CAGW Applauds Florida Agency for Refusing Earmark

CAGW* | September 2, 2007

CAGW this month hailed a local government agency’s decision to disavow a $10 million federal earmark secured by Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) for an unnecessary road project in Florida. In 2005, Rep. Young quietly changed an earmark in the highway bill for Lee and Collier Counties in Florida from $10 million for “widening and improvements in I-75” to $10 million for the Coconut Road Interchange/I-75. Developer Michal Aronoff, who owns property along Coconut Road and stands to benefit financially from increased road access, helped then-House Transportation Committee Chairman Young raise $40,000 for his reelection campaign. On August 17, the Lee County Metropolitan Planning Organization voted 10-3 to return the $10 million to the federal government and ask that the money instead be spent for its original purpose, to widen I-75. “This is a symbolic victory over wasteful spending,” said CAGW President Tom Schatz. “Congratulations to Lee County for not wanting to be associated with Rep. Young and for standing up against the powerful pork machine.”

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