(The following article by Lora Hines was posted on the Jackson Clarion Ledger website on April 27.)
WASHINGTON — Senate Appropriations Committee Chairman Thad Cochran defeated two attempts on the Senate floor Wednesday to strip from an emergency spending bill $700 million to move the CSX Railroad tracks on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.
Cochran, a Mississippi Republican, added the money to a $106.5 billion bill to pay for the war on terror and hurricane relief. But the bill is more than the $94 billion bill that President Bush requested.
Fiscal conservatives and government watchdog groups targeted the railroad project and other items in the bill because they say the items are not emergencies. Cochran and U.S. Sen. Trent Lott, another Republican from Mississippi, recently have been criticized for pushing the railroad relocation project, especially after CSX spent about $300 million to repair tracks damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
One amendment by Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Oklahoma, would have eliminated money for railroad relocation and 18 other projects. “(Moving the railroad) has been planned and advocated for years,” Coburn said. “This is not an emergency.”
But Coburn conceded he probably didn’t have enough votes to pass his amendment.
The amendment’s railroad package won 49-48 after Cochran forced a vote on just that Wednesday afternoon.
Earlier in the day, Cochran defeated another amendment that would have stripped all added projects, including the railroad relocation. The vote was 72-26 on the amendment from Sen. Craig Thomas, R-Wyoming.
Senate debate on the bill could last another week before it is sent back to the House, where the railroad money could be more vulnerable. President Bush has threatened to veto the bill unless $14 billion is cut.
Cochran and other Mississippi lawmakers, plus Coast officials and residents, say moving the tracks will improve traffic flow and save lives during other storms. The abandoned tracks would be used to build another east-west road needed for evacuation, they said. Gov. Haley Barbour is in Washington this week to lobby for the project.
“The governor is working very hard with all of our congressional delegation on this package,” said Barbour’s spokesman, Pete Smith. “We’re very optimistic and hopeful.”
Barbour created a commission made of state officials, business leaders and residents to identify Coast rebuilding needs after the storm. The Governor’s Commission on Recovery, Rebuilding and Renewal identified the railroad’s relocation as the state’s first recovery priority.
Commission member Anthony Topazi, president and CEO of Mississippi Power, said the railroad project has been mischaracterized as a pork spending.
“This is needed to protect people from future disasters,” he said.
Lott said he and Barbour have explained the need for the project to groups in Washington.
“It is about a need for an east-west route,” Lott said. “It is about evacuation. It is going to be difficult (to pass). We’ll give it our best shot. But sooner or later this (railroad) tracking is going to be moved.”
CSX spokesman Gary Sease released a written statement Wednesday in response to possible relocation.
“It was critical for CSX Transportation to rebuild its damaged rail lines and restore service after Hurricane Katrina,” the statement said. “At the same time, the company is supportive of the thoughtful consideration being given to rail infrastructure plans that would help the region’s ability to respond to future storms and emergencies. The company’s primary business interests are ensuring its continued ability to meet vital customer needs and to be made whole for costs related to the moves.”
Gulfport resident V. Afton Anderson said he thinks the project would be a waste of money. He said the $700 million could be better used to improve and widen existing roads to create better evacuation routes. Cities along the railroad could close some crossings and install better gates to prevent motorist deaths, Anderson said.
“As people move north, we need to start looking at a north-south road,” said Anderson, 76. “We don’t need another east-west road now. We need to build more north-south access to get out.”
At noon, the railroad gates on Washington Avenue in Ocean Springs lowered as a train whistle blew. The train sped through the crossing. Impatient motorists drove around gates, which continued to block the crossing about a minute after the train was long gone.
“I always griped about hearing the horn,” said resident Joyce Schiele. “We missed the whistle after the storm. Nobody really is complaining about it.”
She said traffic through the city’s downtown, which is south of the railroad tracks, would improve if the railroad tracks were moved. There’s no detour around the tracks.
“It gets backed up, especially during rush hour and lunch hour,” Schiele said. “It really backs up if the train stops.”