New Investigation Finds 2,100 Transport Lobbyists Working the System
Interest groups seeking to influence transportation policy-making have long flooded the capital with campaign cash and lobbyists -- and their numbers are rising at an eye-popping rate. Nearly 1,800 interests are employing at least 2,100 transportation lobbyists to work the system in anticipation of the next federal infrastructure bill, according to a Center for Public Integrity investigation unveiled today.
(Photo: Pufferfish)The Center's work directly answers a question asked by many attendees at last week's University of Virginia infrastructure conference: How can the public be awakened to the relevance and political importance of transportation as an issue?
Unfortunately for the elite industry players who attended the conference, the answer may be that the public isn't yet aware of just how much waste is built into state and federal transportation spending. From the Center's initial report:
The matter of how and from where the federal money is actually doledout is among the biggest headaches. The majority of federal dollars forthese various transportation programs actually get distributed to stateand local governments to be spent at their discretion. But that hascaused problems.
For one thing, wrotethe Government Accountability Office last year, “Rigorous economicanalysis does not generally drive the investment decisions of state andlocal governments.” That was an understatement. Most statetransportation agencies surveyed by the GAO in 2004 — 34 out of 43 —called political support and public opinion “very important” wheninvesting federal dollars. Only eight states attributed the sameimportance to cost-benefit analyses.
With the debate in Congress currently focused not on how to reform the bloated, broken system but how long to delay reform, it's unclear whether the Center's findings can move the needle in the short term.
But that all-but-certain postponement of the next federal transportation bill makes today's report all the more shocking. Anyone who reads it will find no reason to support 12 or 18 more months of federal transportation funding distributed through an unaccountable system of state DOTs.
Stay in touch
Sign up for our free newsletter
More from Streetsblog USA
To Help Save the Planet, Take the ‘Week Without Driving’ Challenge
Former Sierra Club President Ramón Cruz is urging Americans to give up driving for seven days — and support policies to make it optional for everyone.
Labor Gains: NYC Judge Tosses App Giants’ Suit to Stop Deliverista Minimum Wage
Justice Nicholas Moyne cleared the way for a long-delayed wage hike for workers who brave dangerous roads to bring food directly to New Yorkers.
Friday’s Headlines Are Charged Up
Expect a lot fewer ordinary gas stations and a few more Buc-ee's in your area as the electric vehicle transition continues.
Commentary: Let’s Talk About the Real “Fatal Flaw” on Valencia
How many people have to die before professional advocates stop endorsing the Valencia Street "experiment" on people?
Talking Headways Podcast: Beyond Greenways
This week we’re joined by Bob Searns to talk about his new book and grand ideas for walking trails that circle whole regions and more local routes that make up a new mode of green infrastructure in cities.
