Rep. Jim Oberstar is Porker of the Month

CAGW recently named House Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar (D-Minn.) Porker of the Month for August, 2007. In the wake of the deadly Minnesota bridge collapse, Chairman Oberstar’s immediate reaction was to call for tax increases and new spending.

He originally proposed a “temporary

In the final bill, he came away with five projects totaling $14.6 million for Duluth, Minnesota, including $3.2 million for the Munger Trail extension. The 69-mile Willard Munger State Trail, named after former Rep. Willard Munger (D-Minn.), stretches from Duluth to Hinckley. According to the Minnesota Department of Natural Resources, it is the longest paved recreational trail in the nation. In-line skaters, bicyclists, hikers and snowmobilers enjoy the Munger Trail, which is now being subsidized by non-participating taxpayers.

Rep. Oberstar also added an earmark in the House version of the highway bill for a $1 billion six-year project to build sidewalks and bike paths to schools and encourage children to exercise more. The Safe Routes to School Program, run by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, was funded at $612 million in the final version of the legislation.

Other “high-priority