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FL Senator And Rep Take Up $10 Million Earmark Cause
It seems like everyone down in Florida is teaming up to undo what Rep. Don Young (R-AK) has done.
Sen. Bill Nelson (D-FL) and Rep. Connie Mack (R-FL) have taken up the cause of Lee County officials who want to use Young's infamous $10 million Coconut Road earmark for a broader project.
Mack, congressman for the district where the projects sit, sent a letter to the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure asking the committee to allow Lee County "flexibility" in how it may use the money. Lee County officials voted last week to send back the money to Congress in hopes of having it reauthorized for I-75.
The county wants the money to widen I-75, as was originally described in the bill approved by the House and Senate. But as Mack writes, "at some point after the conference report passed Congress but before the bill was signed by President George W. Bush, this language was changed." Despite Mack's tactful employment of the past tense, all signs are that Young or someone on his staff was behind the change.
The Coconut Road interchange would benefit a real estate developer who helped raise Young $40,000 a few days before he slipped the earmark into a 2005 highway bill.
Josh
Zachary
"Sen. Bill Nelson (R-FL)"
Um, Sen. Nelson is a Democrat (although a bit of a DINO at times).
August 22, 2007 2:40 PM | Reply | Permalink
"Past tense."
You mean passive voice.
August 22, 2007 3:43 PM | Reply | Permalink
It was not the use of the "past" tense that was tactful, it was the use of the "passive mode".
The active mode states the actor who performs the action, as the subjet of the sentence such as,
Representative such and such changed yada, yada, yada.
In the instance of the article the passive mode indicates what the action taken was(as the subject of the sentence) but "tactfully" avoids stating who is responsible for the action taken.
avoids in the predicate stating who took the action.
Just more disingenuous obfuscation being passed off as "tact".
August 22, 2007 4:04 PM | Reply | Permalink
Who changed the language in the Earmarks?
What person added the DOJ changes in the Patriot Act?
Which idiots did not read the FISA bill?
There no checks and balances. There is no accountability. It occurs to me this country runs on blind luck, of which we have plainly run out.
August 22, 2007 4:47 PM | Reply | Permalink
How is this even possible:
"at some point after the conference report passed Congress but before the bill was signed by President George W. Bush, this language was changed."
In that case, wouldn't the entire bill not be law at all, as it is unconstitutional for the President to make law, and thus unconstitutional for him to sign into law a bill that did not in fact pass Congress?
August 22, 2007 4:52 PM | Reply | Permalink
The funny part about this whole thing is that the exchange has been on the local planning books for 26 years, with the ROW already bought up for a WEST SIDE ONLY EXCHANGE. The supposed briber's property is on the EAST SIDE of I-75 where no exchange is planned, so pray tell, how could he benefit?
August 22, 2007 9:19 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why doesn't Lee County just spend the money the way the want to? If anyone ever calls them to task all they have to say is either a) if the White House doesn't have to answer to Congress, why should we, or b) I don't recall.
d
August 22, 2007 10:35 PM | Reply | Permalink
Why has no Congressional member asked for an Investigation as to how this occurred? This is really, really rotten to the core of the Republic!
August 23, 2007 12:06 AM | Reply | Permalink