The Bridge, the Mine, the Monster Truck

[kandrathe]

Not true. The trillions of dollars spent on the war will necessarily restrict the availability of funding for all other items, however important --- infrastructure included. A possible proliferation of bike trails is the least of our worries.

Has any Federal gas tax money been diverted to the war? Has any new military base been built in the US in the past 20 years? Then again, what is that "war money" being spent on? New schools in Iraq? I think we pay soldiers whether they fight or not, but maybe slightly more when they are in theater. Equipment wear and tear? I doubt we are launching million dollar cruise missiles everyday.

So the last few attempts by the House and Senate to pass war funding legislation have resulted in adding things like;

* $25 million for spinach growers hurt by a 2006 E. coli outbreak
* $75 million for peanut storage
* $500 million for wildfire suppression
* $120 million for shrimp and Atlantic menhaden fishermen
* 4 billion for farmers who had suffered weather-related losses
* $2.9 billion for Gulf Coast hurricane recovery, including $1.3 billion for New Orleans levee repairs
* $260 million to dairy farmers for milk loss
* $100 million for citrus loss protections
* $40 million to Liberia for security assistance, as well as $100 million to Jordan for the same purpose
* $450 million for food aid to Sudan and Eastern Chad, Africa; Afghanistan, Southern Africa and the Horn of Africa.
* $10 million for the ongoing mitigation of pollution of the Rio Grande from U.S. and Mexican influences and flood control on the river.
* $50 million for asbestos removal in Washington, D.C.
* $100 million for state and local law enforcement agencies in Denver and Minneapolis-St. Paul to provide security for next year's presidential nominating conventions.
* $1.2 billion for small-operation dairy farmers
* $24 million for sugar beet growers in the Red River Valley
* $20 million to combat Mormon crickets.
* $4.2 billion in disaster aid for farmers hurt by drought, floods and other disasters in recent years.
* $6.7 billion to help victims of Hurricane Katrina, including housing aid, public infrastructure funding and aid to Gulf Coast fishermen.
* $500 million to combat Western wildfires.
* $20 million for Walter Reed Army Medical Center
* $60.4 million to help Pacific Coast salmon fishermen
* $94.1 million to repair California levees
* $100 million more than either version provided
* $400 million in energy assistance for low-income families
* $425 million for a rural schools and roads program
* $500 million for wildfire emergencies
* $650 million for the State Children's Health Insurance Program
* $3.5 billion in agricultural assistance
* Nearly $7 billion for Gulf Coast recovery

So when you wenge about war funding, think about what goes to the men and their equipment versus ear marks for some Legislators pet project back home.