The Obama administration today announced that it will redistribute more than $470 million in unspent earmarks from fiscal year 2003-2006 appropriations acts to states for transportation infrastructure projects.
Calling it a “use it or lose it ‘We Can’t Wait’” action, the administration said it would help put thousands of construction workers on the job.
“My administration will continue to do everything we can to put Americans back to work,” said President Obama. “We’re not going to let politics stand between construction workers and good jobs repairing our roads and bridges.”
States must identify the projects they plan to use the funds for by Oct. 1, and must obligate them by Dec. 31, 2012. A balance sheet was released showing where the funds weren’t spent that are now being rolled into the new pool of project cash. The funds will be able to be spent on any eligible highway, transit, passenger rail, or port project, said the White House.
Funds not obligated by the Dec. 31 deadline will be proportionally redistributed in FY 2013 to states that met the deadline.
“We are freeing up these funds so states can get down to the business of moving transportation projects forward and putting our friends and neighbors back to work,” said Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.
Obama has always thought he was the Wonder of the World; now he wants to be the Colossus of Roads.
Not bad. Not bad indeed. Thank you for the laugh.
Watch the pea. That was just the first move. After a couple more moves, the money will all end up in northeast Illinois.
Wasn’t the Porkulus supposed to go for “infrastructure”? What happened to all that? A big chunk of that ended up in northeast Illinois, and no “infrastructure” was built.
Yes, one of the stated purposes of Porkulus was to rebuild the crumbling infrastructure (the “shovel-ready jobs”). However, many prominent womens’ groups complained that too much of the money was going to men (who largely make up construction workers) and a lot of the money got channeled to propping up bloated government employee payrolls instead. So, the money went to doing things like keeping teachers that states and local governments could no longer afford on the payroll for another year or so. Meanwhile, the unemployment rate for men continued to rise and the infrastructure continued to crumble.
Remember, if you have a business, you didn’t build the roads and bridges. And neither did the Porkulus.
So, let me get this straight, the President is taking money approved by congress for a specific purpose and instead spending it on somehting else he likes better. I understand that the two purposes are similar, but I don’t see how this isn’t again just ignoring what Congress passed and doing whatever he wants anyways. Is this even remotely constitutional (as if the Constitutional Law lecturer in cheif cares)?
Pork on ramadan ? the Brotherhood will get mad…
Are these just code words for the “biggerization” of government?
–Touche’–
I think you misspelled the word in quotes – just replace the “i” with a “u” and you will have it about rigbht.
Depends on how the appropriation was made. If the appropriation was to a specific state or project, legally it has to go to that or if the authorization has expired, e.g., the money had to be obligated by a certain date, it lapses back to the Treasury and must be reappropriated. The Executive Branch does not have any authority to move money appropriated to one thing to use for another thing, only Congress can do that. However, if it was a general appropriation to the DOT for distribution by the DOT, they the Executive Branch can move it within that appropriation. Of course, Comrade Obama has proven that legal stuff don’t apply to him.
Obama will, however, let politics stand in the way of good jobs building the Keystone energy pipeline.
C’mon, Buzz. You know private business doesn’t build infrastructure. They didn’t build that. Government won’t let them. That’s what Porku… infrastructure projects are for.
Obama doesn’t build infrastructure, he doesn’t build superstructure. He just gets up in front of TOTUS and spouts the insipid ibid, ibid, ibid…
– is still busted.