Harry Reid: “There will be demonstration projects in the transportation bill that passes Congress this year. As long as there has…”

“There will be demonstration projects in the transportation bill that passes Congress this year. As long as there has been a House of Representatives and we have had highways, there have been demonstration projects. The House is showing no signs of giving them up this year. There is no chance --no chance-- that the House will pass a transportation bill without earmarks for individual Member projects. Given that knowledge, do we, as Members of the Senate, really want to unilaterally disarm? There are going to be demonstration projects, which there will be. Are we merely going to defer to the House? Wouldn't it be better, rather than slipping projects into the final bill going to conference, that we have an open discussion of the merits here on the floor? At least the House--we should give them credit for having a process. The House committee of jurisdiction required that a 14-point checklist be filled out for each demonstration project this year. If you do not meet all 14, you do not get your project. Only a few projects from the list will be selected for this funding. In the original ISTEA legislation, under 10 percent of the projects had earmarks. So $6.5 billion for demonstration projects out of the total authorization of about $160 billion. I dispute the notion of the Senator from Arizona that all demonstration projects are glorified pork. That is not true in rapidly growing areas. It is very important to the State of Nevada. We should oppose this amendment.”