The Railroad to Nowhere
Over the weekend, Robert Novak reported on the notorious 'Railroad to Nowhere': bq. RAILROAD TO NOWHERE? bq. The costly rail project near Gulfport, Miss., that has been sought locally for decades has been slipped into the emergency appropriations bill as part of Hurricane Katrina reconstruction. bq. Sen. Thad Cochran of Mississippi, chairman of the Senate Appropriations Committee, added $700 million on grounds that "the tracks were extensively damaged during Hurricane Katrina." Actually, the new project would destroy a newly repaired section of the railroad. The Mississippi Governor's Commission, in its final report to Gov. Haley Barbour last December, said the Gulfport railroad plan "is no longer seen as practical." bq. The emergency appropriations bill and what is being called the railroad to nowhere are expected to come to the Senate floor the week of April 24, after the lawmakers return from their Easter recess. Senator Trent Lott, who also had a hand in this, is apparently losing his edge. Last year in Roll Call newspaper, he spoke about pork by saying, "The way I do it is, I fold them into bills where you can't find it," Lott said. "I've been around here long enough to know how to bury it."
