Democratic areas get more grants for transportation

WASHINGTON — Just two months before next week’s midterm elections, the Obama administration in September awarded the biggest share of almost $600 million in economic stimulus-based transportation grants to projects in districts with a Democratic congressman, even though Republicans represent 34 more House districts across the country, an Associated Press analysis has found.

The Department of Transportation doled out $584 million in September for 72 Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER, grants. The largest grants were:

o $25 million to help fund a replacement bridge spanning Democratic-held districts in Maine and New Hampshire.

o $25 million for pedestrian and bicyclist safety improvements in predominantly Democratic New York City, including a project in the Staten Island-based district of GOP Rep. Michael Grimm.

o $24.9 million for a bus corridor linking a Richmond, Va.-based Democratic district with areas formerly represented by GOP Rep. Eric Cantor, who resigned this summer.

o $24 million for the Mountain Parkway in an eastern Kentucky district represented by House Appropriations Committee Chairman Harold Rogers, a Republican.

o $20 million to upgrade the Port of Seattle, in the district of Democratic Rep. Jim McDermott.

o $20 million to create an elevated portion of Florida’s Tamiami Trail to help restore the Everglades. The project is in the districts of both a Democrat and Republican.

o $20 million to upgrade Ruggles Station, a Boston subway, commuter rail and bus terminal in the district of Democratic Rep. Michael Capuano.

o $18.8 million for a pedestrian bridge linking a new housing project with Chicago’s lakefront in a Democratic-held district.

o $17.9 million for rural road improvements in areas of southwestern Mississippi represented by Democratic Rep. Bennie Thompson and GOP Rep. Gregg Harper.

— The Associated Press

Applicants from Democratic-held districts won 48 percent of the so-called TIGER grants for road, bridge and rapid transit projects, rail line repairs and port upgrades. Just 33 percent of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grants were awarded to GOP-held districts. The rest went to projects that cross district lines.

Republicans claim GOP-represented areas have been shortchanged every year since the TIGER grants were established in 2009 as a small part of President Barack Obama’s $840 billion stimulus package to help bring the U.S. economy out of a recession.

Democrats argue that more grants naturally go toward the pressing infrastructure needs of urban areas, where they continue to outnumber Republicans. But the pattern is nonetheless irksome for Republicans, who represent 54 percent of House districts nationwide.

A year earlier, according to the AP’s analysis, projects in 30 Democratic-held congressional districts received grants totaling $303 million while projects in 20 GOP-held districts won grants totaling $140 million. Two projects spanning district lines got grants in 2013 totaling $13 million.

“Just by the numbers one has to say that it looks like politics is involved because Democratic districts fare far better, significantly better than Republican districts,” said Sen. David Vitter, R-La. “This is more about funding President Obama’s political needs than funding our infrastructure needs.”

A Transportation Department spokesman insisted politics doesn’t play a role while declining to make agency officials available for interviews.

“TIGER is a merit-based, competitive program, and DOT funds the best projects that are submitted, no matter where they are located,” said spokesman Brian Farber, using shorthand for the Transportation Department. “In fact, a number of Republicans championed projects in cities that are represented by Democrats and vice versa. Most of our TIGER projects received bipartisan support. Many projects have Democratic mayors, Republican governors and a split congressional delegation.”

Indeed, many of the projects awarded to GOP-held districts in states like Minnesota, Louisiana, Alaska and Colorado were advocated for by Democratic senators. Republican senators also pitched for projects in Democratic districts in their states.

At issue is some $4 billion in discretionary grants awarded since the stimulus law’s enactment. TIGER grants are a small portion of the government’s surface transportation budget. They augment more than $50 billion distributed annually to states through a formula and from a trust fund financed by the 18.4-cent-a-gallon federal gasoline tax.

The nearly $600 million in TIGER grants allotted for 2014 went out in September. The grants are awarded through a competitive process that takes into account factors like state of disrepair, economic benefits, safety and the environment. Competition for them is strong. Just 1 out of 11 applicants won a TIGER grant this year.

Sometimes, however, the best proposals don’t win out.

Last year, only 33 of the 136 applications getting a “highly recommended” grade were actually awarded grants, according to an analysis by the Government Accountability Office, a watchdog agency that serves Congress. Seventeen applications with lower grades of “recommended” also won grants. Two grants for projects graded “acceptable” were awarded to applicants from urban areas. The Transportation Department doesn’t explain why proposals with lower grades often win out over more highly ranked ones.