7 cents in five years. ... During the same time period, the bill would transfer authority over federal highways and transit programs to states and replace current congressional appropriations with block grants. |
Got that? We eliminate funding for future Federal transportation initiatives while replacing already authorized funding with block grants that the Federal government has not authority over.
Well the bill's sponsor, Mike Lee, sure has some interesting ideas on why it is necessary.
Quote:
Under our new system, Americans would no longer have to send significant gas-tax revenue to Washington, where sticky-fingered politicians, bureaucrats, and lobbyists take their cut before sending it back with strings attached. Instead, states and cities could plan, finance, and build better-designed and more affordable projects. Some communities could choose to build more roads, while others might prefer to repair old ones. Some might build highways, others light rail. And all would be free to experiment with innovative green technologies, and new ways to finance their projects, like congestion pricing and smart tolls. |
On the one hand I tend to think big, interstate projects should be handled by the feds. But on the other it does chafe me sometimes when a transit project (almost always in a blue state) gets railroaded (pardon the pun) by politicians in red states.
Now it is interesting that this is coming from the GOP as eliminating federal funding for transportation would hurt red states much more than blue states. But I worry that this would be bad for the nation as a whole. Pooling the national collective resources so that we can help everyone and thus empower the entire country is one of the benefits of a federal system.
And part of the problem is highlighted by a statement in support of the bill by the Heritage Action Group.
Quote:
"The states and private sector have proven more efficient users of taxpayer money, while the federal government through the Highway Trust Fund has wasted an unjustifiable amount of money through inefficiency, burdensome regulations, and distracting politicization—not to mention paying for the pet projects of lawmakers and special interests," the Heritage Action alert continue. |
Yeah, people in states downwind should really just stop complaining about the pollution blowing in and demanding that the state where it originates do something about it.
Also....what is a political pet project? Is this code for any project that someone else might not like for some reason?
via JREF Forum http://forums.randi.org/showthread.php?t=268927&goto=newpost
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