(Washington, D.C.) — The House is considering passage of the Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users, (H.R. 3550) that will provide funding for surface transportation infrastructure improvements and safety programs throughout the country.  President Bush submitted a six-year $256 billion funding proposal, and threatened to veto any legislation passed by Congress over that amount.  Initially, the House requested $375 billion, but this number was eventually whittled down to $275 billion.  Nonetheless, the current version is full of pork, including 2,800 projects costing $11 billion.  Hopefully, the President will follow through with his threat and exercise his veto power until the bill is pork free.  The following is a sampling of the pork projects included in the bill:

-$8,000,000 to replace the Edward N. Waldvogel viaduct in Ohio;

-$3,000,000 for a riverwalk project with a continuous river-edge walkway creating a system of parks in downtown  

 Montgomery, Ala.;

-$1,500,000 for the construction of pedestrian streetscape improvements on Ocean Boulevard and Anaheim Street

 in Long Beach, Calif., including lighting, landscaping, irrigation, seating, drinking fountains, bicycle racks and trash

 receptacles;  

-$1,500,000 for the Rocky Knob Appalachian Heritage Center for a feasibility study and design, site acquisition for trail system and visitors center on the Blue Ridge Parkway in Va.;

-$250,000 for Applachian traditions for the construction of outdoor facilities along the Music Heritage Trail in

 Josephine, Va.;

-$250,000 to construct the Crawford Museum of Transportation and Industry at Aviation High School in Cleveland, 

 Ohio; and

-$134,917 for historic preservation of a city bus station in downtown Eastman, Texas.

CAGW will provide continuing updates on pork in the transportation bill.  For more information, please visit: /site/PageServer?pagename=policy_porkbarrelreport.

Citizens Against Government Waste is a nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, mismanagement and abuse in government.