President Trump’s proposed budget for 2018 will cut funding to the DOT by $2.4 billion – a 13% reduction in funding from the previous year. The DOT’s TIGER grants will be among the programs eliminated entirely.
The proposed budget is titled “America First: A Budget Blueprint to Make America Great Again.” It covers only areas on the federal budget which are categorized as “Discretionary spending.” These are budget items which must be re-approved by Congress every year and include categories like Defense, Homeland Security, Education, Justice, Labor, Transportation, and more.
If the proposed budget is approved, every agency except Veterans Affairs, Homeland Security, and the Department of Defense, would have their budgets cut to make room for a $52.3 billion increase in defense spending. While the Department of Education (-$9.2 billion), the State Department (-$10.9 billion), and the Department of Health and Human Services (-$12.6 billion) would receive the largest cuts, the Department of Transportation’s budget would also be cut by $2.4 billion, a reduction of 13% from the 2017 budget.
Not all DOT programs being cut have to do with roads and highways. For example, the proposed budget would eliminate a program that subsidizes commercial flights to and from rural airports – a move which may prove unpopular with rural Republicans and Democrats.
Of concern to the trucking industry however is the elimination of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program. The budget estimates that eliminating it would save $499 million. The reason given for eliminating the grants is that projects which are eligible for TIGER grants are “generally eligible for funding” by other programs.
TIGER grants take federal money and give it to states to spend on infrastructure projects. Past TIGER projects include truck parking initiatives such as a $25 million grant to eight Midwestern states to support truck driver parking. According to the DOT, $1.7 billion in TIGER grant money has gone toward projects that aim to directly benefit our nation’s roadways since 2009.
Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in his forward to the proposal that this “is not the full Federal budget.” Instead Mulvaney referred to the document as a “blueprint” which would provide people “with a view of the priorities of the President and his Administration.”
According to the White House, if it were to move forward, President Trump’s promised infrastructure spending package would be separate from the current proposed DOT budget.
Source: whitehouse, DOT, overdrive, nytimes, ccj, wjla, reuters
J Carter says
Sounds to me like he’s starting to cut off some of the fat.
Hmmm….
Ricki says
Sounds good until you need new tires from the ruff roads and a wheel alignment due to pot holes and you have 18 wheelers lined up on your entry ramps at 7am during your commute to work
Paul Taylor says
Let the states do it.
Lisa Glavish says
We ALREADY have that
Geraldine Mann says
That’s funny because all that has already been going on for years and getting worse every year. I been driving for 30 yrs. I don’t see any truck parking getting any better. Most of the rest areas are closed, most chicken houses do not allow parking they block them off, and a lot off the empty lots we use to park in are blocked off. As for the pot holed and ruff roads that’s just a given its always been like that
RenoBlues says
Cutting education is cutting fat?
Cayde says
Well, if tossing money at it actually worked…
Paul Taylor says
It does not. Money has been thrown at education with big bucks for 50 years and kids are less educated today than they were 50 years ago. Moreover, education is a local matter. The Dept. of Education did not exist until the late 1970s. It is a bureaucratic paradise. Get rid of it.
Robert says
Absolutely! All they did with the money is build fancy decorative schools. Outside image was more important than actually educating.
Brown mat says
Do you people speak based of facts or just whatever fits your agendas? How are kids smarter 50 years ago? Today’s kids are the reason we found cure for almost every disease then ever before… today’s kids are the reason why the life expectancy two times more then it was 50 years ago. So stop throwing out random numbers with no base of facts.
Oneoldtrucker says
Yes I agree with you.. One thing that really bothers me with the schools is the required classes as in, algebra and such that most will never use in their lifetime.. Then there is this new math that is so confusing and takes so long to find the answer, that the parents can not help the kids with their homework.. What was wrong with the OLD math that we could do simple math in our heads.. What a mess..
Sebatt says
Not education but things involved IN the education department. Like free school lunches for every child. The free lunch program was supposed to help underprivileged kids, but some bureaucrat said that kids receiving free food at school were being shamed by others. Evidence?? So now it’s free breakfast/lunch for ANY kid, no matter if his/her parents can afford to buy everyone lunch. Taxpayers are picking up the lunch tab, and the Moochelle’s lunch plan caused food to be thrown out and not eaten anyway.
Mike says
I have a kid in public school. Free lunch is not offered for everyone. Where did you get this?
James Hill says
me too……my kid pays for lunch. People or so misinformed!
