Campaign contributions influence transportation funding
A government watchdog group says campaign contributions steer federal transportation dollars toward new roads instead of repairs for crumbling bridges.
There’s a complicated formula designed to put federal transportation money where it needs to go. But members of Congress can also use “earmarks” to designate for a particular project.
John Krieger of the Public Interest Research Group says most earmarks go to new highway projects. He says most campaign contributions come from those likely to profit from those new highways: real estate developers, construction companies, and automobile interests.
"The repair projects, the bridges that need to be reinforced, the maintenance that needs to be done on critical infrastructure, don’t have the same interest groups."
Krieger says one out of eight bridges in California is structurally deficient, but California congressional members requested only six earmarks last year for bridge repairs.
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