LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic Universe-Document

LEXIS-NEXIS® Academic

July 17, 1999, Saturday, Late Edition - Final

SECTION: Section A; Page 13; Column 1; Editorial Desk

LENGTH: 650 words

HEADLINE: Once, Conservatives Knew the Value of Transportation

BYLINE: By Bud Shuster; Bud Shuster, a Republican from Pennsylvania, is chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

DATELINE: WASHINGTON

BODY:
Abraham Lincoln called Senator Henry Clay "my beau ideal," largely because he was dedicated to building America. Clay, whose nickname was "Capital Improvements Harry," helped pass legislation to construct roads and inland waterways to tie America together. During the Civil War, Lincoln authorized the construction of the first transcontinental railroad. Teddy Roosevelt championed the Panama Canal, and Dwight Eisenhower created the Interstate System.

Fiscally responsible Republicans, all. Fortunately, most modern-day conservatives still believe in building America. Witness the strong support last year from conservatives at all levels of government for the Transportation Equity Act, which unlocked Eisenhower's highway trust fund and allowed it to be used for its intended purpose of improving highways and transit systems.

Unfortunately, some conservatives seem dedicated to breathing new life into Benjamin Disraeli's adage that "it is much easier to be critical than to be correct." These critics have little inclination to deal in facts or face the reality of a growing America. They know the cost of everything but the value of nothing. Some have called this "Know-Nothing Conservatism."

They criticize increased spending on transportation, but they do not differentiate between transportation trust-fund dollars and general tax dollars. They do not tell you that the trust fund receives money from an 18.3-cent-per-gallon tax on gasoline and an 8 percent surcharge on airline tickets, all of which is designated solely to pay for our country's transportation needs.

These conservative critics oppose investments by trying to discredit them. They call spending on public works in someone else's backyard a pork barrel project, but that is far from the truth. In the Transportation Equity Act, for example, only 5 percent of the money goes to Congressionally mandated projects. The rest goes to the Department of Transportation or to the states.

This year, some conservatives are once again keeping their heads buried in the sand. The House overwhelmingly passed the Aviation Investment and Reform Act last month, by a vote of 316 to 110; 67 percent of Republicans -- including the Speaker and the majority leader -- approved of this measure.

But this didn't stop some conservative critics from immediately attacking the bill as "busting the budget" and "fiscally irresponsible."

Never mind that many Americans are furious over the decline in air service. Never mind that our antiquated air-traffic control system, which fails somewhere nearly every week, needs both reform and an infusion of capital investment.

Never mind that the National Civil Aviation Review Commission established by our Republican Congress warns that "the United States aviation system is headed toward gridlock shortly after the turn of the century" and that "it will result in a deterioration of aviation safety, harm the efficiency and growth of our domestic economy, and hurt our position in the global marketplace."

Never mind that the money in the aviation trust fund will skyrocket to $90 billion within 10 years if we don't make the investment. Never mind that the aviation taxes would otherwise be used in smoke-and-mirrors budget gimmickry to help finance general tax cuts. Never mind that the bill does not contain any projects earmarked for any specific Congressional districts.

And never mind that some "Know-Nothing" conservatives in the media will attack this session for being a "do nothing" Congress. The one thing Congress is doing, over their objections, is building assets for the future of our country.

Perhaps the next time they attack Government spending, they might reflect on an observation by the columnist George Will: "Many of today's conservatives rallied 'round keeping control of the Panama Canal. But would such conservatives have built it in the first place?" http://www.nytimes.com

LOAD-DATE: July 17, 1999