McCain won't say whether he's in favor of $8 billion highway trust fund bailout
JOHN McCAIN
The Associated Press
9/12/2008
WASHINGTON — John McCain declined through an aide to say Friday whether he supports an $8 billion increase in highway funds heading for President Bush's approval, an issue that pits popular construction projects against his presidential campaign pledge to veto wasteful spending.
By one estimate, roughly $100,000 of the funds would go to projects in Alaska, home state of McCain's running mate, Gov. Sarah Palin. Her spokeswoman had no immediate comment on her position.
Congress cleared the measure on Thursday. Bush has signaled he will sign it despite earlier calling it a gimmick and threatening a veto. Congressional aides said the money would ensure timely completion of projects contained in a 2005 transportation bill — a measure that included about 6,300 items known as earmarks that lawmakers inserted.
The money would come from the Treasury and is designed to make up for insufficient federal gasoline tax revenue, which pays for highways, bridge repairs and similar construction projects.
Asked for McCain's views, spokesman Brian Rogers said in an e-mail that Transportation Secretary Mary Peters' request "for an immediate federal bailout of $8 billion is just another example of how Washington is broken. ... The federal transportation must be redirected towards the nation's true needs and away from pork-barrel projects."
In a subsequent e-mail, he said McCain "did not object to the bill because we need to keep improving our nation's infrastructure. ... President McCain will fight for a pork-free highway bill where money is spent on real priorities and not on wasteful or non-urgent projects."
Neither statement expressed opposition to the legislation or said that McCain would veto it if he were president.
McCain's White House rival, Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois, issued a statement supporting the measure when it passed the Senate.
According to Democratic estimates, which cite data from the Federal Highway Administration, the shortage threatens projects that involve nearly 380,000 jobs in a time of rising unemployment. The money would be spread across all 50 states.
Apart from McCain's position on the bill, the widespread support the measure drew in Congress underscores the difficulty he could face as president if he seeks to carry out his pledge to eliminate the construction projects backed by individual lawmakers.
"I got an old ink pen, my friends, and the first pork barrel-laden earmark, big-spending bill that comes across my desk, I will veto it," he said earlier this week at a rally in suburban Virginia.
"You will know their names. I will make them famous and we'll stop this corruption."
Yet governors as well as many lawmakers customarily take the view that highway construction is a political winner with constituents. And while McCain does not seek earmarks, Palin did while mayor of Wasilla, Alaska, and again as governor, and Obama has also.
The National Governors' Association appealed to congressional leaders this week to approve the funding. A letter by Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholn, a Democrat, and South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds, a Republican, said the money "will enable states to continue to finance highway projects that improve safety, ensure rural and urban mobility and access, increase the mobility of people and goods, and promote a sound economy through well-paying construction jobs.
The legislation's popularity was unmistakable as it made its way through Congress. It cleared the Senate on a voice vote and then passed the House by a margin of 376-29.
The Bush administration initially threatened to veto the measure, calling it a "gimmick and a dangerous precedent" that would raise the deficit. "It is clear that much more work needs to be done to re-prioritize highway spending and cut down on wasteful projects," the Office of Management and Budget said in a July 23 letter.
The legislation that passed Congress this week does not state which projects would receive the additional funding, but congressional aides said that much of the money would go toward projects contained in a five-year transportation bill that passed in 2005. The measure included about 6,300 earmarks worth an estimated $24 billion.
"Much of this bill is not about roads and bridges," Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., said this week as the bill moved through Congress. "It's numerous wasteful earmarks that I'm afraid could end up as part of this $8 billion."
McCain has grappled with similar issues at other points in his campaign.
Earlier in the year, he supported a summertime suspension of the federal gasoline tax, a step that would have lowered the price of fuel for consumers but also aggravated the shortage of money available to build highways.