Bond says highway bill isn't 'pork barrel' legislation

The federal highway bill doesn't involve "pork barrel" projects in Missouri, but rather needed transportation improvements, U.S. Sen. Kit Bond said Friday.

Meeting with about 30 Southeast Missouri civic and city leaders at the Jackson City Hall, Bond defended the five-year, $286.5-million highway bill.

"Without roads, you don't get economic development," Bond said.

Busy commuters who have been tied up in traffic know that the highway bill involves essential spending, he said.

Bond said federal transportation funding issues don't typically get discussed on national television news shows.

"Transportation is one of the least sexy things in Washington," he said.

But he said such funding is vital for roads and bridges in Missouri.

The bill, he said, would provide almost $1.3 billion in additional highway funding for Missouri over the next five years.

Missouri will receive $862 million annually through the funding formula, up from $661 million in the last transportation bill, Bond said.

Coupled with additional funds earmarked for specific projects such as the East Main Street interchange in Cape Girardeau County, Missouri will receive about $915 million a year for transportation improvements on average over the next five years, the senator said.

In 1987, when Bond joined the Senate, Missouri received 76 cents of federal highway money for every dollar its consumers paid in gas taxes.

Under the new bill, Missouri's share of funding will increase to 98 cents on the dollar.

Missouri needs the funding, he said. Much of the nation's truck traffic travels through the state because of its central location, Bond said.

The Missouri Department of Transportation needs the federal money to move ahead with countless road projects, said state highway commissioner Duane Michie of Hayti.

"There is a huge amount of need," Michie said.

He said the funding wouldn't have happened without Bond's leadership in crafting the highway bill.

mbliss@semissourian.com

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