President Barack Obama’s administration eliminated $473 million in old transportation earmarks today, telling states to reallocate the money by the end of the year or lose it for good.
Old earmarks for projects that have not yet been built, from fiscal years 2003 to 2006, have been effectively nixed. Appropriations bills for those years contained a provision allowing the secretary of Transportation to make unused funds available for other projects, the administration said.
“My administration will continue to do everything we can to put Americans back to work,” Obama said in a statement. “We’re not going to let politics stand between construction workers and good jobs repairing our roads and bridges.”
“We are freeing up these funds so states can get down to the business of moving transportation projects forward and putting our friends and neighbors back to work,” Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.
MORE: White House Kills $473 Million in Earmarks : Roll Call News.