SMH says
Here in Milwaukee, there is a VERY nice school district (Nicolet)..all North Shore and THEY are doing the free for all meal programme. A local talk show host (Jeff Wagner) is an alum of Nicolet, and he was just speechless about it. Common comments on his show were, “Oh, must be cook’s day off” “mumsy’s got her yoga class/spa appointment/tennis lesson/bridge club, so she can’t pack a lunch”
astin says
Yes! Why should I have to pay for some irresponsible female’s multiple kids to go to school? I believe that if you want to have kids you need to be responsible for their expenses, from food to clothes to education.
j j says
+1 could not of been said better.
Shoji says
Excuse me??? There must have ALSO been an irresponsible MALE involved in this situation, too. SMH….
WTF says
Do away with the whole no child left behind bs..
Larry Harris says
He’s not cutting the fat, he’s redistricting the fat. One guest where’s it going!
Dominic says
If he was smart he would change DOT Weigh Stations, where truckers could go in to weigh their loads; and at a reduce cost than at Truck Stops, and then the Government would be making Money for rebuilding infrastructure. No more tickets for over weight loads.
J Carter says
Yeah, fancy that – the government providing a service to truckers.
RAOTFL!
Connie Bailey says
I agree, Dominic. Weight Stations should be a Safe Haven for Truckers to check their Load Weight and even reset their DOT Driving Hours, if they need to. I pulled into a Weigh Station once to reset my HOS and the Officer refused to let me set. But yet, if I would have kept going, then I bet he would have given me a ticket for driving out of hours. Another time I pulled into a Weigh Station in Eaglesville, MO., and the Officer told me I was overweight by 2800 lbs. and to move my trailer tandems forward then drive back over the scale. I did as he said, was under weight then; but yet he still wrote me an overweight ticket.
DOT Officers are greedy, money-hungry pigs, if you ask me.
Pete says
You got the overweight ticket for driving you truck in an overweight axle configuration. Hence, you get an overweight ticket and……………..you are required to make your load legal before departing the scales. So… please do tell us, exactly, what did this “greedy, money-hungry pig do other than enforce the law that you broke?
Driver says
Funny ive never been required to make a load legal at the scales..ive been offered a chance, but told if it made it worse my ticket would be higher..and not all trailers have moveable tandems, like bullracks..been ticketed for logbook violations because i didnt have a reciept for a repair at a shop where we never get a reciept, so i was called a liar..been ticketed for another, and again called a liar, because i inadvertantly wrote a 2 hr break where i took 3, and pulled before scales, led past them to the next exit, to scales on opposite side, where i was inspected, truck, paperwork, weighed, and searched, then given a ticket fir bypassing scales when i was led past them by the dot..he has it right, greedy pigs
MrYowler says
They have a choice. They can write the ticket or not. They can be dixks about it, or let us fix it and be on our way. If they have reason to belive that we are intentionally flaunting the law, then that’s one thing. But too often, you pick up a load from a yard for a carrier that is iffy about scale fee reimbursements, and you just aren’t making enough money to spare the cash to weigh it out, yourself, and still eat (or rent a safe parking spot), that day. That is not the kind of choice that a working man should be forced to make. The scale is there, and it was paid for by taxpayer dollars. The least they could do, is let you use it to get legal.
Damned few of us are really trying to get away with having an unbalanced load. It doesn’t benefit the driver or the carrier. Punish people who are operating with ill intent – don’t victimize the poor schlepp who got blindsided by his shipper or co-worker/s. That’s just asinine.
Dan says
Whats fun is when you are legal weight until hitting some bad weather in winter and you accumulate 2,800 lbs of snow and ice and they ticket you and make you get legal before leaving. Yeah not fun at all..
Showing the weight ticket from when I loaded didn’t help because it had me 40 lbs overweight, (forty lbs ) full of fuel, they just said I knew i was running overweight anyway, which I suppose I was, for about 40 miles 1200 miles back.. Some are just a dick plain and simple and would never be of benefit to a trucker. Thing is I was still not over axle on any of the 5 axles I had even with 2800 over gross for snow and ice which is doubtful, that is a lot of snow and ice..
Zack says
Not every city has a scale station and sometimes before getting to one, you run across weight stations. Happens to me all the time because the nearest scale is at the Texas/Louisiana border. Luckily they allow you to adjust your weight so you don’t get fined.
