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Tuesday, November 17, 2009
NM PIRG Guest Blog: Campaign Contributions Greasing the Wheels for New Highway Construction?
This is a guest blog from New Mexico PIRG.
The nation has 73,000 crumbling bridges, but year after year startlingly few federal transportation dollars go to fixing them.
In 2008, for example, just a few months after the tragic Minneapolis bridge collapse which killed 13 and sparked alarm and outrage across the country, Congress directed only 74 of the 704 highway projects earmarked in the transportation appropriations bill to repair or maintain a bridge, tunnel, or overpass.
Only about ten percent of the projects, and about ten percent of the funding, focused on fixing the nation’s crumbling infrastructure. Most of the $570 million went for new highways and other new construction.
Millions of dollars also flowed in another direction … from highway construction companies and the trade associations that represent them to the campaign coffers of elected officials in New Mexico and Washington, D.C.
Were those dollars “greasing the wheels” in our state and federal capitols?
New Mexico PIRG’s new report, "Greasing the Wheels: the Crossroads of Campaign Money and Transportation Policy," looks at the 2008 transportation appropriations bill using data never before available, laying out the details of Congress’ earmark requests. The report, released on Monday, also examines the campaign contributions from highway construction interests both here in New Mexico and nationally.
Here in New Mexico, there are 404 bridges that the U.S. Department of Transportation has deemed “structurally deficient.” But in 2008, while 14 transportation earmarks were approved, totaling $8,268,000, only 3 were bridge repair projects.
“In our current political system, elected officials must raise huge sums of campaign contributions from major donors to win reelection,” said New Mexico PIRG Advocate Katie Lobosco.
“In part because of this, we believe that transportation spending is skewed toward road-widening and new highway projects favored by developers, road builders and the other interests who make those contributions,” she added.
“We need to clean up the campaign finance system so that lawmakers can focus on the needs of the public rather than their major donors,” she concluded.
The report, "Greasing the Wheels: the Crossroads of Campaign Money and Transportation Policy," is available on the New Mexico PIRG website by clicking here, or you can download a pdf of the report directly.
This is a guest blog by New Mexico PIRG. If you'd like to submit a piece for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link on the upper left-hand corner of the page.
November 17, 2009 at 09:02 AM in Ethics & Campaign Reform, Guest Blogger, Transportation | Permalink
Comments
I thought that generally the Feds built the Federal highways, but the states were responsible for maintaining them. Also, if you want federal money over a certain amount for an existing highway, there are environmental hurdles that are expensive and time-consuming. That tends to discourage large Federally-funded projects.
Posted by: Michelle Meaders | Nov 17, 2009 10:17:42 AM
“We need to clean up the campaign finance system so that lawmakers can focus on the needs of the public rather than their major donors,” she concluded."
Money is like water. It wicks, it flows around and it erodes through. The movement of money, like water, is one of the most powerful forces on earth. We have had campaign finance reform before and while it is important, our political system is still based on quantity of money and the destructive power behind it.
I know this is a radical idea and I know there is a lack of faith and hope. But, don't be blinded by cynicism only to scoff at the notion of CAMPAIGN REFORM.
If we want our Democracy back we need to restrict the way campaigns are conducted. They need to be rendered somber and boring and serious. Campaigns can be made to be substantive and require true discernment of the electorate.
I will push this notion every day that I hear this woeful complaint of how our politicians are paid off.
In all these seas of blogs and articles and opinions, I never have encountered this suggestion because all the people are so in-cultured to view everything through the optic of money and greed. We all need to work on widening and changing our angle of regard because the path we are on is unsustainable and will undermine our civilization.
Posted by: qofdisks | Nov 17, 2009 12:33:44 PM
gofdisks speaks the truth
Posted by: LG | Nov 17, 2009 1:40:38 PM
