Rail a surprise winner in stimulus
The Obama administration may have found its "signature issue" on a local hot topic: railroad improvements. Politico.com reports that $8 billion–- just over one percent of the total Stimulus Package–- will fund high-speed rail infrastructure, thanks to closed-door Congressional bargaining.
6 comments
The train to NYC is as likely as getting HDTV from the Newsplex stations.
Most of the railway "stimulus" is really a pork barrel project for Sen Harry Reid (D-NV) and Nevada.
jim, you're wrong - that was a story concocted by republicans to raise outrage over the stimulus. It's completely false - there is no basis behind it at all, and there is no such earmark in the bill.
True, Reid played a role in including this provision in the bill, but it was mostly Obama's doing, and Reid himself acknowledges that his pet project will have to wait in line and compete for stimulus funding along with all the other high speed rail projects in the country.
The truth is, republicans just went looking for pork. The fact is, though, that so much of the spending is being left up to the states, that there are basically no congressional earmarks in the text of the bill to point to as pork. Not to say that all of this money will be used effectively - the states will surely have a heyday with it - but the Repubs wanted something to highlight RIGHT NOW so they pretty much made a story up.
Orulz, you're flat wrong about it. It was a last minute add for Reid.
jm, I can't find the so-called pork you're talking about. Can you provide a link or citation instead of a one sentence accusation?
Can you find the link to the railroad section of the bill?