Kenneth Bell says
The weigh stations dont charge us to weigh. They check to see if we meet weight laws and fine us if we dont
Ron says
The weigh station thing would be good but here’s the thing with that. States have closed so many scales that on some roads they don’t even exist. If they reopened those scales and kept all the others open 24/7 they would make roughly 10,000$ per day towards what they are losing. Cat scale is a great tool to use but legal weights would mean nothing if the states had continued enforcing bridge law. Currently California is the only state that measures a truck and its trailer and then from kingpin to tandems so they can write over length tickets. States have lost lots of revenue just grabbing handouts. It the fat and end the handouts
Ck says
California is not the only state that does that the state of CT as well. From the king pin to the center of the rear axle. Every state is to center of the axle like on a spread , but not CT. It is all about the money.
Marques Dean says
California isn’t the only state that is enforcing bridge laws. Connecticut,Michigan,Pennsylvania & Florida also have strict enforcement of bridge laws. And lately Maryland has doing the same as well.
Deb says
Keep thinking CA is the only state to enforce bridge law..don’t go to Florida thinking that.
Geraldine Mann says
That’s not true Georgia also in focus the length law and so does florida. Been there had it happen
David says
Absolutely. This makes perfect sense. Too many times I have had to route 10-15 miles in a negative direction to find a CAT scale to get legal to cross a DOT scale that was 2-3 miles away on route in a positive direction. I personally would pay CAT scale price DOT scale if it were an option just to save the time, fuel and out of route miles. The only problem I find with this idea is its too logical and makes too much sense for the Feds to touch with a ten foot pole.
Phil says
Go around the scale!!!!
Zack says
Yeah get caught doing that and you’ll a ticket that cost alot more than over weight ticket and will be shut down.
mousekiller says
Years ago in a lot of states a driver could call the nearest scale and ask to come in for a pre weigh no ticket issued if over weight. We were allowed to return to shipper and and correct it.. It was allowed as long a you called first.
Change. people say we have to adapt to change. good or bad right?
I rather liked not being a revenue enhancement tool back then.
Lisa Glavish says
That’s actually a good idea!
C'Ann Kariores says
Excellent suggestion !!!
Brown mat says
Wow so if no one inforcing the weight you would been just rolling down 41 ton bridge with 45 ton truck? Do you see passenger cars pulling in to scales? No right? That’s because cars damaging roads or bridges very unlikely.
There are 3.5 truck drivers in whole America and even if every driver gets over weight ticket that’s just the fraction of the money repair one bridge, not to mention the over weight ticket revenue are distributed to state,county and city where the citation took place.
C. Kirk says
If the dot gives money to states for infrastructure then why have a fuel tax and a road tax. Why is Gov Haslam of TN trying to pass a .07 gas tax and a .12 fuel tax? Not to mention tn has a billion dollar surplus. Dot is just like every state congressman and senator. They blow money for special projects in their districts. So Mr. President cut, cut, and cut some more. And if the states need money drug test and audit welfare recipients and boot their butts off if it. There your 25 million plus!
Killer of Conservatism says
Because the gas and diesel fuel taxes are how we pay for infrastructure. Didn’t you learn anything in high school? The USDOT depends on ALL states contributing to the fuel and usage taxes. Then the Department doles out those taxes as infrastructure grants. The USDOT doesn’t print its own money.
Dan says
Uhm and the opportunity to make another fortune in the family fuel business that infrastructure repair equipment would use. Haven’t you learned anything after high school. Good grief.
Zack says
Killer of Conservativism, maybe highschool didn’t teach you the basic education of budgeting. Tell us how spending the costs of operation on not just one but three governments to do one job is at all cheaper on the project? Tell us how government intervention(like freight brokers in the transportation industry), also makes the prices of goods and services not to be more expensive?
Note: the federal government raised the surety bond on freight brokers due to their interactions causing the prices of service and goods to go up…. What’s funny is that the government does the same thing a freight broker does but at much larger scale lol.
Me Hollywood says
Nice ?!!! I like your idea.
MrYowler says
Drug test and audit elected officials and bureaucratic appointments, too, while you’re at it, and to justify doing it to the voters. Government pay and pensions are no less a form of welfare than medicare, SNAP, or social security disability pensions.
Richard says
I say sounds good. He needs to lift some regulation in our industry that is strangling small owner operators… like elog…
Alan says
Paper logs hurt all drivers who run legally.
If everyone ran elogs then drivers would demand payment for sitting at shippers,securing and tarping loads for flat bed units.etc
Zack says
Hence higher prices for goods and services.
old man says
Guess where the DOT pigs are going to get their budget short fall money?
