Senator Tom Coburn's-Stupid Porkulus Project Tricks

President Obama's Porkulus bill has been described as spending like drunken sailor on shore leave. And even though most of the $780 billion has not been allocated, some of the initial projects seem like they were chosen just to make that description appear valid.

Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has drawn up a list of 100 wasteful projects funded by the porkulus bill costing $5.5 billion dollars. Some of which might be a valid project in better times but should not be considered a priority today. For example One small bridge near Stevens Point, Wis., is getting $840,000 in stimulus money, although it carries 260 vehicles a day, many of them to Rusty's Backwater Saloon. Or Pennsylvania's project costing $9.4 million to "renovate a 97-year-old train station that has sat vacant for more than 30 years.

The full report will be available tomorrow but there are more examples below:

Sen. Coburn questions 100 stimulus projects
(TOM GILBERT/The Tulsa World)


WASHINGTON — Repairs for rural bridges, an under-highway safe crossing for turtles and efforts to protect the sage grouse population are among 100 projects a Republican senator pointed to Monday as questionable federal stimulus spending.


The list by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., includes projects others would identify as ideal for creating jobs and benefiting generations of Americans: skateboard parks, streetscapes, upgrades of park facilities, bike trails and parking garages.


Coburn's list is partially a collection of news stories that questioned local projects to be funded under President Barack Obama's economic recovery program. The White House has promoted the program by selecting favorable newspaper stories.


One of the most fiscally conservative senators, Coburn cited the repair of 37 rural bridges in Wisconsin that average little more than 500 vehicles apiece each day — with one carrying no more than 10 cars a day. The projects jumped over larger, urban repairs because they were "shovel ready."


Local officials had a different perspective. Coburn, for instance, criticized $840,000 to repair a bridge in Portage County, Wis., that carries 260 vehicles a day largely to a backwater saloon and a country club.


Bill Weronke, the county highway commissioner, said the bridge has "lived its life expectancy" and is dangerous. "It's a pretty crucial bridge in Portage County," he said. He added it soon will be a shortcut to a state highway.


Coburn also criticized a $3.4 million Florida Department of Transportation project for an "eco-passage"
— an underground wildlife road crossing for turtles and other wildlife in Lake Jackson, Fla., along U.S. 27.


"Why did the turtle cross the road? To get to the other side of a stimulus project," the Coburn report says.


Josh Boan, the Florida Transportation Department's natural resources manager, said a large number of turtles and other wildlife are killed in the area. In addition to protecting wildlife, he said the project is needed for safety: turtles hit by vehicles can become flying projectiles.


The project north of Tallahassee is to begin in September.


An administration spokesman said the stimulus program already is a great success.


Ed DeSeve, senior adviser to the president for Recovery Act implementation, said, "We have approved more than 20,000 Recovery Act projects to get America's economy moving again.


"With 20,000 projects approved, there are bound to be some mistakes. When we find them, we have been transparent about it, and worked on a bipartisan basis to shut them down immediately. Sen. Coburn's report, however, is filled with inaccuracies, including criticisms of projects that have already been stopped, projects that never were approved, and some projects that are working quite well."


Coburn also criticized:


—A Bureau of Land Management project to study the impact wind farms have on the sage grouse population in Oregon. The proposal calls for hiring people to tag sage grouse in areas where wind farms may be built, to help determine where turbines could be located.


—$1.5 million in stimulus money for a $5 million new wastewater treatment plant in Perkins, Okla., his home state. Coburn said the stimulus money came with strings that will increase the costs. With a new total cost of $7.2 million, the city will be forced to borrow money and, as a result, utility taxes have increased by 60 percent this year, the senator said.


—Grants and loans totaling $1.3 million to Solon Township, Mich. to help pay for construction of a wastewater treatment plant. Local opposition killed the project. The money will now be used for a future treatment plant, for which there is no plan and questionable local support.


—Road signs costing $300 each, being placed at construction sites to alert motorists that the project is being paid for by the stimulus money. Transportation Department spokesman Jill Zuckman said each state decides whether to use stimulus money for signs, and the cost would vary in each state.


—A $3 million project to repair taxiways at Hanscom Field, Mass., which Coburn said is for corporate jets. Richard Walsh, a spokesman for the independent state agency that runs the airport, Massport, said only 18 percent of the traffic at the airport is for corporate jets. Most of the use, 70 percent, is for flight students, he said.


—Montana's state-run liquor warehouse, to receive $2.2 million in stimulus cash to install skylights. The project is part of the $27.7 million the state has been awarded for energy programs.