From the office of House Republican Whip Eric Cantor:
- $7 million in taxpayer stimulus funds are being used to build a bridge in Thedford, Nebraska. The purpose of the bridge? Helping 168 residents avoid a 30 second wait at a local train crossing.
- But according to Mike Hodges, a local business owner, crossing the bridge won’t even help residents avoid the current 30 second wait time—it will actually take longer to cross the new roundabout bridge.
- Will the bridge at least create jobs? Not for Thedford. Town Chairman Judy Taylor complained that the bridge contract was awarded to a Colorado company that is using their own workers. In fact, not one full-time job will be created through the construction of this $7 million bridge.
- CNN closed their segment by saying this about the bridge: “No economic benefit, no full time jobs, and a lot of taxpayer dollars used to cross the road.”
- Under the House Republican Stimulus Alternative, $7 million of taxpayer funds would not be spent on unnecessary bridges which don’t create jobs. Instead, Republicans would have created twice as many jobs at half the cost. To learn how visit: http://republicanwhip.house.gov/Jobs/
- Source: CNN
The Washington Watch Report is available on the House Republican Whip’s website: http://republicanwhip.house.gov/blog/wwindex.html