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For Immediate Release November 30, 2007 Contact: Steve Ellis 202-546-8500 x126 TRANSPORTATION/HUD SPENDING BILL EARMARKS TOTAL MORE THAN $3 BILLION Click Here for Complete Database of Transportation/HUD Earmarks Previous Versions of the THUD Database House Bill Database | TCS Analysis Senate Bill Database | TCS Analysis Washington, D.C. – The FY2008 Transportation and Housing and Urban Development spending bill spreads $1.6 billion across more than 2,000 Congressionally disclosed earmarks. In addition, the bill contains 41 Presidential earmarks worth more than $1.3 billion and 17 undisclosed earmarks worth just under $200 million. The grand total for all of the bills earmarks rings it at 2,136 earmarks worth $3.1 billion. By comparison, the FY2006 total of Congress-added earmarks for the Department of Transportation (DOT) and Housing and Urban Development (HUD) was $2.15 billion. That means DOT and HUD earmarks in FY2008, worth just over $1.68 billion (including undisclosed, Congress-added earmarks), declined approximately 22 percent, far from the 50 percent goal the House set at the beginning of the 110th Congress. Grand Total $3,148,276,269 2,136         Congressional Earmarks -- Disclosed $1,606,068,346 2,056   Previously Disclosed-->   $1,580,878,346 2,033 Airdropped-->   $25,190,000 23         Presidential Earmarks $1,343,771,923 41   President and Member(s)-->   $1,216,096,479 28 President Solo-->   $127,675,444 13         Undisclosed Earmark (as determined by TCS) $198,436,000 17   President-->   $122,944,000   Members--> $75,492,000   Some of the tidbits and noteworthy projects: --Rep. Don Young (R-AK), then-Chairman of the Transportation Committee who took home a $1 billion earmark haul in the most recent transportation bill, received only two earmarks in this bill worth a paltry $420,000. --TCS uncovered earmarks for several projects that have long been on our "worst of" list: The Indian River Bridge in Martin County, FL received $1M at the request of Rep. Mahoney (D-FL). Corridor H, part of the Appalachian Development Highway System in West Virginia, keeps on sucking up taxpayer dollars with a $16 million earmark at the request of Sen. Byrd (D-WV). The Interstate 66 project from Somerset to London received $1.5 million at the request of Rep. Harold Rogers (R-KY). The Ohio River Bridges Project in Louisville received $1 million at the request of Rep. Yarmuth (D-KY). --There are the usual earmarks for streetscape projects and museums, including $200,000 for the Hunting and Fishing Museum of Pennsylvania in Tionesta at the request of Rep. John Peterson (R-PA); $500,000 for the City of Bellflower, CA to construct the Los Angeles County Fire Museum at the request of Rep. Lucille Roybal-Allard (D-CA); and $100,000 for the Audie Murphy/American Cotton Museum in Greenville, TX at the request of Ralph Hall (R-TX).

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Taxpayers for Common Sense is a non-partisan budget watchdog that serves as an independent voice for American taxpayers.  Now in its second decade of service to the nation, TCS works to ensure that our government spends taxpayer money efficiently and responsibly by working to eliminate wasteful and harmful federal spending.