[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 107 (Friday, July 25, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1528]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         ENERGY AND WATER DEVELOPMENT APPROPRIATIONS ACT, 1998

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                          HON. PORTER J. GOSS

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, July 24, 1997

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the State of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 2203) making 
     appropriations for energy and water development for the 
     fiscal year ending September 30, 1998, and for other 
     purposes:

  Mr. GOSS. Mr. Chairman, I rise in strong support of the Klug 
amendment to cut $90 million in duplicate road funding from ARC.
  Mr. Chairman, I want to be clear from the start--I believe that we 
should eliminate all funding for the Appalachian Regional Commission. 
In many ways, the economic development projects that ARC funds are more 
egregious than the highway projects. Absent elimination, though, I 
believe the Klug approach makes sense for both sides, as it only cuts a 
small portion of duplicate funding from the program.
  The passionate statements of ARC supporters today serves to 
underscore what Reader's Digest had to say about ARC just a few years 
ago --``You can't kill a good giveaway!'' A look at ARC's past funding 
shows that the money largely follows important legislators, rather than 
needy constituents.
  An excellent example is the Corridor H program in West Virginia. A 
proposed 114 mile Federal four-lane highway through the scenic West 
Virginia mountains, Corridor H would cost $1.1 billion, with 80 percent 
of the money coming from Federal taxpayers. The costs of carving 
through 4,000 foot mountains contribute to a $10 million per mile 
project cost. The West Virginia Department of Transportation's own 
traffic projections do not support the need for this project and over 
90 percent of residents from neighboring Virginia opposed Corridor H in 
public hearings. Yet, the beat goes on for this Federal pork, partly 
due to millions of dollars of annual ARC funding.
  The ARC was founded over 30 years ago on the ``Field of Dreams'' 
proposition that, if you build a massive highway system with Federal 
bucks, economic growth would ride into town. Under that assumption, 
two-thirds of all ARC money spent since 1965 has gone into highway 
construction. The original estimated cost to Federal taxpayers was $840 
million, yet the 26 highway system is now slated to cost $9 billion and 
won't be completed until 2060.
  Mr. Chairman, this debate especially hits home for growth States like 
Florida struggling to get their fair share of highway funds. While 
Florida has seen dramatic increases in its population, ARC has rewarded 
States that are losing people with more and more Federal funds. 
According to their own annual reports, $872 million in ARC grants for 
highways, out of a total of $1.1 billion, has been spent in West 
Virginia between 1980 and 1992, despite the fact that the State 
experienced a population loss of 7.2 percent over that time. As we 
struggle to make ends meet with limited transportation funds, this type 
of largesse is simply unacceptable.
  Mr. Chairman, I am not a fan of the ARC program. I believe that Great 
Society relics like ARC need to be shelved altogether. But if we are 
going to provide funding for ARC, we should at least extract some 
savings for the American taxpayer. We should at least prohibit States 
from double dipping when other States are struggling to make ends meet. 
The Klug amendment is a responsible, conservative approach that 
recognizes the reality of our limited resources while striking a blow 
for fairness. I urge its adoption.

                          ____________________