The recent proposal distributed by congressional Democrats will provide only an additional $15 billion in 2009 and 2010 for road construction and repair. And of that $30 billion total provided, some funds are earmarked for narrow uses such as technology training or construction of roads on Indian reservations and in national parks.

Compare that $30 billion allocated in this bill to the most expensive road project in U.S. history – the infamous “Big Dig” of Massachusetts. The final tally puts the cost of this road project to $15 billion and estimates say it will end up costing $22 billion by the year 2038. The $30 billion in this package would just be enough to cover the costs of that one project and a few smaller plans.

“Again, what you see in Democrat bill is 14 years of pent-up demand to increase the size, scope, power and expense of the federal government,” Rep. Jeb Hensarling, R-Texas, a member of the House Financial Services Committee, said to BMI. “What are they are doing within this bill, which they parade under the title of ‘stimulus,’ is fund 150 different federal programs – 32 brand-new programs, 19 programs which OMB [Office of Management and Budget] has labeled as ineffective or shown no results.”