FroshUpdate: Who Pays for Infrastructure Spending?
As Congress considers funding for a highways bill – and whether such transportation earmarks are really earmarks – the real question is not whether to accept transportation funding (yes) but how to fund it (NO TOLLS!) Meanwhile, the continuing of a lot of action in the Middle East and South Asia: Reps. Schilling and Heck call for the release of bin Laden pictures, freshmen differ on Afghanistan strategy, and Rep. Bob Dold leads the way on new Iran sanctions. This is FroshUpdate for May 4, 2011.
INFRASTRACTURE SPENDING, YES: Gov. Scott Walker announced his plans to invest $1.5 billion to make U.S. Route 41 into an interstate highway Tuesday, a project that would last until 2017. U.S. Rep. Reid Ribble, (WI-8) praised Walker for deciding to upgrade the highway. "We need to invest in important infrastructure projects like this one, and this is a logical and wise use of taxpayer money," Ribble said in a statement.http://bit.ly/jDONmd
TOLLS, NO: Freshmen Reps. Tom Marino (PA-10) and Lou Barletta (PA-11) are among four Pennsylvania congressmen who are urging the state Department of Transportation to disregard any consideration of transforming Interstate 80 into a toll road. http://bit.ly/ku6fyZ
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GRIMM REAP(ER)S: Just six months ago, tea party activists helped catapult New York Rep. Michael Grimm (NY-13) to victory in a race few expected him to win. But that once-close relationship is already showing signs of strain. The freshman Republican has become the subject of pointed criticism from grass-roots conservatives whose backing he cultivated. http://politi.co/liGhPg
SHOW US THE PICTURES: The federal government has admitted to possessing photos of Osama bin Laden's body, and at least two freshmen want to see them. Reps. Bobby Schilling (IL-17) and Joe Heck (NV-03) have publicly called for the release of bin Laden death photos, both citing primarily the need to quiet conspiracy theorists' claims that bin Laden's death was fabricated.
SANCTIONS ON IRAN: Freshman Bob Dold (IL-10) is leading the way in the House on a "bipartisan and bicameral" bill meant to institute new human rights sanctions on Iran. Dold is working closely on the bill with the former occupant of his seat, Sen. Mark Kirk (R-IL). http://bit.ly/mAhgyi
GIBBS CHALLENGES EPA: According to a New York Times profile, Rep. Bob Gibbs (OH-18), chair of the Water and Environmental Resources subcommittee in the House, has been waging a one-man war against the EPA, which he believes has "gone rogue." Gibbs, a former hog farmer, claims that the country needs to worry about protecting business and promoting growth now, and "when we're making some money, we could focus maybe on improving waterways." http://nyti.ms/jLOqpE
DIVERGENCE ON AFGHANISTAN: At least two Republican freshmen are at odds over what effect Osama bin Laden's capture should have on larger US strategy in Afghanistan. Rep. Joe Runyan (NJ-03) spoke out opposing an American drawdown, saying that American troops were teaching Afghanis "how to police themselves and protect their villages." Rep. Allen West (FL-22) differed, saying it would soon be time to "bid farewell to Karzai and his culture of corruption," preferring to combat terrorists via surgical strikes, like the bin Laden raid, rather than continued occupation.
PAKISTAN DOUBTS: U.S. Rep. Scott DesJarlais(TN-04) said there are a lot of unanswered questions about how much the Pakistani government knew about bin Laden's whereabouts. "The United States has a right to know if the Pakistani military or Pakistan's ISI (intelligence agency) had any involvement in harboring or providing any sort of safe haven to Osama bin Laden," DesJarlais said.http://bit.ly/jyVfZ5