Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Log In
2009 Transportation Bill

House GOP Yanks Transportation Earmark Requests — For How Long?

3:24 PM EDT on March 22, 2010

When House Republicans voted recently to renounce all earmarks for this year, the move appeared to one-up Democrats' pledge to forgo earmarks to for-profit entities in 2010 -- a vow that would not extend to transportation projects.

large_steve_latourette.jpgRep. Steven LaTourette (R-OH) (Photo: Cleveland.com)

In fact, the congressional newspaper Roll Call reported today that GOP members of the House infrastructure committee have begun walking back their earmark requests for the next long-term federal transportation bill, leaving the panel's leaders with a smaller pool of local road, transit, and bridge projects to evaluate.

But the devil is in the details, as one Republican revealed to the newspaper (emphasis mine):

[The earmark removal] means that if a highway bill or water resources bill does move throughCongress this year, House Republicans may be the only Members who can’tget a road widened or a drainage ditch dug in their district. ...

Rep.Steven LaTourette (R-Ohio), who submitted four dozen project requestsfor the highway bill, said Friday, “The [GOP] Conference, for the reason thatthey think the current system is broken, they’ve decided to take alittle rest” from earmarks. But LaTourette said it seems unlikely thehighway bill or the WRDA bill is going to pass this year anyway, and“next year we are going to put in place something that makes the peoplewho think that earmarks in general are bad feel better ... and we willbe back to earmarks with transparency.”

Few in the capital would dispute LaTourette's prediction that lawmakers' opposition to a gas tax hike and reluctance to pursue alternative financing options spell further delays in new federal legislation.

But if the GOP reinstates its earmark requests after this fall's midterm elections, just in time for the next transportation bill to come to a vote in spring 2011, the party's time-limited ban may well backfire by alienating its conservative base.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Distracted Off-Duty Cop Jumped Curb and Killed Chicago Woman On Sidewalk

It's infuriating that a person who was entrusted to help keep the public safe was reckless enough to take her eyes off the road while driving to pick up a phone, with tragic consequences.

December 8, 2023

Friday’s Headlines Include Transit

An International Association of Public Transport study found that many countries are neglecting transit in their plans to combat climate change.

December 8, 2023

Calif. Using“Auxiliary Lane” Freeway Widening Loophole for Non-Aux Lane Projects

Beyond just using harmful loopholes legally, Metro and Caltrans deceptively bypass environmental regulations in order to keep on widening freeways.

December 8, 2023

Talking Headways Podcast: Sausage Making and the ADA

"It is fundamentally inappropriate to keep charging disabled people twice as much," our guest Ron Brooks says.

December 7, 2023

The Real Reason Assaults Against Transit Workers Are On The Rise

Hint: it's not just because service has been slashed.

December 7, 2023
See all posts