The US government is not just bilking taxpayers for domestic highway programs that aren't worth a crap and not creating a solid public highway infrastructure. It is also funding road projects for other countries, with no oversight.
US Government Spends Millions Building Roads Overseas
Posted: 14 Sep 2012 01:57 AM PDT
"The Millennium Challenge Corporation, a US government corporation, was established in 2004 to provide aid to developing countries that have demonstrated a commitment to ruling justly, encouraging economic freedom, and investing in people," GAO said in its September 12 report to the House and Senate Appropriations committees.
Millennium Challenge originally offered Nicaragua $175 million in infrastructure aid ($93 million for roads) under an agreement that took force May 26, 2006 -- a few months before Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega re-took the presidency. Ortega, a Marxist, ruled Nicaragua from 1985 to 1990, and then-President Ronald Reagan made removing him from office a priority. His 2006 return was made possible by the installation of Sandinista judges in key positions, giving Ortega influence on the electoral process. Early on, Ortega allied with countries at odds with US policy.
"The revolutions of Iran and Nicaragua are almost twins," Ortega said in a 2007 meeting with Iranian leader Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
It was not until 2008 that the Millennium Challenge noted police would raid the premises of Ortega's political opponents. The agency decided to scale back aid to $113 million ($58 million for roads) citing a "decline in political rights and civil liberties." The roads project was described as stimulating economic development by cutting the cost of transportation for Nicaraguan road users, and the government agency was unwilling to pull the plug on the entire endeavor.
"Despite this partial termination, the Millennium Challenge Account-Nicaragua successfully implemented the portions of the compact that had already begun," the agency explained in a statement.
GAO raised questions about whether the road projects were sustainable. A more detailed 2010 investigation by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) looked closely at the road project in Vanuatu.
"The completed roads may not meet beneficiary expectations," USAID's inspector general reported. "Vanuatu's public works department, responsible for sustainability of the roads, had limited capacity to perform road maintenance. Although the government of Vanuatu budgeted about $5 million for road maintenance as required by the compact, it may not be enough to sustain the roads. As a result, the roads may not be properly maintained annually."
The report found the island nation only spent about a quarter of the amount needed to keep the roads in good order.
While Millennium Challenge has been funding free roads in foreign countries, the US Department of Transportation has been converting domestic freeways into toll roads. Under a project that began last month, the center lanes of Interstate 95 in Virginia, which were free for anyone to use in off-peak periods, are being converted into toll lanes. Construction on the project, which rearranges existing lane space, is backed by $300 million in federal taxpayer financing.
A copy of the GAO report is available in a 1mb PDF file at the source link below. Source
http://www.detroitnews.com/
Auto safety grants could see $120 million in cuts
• By David Shepardson
• Detroit News Washington Bureau
Washington - States could lose as much as $120 million in highway safety grants if Congress doesn't change a planned bill to fund the government's operations for six months.
The Governors Highway Safety Association and Mothers Against Drunk Driving on Tuesday called on Congress to support highway safety grant programs. "Failure to do so will result in increased highway deaths and injuries," the groups said.
Congress passed a new highway bill this year that streamlines the federal grant process that provides state funds for alcohol-impaired and distracted driving prevention, increased occupant protection, motorcycle safety, teen driving safety and data collection.
The funds allow police to do heavy enforcement over holiday weekends among other purposes.
Under the typical rules for a continuing resolution, new programs such as those authorized under the highway bill cannot be funded.
That means all but $25 million would be cut from the program.
"Unless the CR takes into account the revised priority highway safety grant program structure authorized under MAP-21, as much as $120 million in essential traffic safety grant funds could be denied to the states for six months," the two organizations said in a statement. "The result would be devastating for highway safety, particularly at a time when preliminary government statistics show that highway fatalities are starting to increase after years of declines."
Traffic deaths in the first three months of 2012 jumped 13.5 percent to the highest number since 2008.
The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration reported Friday that its estimate of traffic deaths for the first quarter of 2012 show a 13.5 percent increase.
The estimated increase is the second-largest quarterly jump in traffic deaths since NHTSA began tracking deaths on a quarterly basis in 1975 — and the biggest since 1979.
NHTSA said the rate of traffic deaths per 100 million miles of vehicle travel increased substantially. For the first three months of 2012, the rate increased significantly to 1.1 fatalities per 100 million miles traveled, up from 0.98 fatalities per 100 million miles in the same period last year.
NHTSA said it estimates 7,630 people died in vehicle crashes in the first three months, up from 6,720 in the first quarter of 2011.
The increase would end a steady decline in U.S. road deaths over the last seven years.
One reason may be the very warm winter across the country meant people drove more.
Traffic deaths in 2011 fell 1.7 percent — their lowest number since 1949.
NHTSA said in May that 32,310 people died in motor vehicle traffic crashes last year, down 1.7 percent over the 32,885 road deaths in 2010.