Jake says
You don’t think they will take a pay cut that was my first thought. How much is it gonna cost me easiest target out there
Patrick says
Not all dot are money hungry pigs. Georgia requires you move the load if you want to be leaving without a ticket for over weight where one time I come across North bound 304 scales in Virginia I was 4800 lbs over on my trailer. Told me to fix it. Pulled back around fixed it pulled onto scale got green light and told have a safe trip. Not all your dot are bad. The scale in Alabama and my truck had a hell Of a oil leak but he could see I was fixing everything I could as fast as I could. He rolled me in and did a level 1. He assessed and noticed that all the major safety stuff was fixed on my truck but drowned in repairs I still had some outstanding repairs needed but money was the big issue. I showed him everything broke and everything I had fixed and Told him about my truck how I got it and what I was doing with it. He crawled thru the radiator and back out the exhaust pipe and give me a spotless level 1 inspection telling me I can’t wright you up. Your doing your dam best and it shows. You don’t have a new truck and your doing it on your own have a good day driver. I just wanted to say that not all are that bad I’ve run into some really bad dot but also some really pleasant dot officers who understand.
Trucker says
Truckers should get more driving time to make money,not have a computer regulate them and tell them what to do. Trucking should be like it was back in the day. Not being tracked, be your own boss and make your own rules. Not rush,rush,rush. Get the load to where it needs to go,no dot making it hard on you. Drive safe fellow truckers
William Johnson says
Perhaps, just saying that instead of rush, rush, rush everyone runs legal and we all get more pay and everyone is safe? Be a professional.
Steve Roy says
Back in the day, not any youngster or flunky off the streets was able to get a CDL and then get the job done. It took skills to even be able to drive trucks back then. The only thing that caused all the DOT to crack down on the trucking industry is the Teamsters wining about non union outfits driving over speed limits, overweight loads, and over hours on log books. There was alot less accidents and alot more pride in what we do. Nowdays nobody cares to even know the “rules of the roads” the unwritten laws that all drivers had to abide by, the good ole days. But those days are gone and now they throw CDL’s to anyone who wants one, and the dam trucks can just about drive themselves. Professional? not anymore.
Oneoldtrucker says
I agree with your back in the day insight.. I was 18 when I got my Michigan Chauffer’s license. I am now 67 and still sitting on a CDL but I am now retired.. You speak of unwritten rules, and the pride of being a truck driver.. A driver used to be respected for his profession back in the day.. There is no curtesy between truck drivers today, and I think the daytime running lights had an impact on that but not totally to blame.. I think the NEW BREED of truck driver is just plain lazy.. Just my two cents worth..
Brian W says
Wanna do some $ cutting? I suggest cutting money from FMCSA as well. Particularly the programs at ANY agency that are promoting more regs that MANDATE additional equipment on comml trucks. ELDs would be a GREAT place to start. The mandated use of DEF, as well as the mandated use of DPF should be among the items targeted. The mandated use of DPF & DEF do nothing but increase the cost of a diesel truck, both at time of purchase and in cost of operation. If the argument is used that “those things help keep the air clean”, then why aren’t similar items in use on ALL internal combustion engines?
On a related note, certain bureaucrats would have a collective orgasm if they could only get the use of ethanol & biodiesel mandated across the board.
In both cases, studies show that
A) these fuel additives have less BTUs per unit than the fuel they’re being added to; B) do nothing to “keep the air clean”; & C) cause more problems than they supposedly “fix”.
Also, I’d like to see the elimination of the following:
IRS Form 2290. It’s nothing but a waste of $550 a year, IMO.
IFTA: This program is nothing more than legalized extortion. First, if the program is so great, why isn’t it applied to the private sector? Second, the argument that the fuel taxes extorted from me and given to a state I’ve driven through (but didn’t buy any fuel in) amounts to nothing more than double taxation, as every state in the union is receiving a portion of the federal taxes I pay and supposedly applying that money to “road repair” & “road maintenance”.
It’s all BS, and I’m glad I have less than 2 years left before I can invite numerous lawmakers, lobbyists, and so-called driver supportive groups like the ATA to stick all of it up their collective keisters.
Derek M says
There’s overweight and then there’s over weight. Dot officers should be there to assist drivers but at the same time enforce the law’s. If you slightly over weight and can fix , he should let you adjust the load or slide the wheel’s. Then send you off. They still take the oath of to protect and serve.
Rob says
CUT, CUT, CUT, AND KEEP CUTTING UNTIL THE OVER BEARING PIGS SQUEAL….. Just like they’ve done the the people and industries of our great country!!!
