Hogging the Road

The House of Representatives has just passed the most expensive public works transportation bill ever, loaded with hundreds of pork barrel projects aimed at helping incumbents in both parties who face tough elections this fall. The price tag on the six-year highway bill has ballooned to $217 billion, at least $26 billion more than the amount penciled in under the balanced budget agreement between Congress and President Clinton. Amid the gloating--every state succeeded in getting a little extra--lurks the big question of what federal programs would be cut to offset this budget buster.

The nation indisputably needs to repair and modernize its transportation infrastructure, from highways to bridges to mass transit, and California is one of the states to which these transportation dollars are most important. But Washington has regressed too far back into pork politics now that government coffers are flush with cash. Take especially the $9 billion earmarked for more than 1,400 highway demonstration projects, and the millions more for bus and transit projects. Included are $3 million to fund a public television documentary about the importance of infrastructure, $500,000 for the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts to study how to improve access to the facility and $30 million for the Smithsonian Institution for transportation-related exhibits.

The House bill now must be reconciled with the Senate’s $214-billion transportation bill in conference committee. Both are billions of dollars beyond the House $181.9-billion and Senate $173-billion spending plans.

The economy is not likely to be as buoyant as it is now over the six-year span of the legislation. The committee should whittle down the House legislation and also firmly identify offsets for spending over the amount indicated in the balanced budget agreement. And those cuts should not be at the expense of programs rebuilding the nation’s social infrastructure, such as in education.

Congressional members returning to their home districts for the spring break may be gleeful about the prospect of bringing home some bacon, but there’s time for Congress to slim these transportation piggies back to more sensible proportions.