Despite ‘pork,’ highway bill brings improvement

House Editorial

Think of the pothole that seems to reappear in the driveway every winter, then remember the extra sleep you used to get before traffic tacked on an extra 30 minutes to every commute to work. With the U.S. House of Representatives’ recent 357-65 passing of a major $275 billion highway and transit funding bill, those nuisances hopefully will fade over the next six years.

Most people in developing areas, such as Northern Virginia, can agree that expansion has made the phrase "bumper-to-bumper" as common as stoplights. However, several White House officials are urging President George W. Bush to veto the bill, which apparently lacks a base for such high fiscal spending.

Now, again, think of the potholes.

With several areas in the United States tearing at the seams from highway and transit problems, $275 billion is a wise use of taxpayer dollars — dollars that go toward something concrete.

The bill is split up into different pieces — highway works receive $217 billion, mass transit systems receive $51 billion and safety and research gets about $6 billion. Included in the funding is a criticized $11 billion for about 3,000 ear marks — that is, individual projects — such as a parking lot in Montana or horse trails in Virginia.

Think of the potholes.

Many opponents to the bill accuse the earmarks of being "pork-barrel" legislation. What is the point of electing representatives in the U.S. House if they aren’t going to vie for specific projects in their neighborhoods? Compared to the total of $275 billion included in the bill, $11 billion is chump change. As such a small portion of the bill — the ear marks, though important — shouldn’t lead to hesitation when voting for the bill.

Again, think of the potholes.

Your state representative — assuming that he or she voted for the bill — wants those car-bruising pits to be filled up, too.

Two other major factors that push this highway and transit funding bill above its predecessors, are its creation of jobs and economically- sound developments.

With a nation whose economy slowly is making its way out of a slump, and with presidential elections coming up around the bend, it would be unwise for President Bush to veto a bill that can employ millions. Similarly, with an emphasis placed on mass- transit systems, the bill will allow for bus and subway systems to be upgraded and expanded, therefore leaving fewer cars on the roads and less smog in the air.

While many bills that get passed through the U.S. House attempt to fill voids that don’t affect Americans on a day-to-day basis, this highway and transit funding bill attempts to fill the potholes in national transportation as well as local communities. Often, representatives’ wrangling for benefits for their districts can detract from a bill, but this time every district benefits from the "pork-barrel" legislation.