'Coconut Road Exchange' causes feds fits

Sen. Tom Coburn

The Associated Press

4/17/2008

WASHINGTON — Legislation aimed at making minor repairs to a 2005 highway spending bill sparked fierce debate in the Senate over what to do about a $10 million Florida project apparently slipped into the bill after the House and Senate voted on it.

On Wednesday, Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, a leading critic of earmarks, or special projects promoted by lawmakers, sought creation of a House-Senate commission to look into how the "Coconut Road Interchange" project made its way into the five-year, $286 billion highway bill three years ago.

Sen. Barbara Boxer, chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, countered with a proposal to have the Justice Department review allegations of impropriety and possible violations of federal criminal law.

Boxer, D-Calif., said the bill, which fixes errors and makes modifications to more than 400 projects included in the 2005 act, was also being held up by "presidential politics ... dealing with the gas tax."