MediaWatch: April 1998
Table of Contents:
- MediaWatch: April 1998
- Five Clinton Practices Ignored by TV News
- NewsBites: Belated Flowers
- Jonesboro Ambush: Who's to Blame?
- The Ron and Nolanda Story Continues...
- ABC on the Budget-Busting Transportation Bill
ABC on the Budget-Busting Transportation Bill
When the Democrats were in control of Congress, the media rarely questioned pork barrel spending in their funding bills. With Republicans now in control it’s their turn to spend, but only ABC took on the GOP from the right, reporting that in the current, pork-laden transportation bill many Republicans have abandoned their promise to reign in spending.
In their nightly "A Closer Look" segment, the March 23 World News Tonight took a very critical look at the bill. Anchor Peter Jennings opened the story: "There is no doubt that much of the money to improve roads and bridges and tunnels is badly needed. What causes so many people distress is that in a Congress which promised fiscal reform and responsibility, it is pretty much business as usual."
Reporter John Cochran focused on where all the pork starts, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee: "That’s the biggest committee in Congress, 73 members. Everyone wants to be on a committee eager to hand out billions, 43 percent more than the last transportation bill six years ago when Democrats ran Congress. That kind of spending disgusts some Republicans who say now that we’re in charge, we’re as bad as liberal Democrats."
Cochran compared the bill to the budget plan: "Remember the historic agreement to balance the budget? The transportation bill busts that to the tune of $26 billion. To make up the difference, Republicans promise to cut other programs but don’t say which ones. It could mean less for schools, law enforcement or health. It could also mean no tax cuts. That infuriates Republican Sue Myrick. She always felt the transportation bill was the worst kind of pork barrel politics."
Myrick went on to explain how she was offered $15 million for her district, which she turned down, in exchange for her vote on the bill. While Myrick was one of the exceptions, Cochran concluded by pointing out GOP hypocrisy: "Much of that money comes from your gasoline taxes. Democrats pushed through the last tax increase back in 1993 — 4.3 cents a gallon. And every Republican voted against it. Now, they need that money and more. So the same Republicans who screamed back then are now saying, ‘Fill ‘er up.’"