SAMUEL LEE says
Good , too many DOT cops and sky high benefits rob our bridges and Highway project funding….Drain the swamp!
Jamie says
So Trump’s infrastructure plan will be separate from the budget. Hm. Cutting money to an agency before appropriating money for the purpose of infrastructure building, which the agency whose budget he is proposing to cut will oversee. Cutting money to spend money on the same exact thing. Does this make sense to anyone?
It is like stopping cigarettes to save money to pay for cigars. No offense to all of you cigar afficionados out there, but in the end, the benefits are all the same in the end, or lack thereof. It makes zero sense, it is a zero sum gain. Why cut money that goes to the very thing he has repeatedly said on the campaign trail he wants to increase?
Also, his plan is very much against the conservative grain. Decentralization of regulations and federal government oversight has long been the conservative tradition in this country. If he were to follow in that bent, he should actually be INCREASING the funds to TIGER programs because that money goes directly to the states to decide how best to address their transportation needs. THAT would be the traditionally conservative thing to do. Instead, this “separate package” will increase government oversight and spending on the federal level.
The premises of this plan are flawed on the face. Another instance of how disconnected this administration is from reality. Mick Mulvaney, in becoming a mouthpiece for this farce is making us South Carolinians look like a bunch of dolts.
CT says
“So Trump’s infrastructure plan will be separate from the budget. Hm. Cutting money to an agency before appropriating money for the purpose of infrastructure building, which the agency whose budget he is proposing to cut will oversee. Cutting money to spend money on the same exact thing. Does this make sense to anyone?”
Your statement doesn’t make sense.
The Federal agencies are all bloated. I’d rather there be cuts to the agencies and weed out all the B.S. “studies”, fat pensions and money wasted on programs that don’t benefit the stakeholders involved. Unless of course you think the contractor who’s related to the politician or gives to their campaign is the true beneficiary of my tax dollars.
Trim the agency, then present an infrastructure plan that actually fixes the roads, bridges and alike for a reasonable cost…and if the contractor does a crappy job…where the road breaks up and falls apart…don’t pay ’em…or sue the s–t out of them so they go out of business. Get back to building things the way it used to be.
As for TIGER…if you have a program that has to have a stupid acronym attached to it…it’s probably not worth a crap. $25M for 8 states? Roughly $3M per. How much of that really went to truck parking…let me guess, 8 states, each did a separate study and came to the conclusion that there is a shortage of truck parking. Imagine that!??
As for Mulvaney…you’ve either never heard him speak or your obviously on the other side of the aisle. That guy is smart and kicks butt. You probably didn’t vote for Trump, so as to feeling like a “Dolt”, you have Lindsey Graham as your Senator…enough said!
MrNa says
You said a mouthful CT. I concur.
Joe says
About time there is some. Cutting of the waste and fat and a lot of those tiger grants went to non trucking like bike trails, Times Square, make side walks pretty
Jeff says
Bravo! Let the states DO THEIR JOB. Transportation (or education) is not the responsibility of the federal government. It seams Mr. Barradas has become a little too accustomed to the last eight years’ socialist movement.
Brian Schroeder says
Guess I wont be missing the tiger grants for additional truck parking. I travel 49 US states and I can count on one finger government provided “new truck parking” Yup it’s the middle finger. Trumps standing neck deep in government bloat and fat……and he has a chainsaw.
mar says
Less DOT is ok with me
Stephen West says
Cut entitlements BIGLY.
Dan says
Bigly love it.
Kevin says
Cut it! Any monies shifted to the state through the feds ends up being worth .70 on the dollar.
Rock says
Making room for 52 billion in added defense spending while we already out spend the next closest 7 nations combined in defense spending can only be explained by the fact that the defense industry runs America. Trump is just another puppet in a long line of puppets. This budget is same ole same ole.
Les Gvt says
Please show me where in the Constitution the federal government is responsible for paving truck parking. That always has been a 10th Amendment states rights issue.
Truth is- of this 2.4B cut- only about 1.6B would ever even make it to the states. The federal overhead is almost 800M
Jeff says
AMEN!
Jude Ossowski says
Don’t forget how much is given to union companies just to keep the “leadership” quiet. I want to know where the TRILLIONS already allotted has been spent.
Les Gvt says
Read the sob story, then read the responses- I dont think they are what Truckers Report was hoping for 🙂
Samuel Barradas says
The idea that we’re “hoping for” a particular response is bizarre to me. We always let readers know when a major change to government spending in the trucking industry is being proposed. ‘Starve the beast’ isn’t an uncommon sentiment around here, no one is surprised to see celebration about the possibility of DOT getting a big budget cut.
