[Congressional Record Volume 140, Number 136 (Monday, September 26, 1994)]
[House]
[Page H]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]


[Congressional Record: September 26, 1994]
From the Congressional Record Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]

 
                            HIGHWAY ROBBERY

  (Mr. WOLF asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. WOLF. Mr. Speaker, today, I want to discuss the 1995 
Transportation appropriations bill that went to conference late last 
week. The highway demonstration projects account of the bill is 
particularly troubling.
  Before the bill went to conference, Chairmen Carr and Lautenberg 
agreed to share the highway funding between the Chambers at a 52-48 
percent split. The House's share of the $352 million was about $170 
million which Chairman Carr and the subcommittee handled fairly. The 
Senate's share, on the other hand, about $183 million, was highway 
robbery.
  Of the $183 million in the Senate, one State, West Virginia, got $95 
million, or 53 percent, for two projects--$90 million for the 
controversial Corridor H and another $5 million for Route 52 
improvements. To put it in terms that everyone can easily understand, 
West Virginia got more Senate money for highway demonstration projects 
than the rest of the country combined--1.8 million people got $95 
million while the rest of the country, about 254 million, splits $88 
million. And let me just say for the record, the people of West 
Virginia are good people, but this is unfair, unjust, and inequitable. 
This is just plain wrong. It is exactly why the American people are fed 
up with Congress. When the power of a few is stronger than the power of 
the people, something has got to change.

  What makes matters worse is, in addition to the $90 million in this 
bill, Corridor H got $75 million in the energy and water spending bill 
earlier this year bringing the total for this road project to $165 
million. I checked with the Federal Highway Administration and they 
told me West Virginia can only obligate $82 million for this project in 
fiscal year 1995. West Virginia has gotten twice as much money as it 
can spend, while the rest of the country does not have enough. This 
money could be going to needed projects to help congested areas like 
Los Angeles and Miami, where moms and dads are sitting in traffic while 
they could be at home spending time with their kids. California and 
Florida both got $0 in Senate funding.
  To put it in perspective, if you add up the Senate funding for the 20 
most populated Sstates, they get a total of $39 million, California 
gets nothing, Florida gets nothing, Illinois gets nothing, New York 
gets only $1 million and on and on and on. Each of you has been 
provided with a chart which clearly shows these figures. And West 
Virginia gets $95 million? How can this be?
  In 1988, Senator Robert Byrd of West Virginia announced that he was 
going to trade in his post of Senate majority leader to take the 
chairmanship of the Senate Appropriations Committee with the intent of 
bringing to West Virginia $1 billion by 1995. At a 1990 dedication 
ceremony in Beckley, WV, Senator Byrd commented on his pledge, ``I'm 
trying to get the money as fast as the State can keep up with it.'' By 
1990, 4 years ahead of schedule, Senator Byrd's goal of $1 billion for 
West Virginia had been reached.
  Just look at the last five transportation spending bills.
  In the fiscal year 1991 Transportation appropriations bill, Senator 
Byrd hijacked $137 million, or 30 percent, of the $459 million for 
highway projects for West Virginia.
  In the fiscal year 1992 Transportation appropriations bill, Senator 
Byrd took $162 million, almost 30 percent, of the $589 million 
available. Of the $162 million, $148 million was for the Corridor G 
project which received an additional $58 million in the Energy and 
Water appropriations bill. The next closest State in highway receipts 
was Michigan with $46 million. West Virginia got $162 million. Twenty-
three States, including California and Texas, got nothing.
  In fiscal year 1993, West Virginia got $104 million for two projects, 
Corridor L at $24 million, which was second only to Corridor G at $80 
million. These two projects in West Virginia amounted to one third of 
all highway demonstration project dollars.
  In fiscal year 1994, Corridor L got another $54 million which 
amounted to 43 percent of the country's highway dollars.
  And in fiscal year 1995, you know the story, West Virginia, for two 
projects, got 52 percent of the Senate's money or 27 percent of the 
nation's highway money for demonstration projects.
  Another part of the story is, the figures I have just gone over 
are basically transportation bills only. They do not take into account 
the relocations of parts of several governmental agencies like the FBI, 
the Bureau of Public Debt, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Coast 
Guard, and so on.

  The message here is, and the Washington Post, Orlando Sentinel, 
Houston Chronicle, and others have recognized it, there is a pattern of 
greed and abuse of power here and until it changes, the attitude toward 
this body with the American people will not improve.
  Again, thank you for your time. I'll take questions.

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