Jimmy Jones says
and that’s a bad thing because…………………………….?????????????????
“Mick Mulvaney, the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, wrote in his forward to the proposal that this “is not the full Federal budget.” Instead Mulvaney referred to the document as a “blueprint” which would provide people “with a view of the priorities of the President and his Administration.”
leandean says
It has to be a blueprint. Congress controls the money so they can put it where they want. Anything from the administration is just a “suggestion”.
Pat says
Funny how everybody thinks everybody else gets too many government subsidies…..I want them all cut even to those of you who somehow think you don’t get any… sending your child to a public university you’re getting a subsidy.. who needs clean drinking water from the Great Lakes…. some people are such idiots… ice owner operators can go from paying $500 a month for health insurance $3000..easy right?
Kelly J. says
If the states in general will have to pick up absent funding, our state taxes will go up plus we’ll still have to pay federal taxes for reduced services. Cut corporate welfare and giveaways! Cut the taxpayer money that’s going to the bloated fat cats!
But just keep the conservative and liberal little guys blaming each other while the IIC rob us blind. It’s working so far.
gc says
Totally agree
Steve says
DOT budget cuts is bad news for truckers. DOT is money hungry. They will go down on truckers and issue tickets for any little thing to compensate for budget cuts.
gc says
I totally with cutting. The only problem with is the greedy ones in charge of these department everywhere won’t be cut their very very fat paycheck. They’re going to cut all the stuff that benefits the poeple, they’re going to getvrid of the low pay employee that actually do the work, hence nothing will get done.
What they need to cut is anyone in government paycheck above $100000 a 10% cut. Anyone over $150,000 a 15% cut… You see where I am going with that.
And especially anyone with a government pension double the cut.
There is a no reason we should pay for their retirement …They sure as heck don’t pay crap for ours.
The employee is where the cuts should be made.
If only the poeple got together on this and force them into a pay cut…Can u imagine how much money….
Mike Nelson says
There sure are a bunch of crybaby truckers on here.
Christopher Hollins says
Cutting government funding for anything (like education) is not the same as cutting that activity. For example, with education that just cuts government control of education and cuts the number of bureaucrats who do nothing for education.but still live off of taxpayers.
Jude Ossowski says
The federal government has no authority, from the Constitution of the United States, to subsidize anything. ALL of the subsidy programs need to be cancelled. I would like to see an audit of the TRILLIONS of dollars allotted over the last 25-30 years for debacles like ISTEA, ISTEAII, NEXTEA and the rest of the fancy named “infrastructure projects”. Enough tax money was allocated and spent to completely rebuild the entire interstate highway system. Let’s account for that money before allocating any more.
Helen Corbett says
Today children Don’t know how to write a letter cannot make change with out a computer . Are issue laptop computers. Most know not even how to make a sentence. Are never thought to loss everyone get a prize. They talk back to parents teachers and employers. Are to busy with their cellphones and facebook, Twitter cutting each other down. So I would say that throwing more money for schools is out for me.
Helen Corbett says
As for taking money from the transportation. If it finally gets ride of CSA and stop all this bull about body mass index sleep apnea electronic logs. I am all for it. As for our highways if the states had used the money given for the roads for roads we have no problem. But no football stadium airport sound walls and art decoration are more important than roads.
Pedro Sanchez says
It’s actually very easy to search TIGER program and find all sorts of info about it. If you dig far enough, you can actually see where all that money was spent!
Definitely not a matter of trimming off fat.
Educate yourself a bit and then speak with some understanding.
Nicholas Fitzgerald says
Cutting the budget is absolutely necessary. It means that a lot of stuff that many people like will have to go away. The federal government should not be involved in a lot of the stuff it is involved in. Why do we have a federal department of education? Every state has one, so why do we sent over $100 billion a year to D.C.? The same with medicaid, $100’s of billions each year to D.C., yet every single state has a program. They collect all the money, spend 15-20% on themselves, then send the rest back with strings attached. Why do we do that? It’s idiotic. Still, this really is not the right way to do it. The best way to cut the budget is to simply dismantle those parts of the government that do not need to exist, then reform whatever is left.
Chris Allgeier says
They need to bring back civics class. Then we wouldn’t have a reality tv star for president.
David Cooper says
So, from what i am gathering, DOT only spent $1.7b on the roads and stuff over the past 8 years? Now, what I want to know is what the heck did they do with the rest of the money from the grants they have been receiving every year?