US: Whether as loan guarantees for a shop in Ohio or a grant for a Florida power plant, the Bush administration is showering hundreds of millions of dollars in federal money on so-called swing states in the presidential election, writes Charles Abbott in Washington.
Officials insist the largesse is not tied to the campaign. But the grants are generally announced by top agency officials during local appearances, assuring attention in pivotal areas, and they have come thick and fast as November 2nd approaches.
Energy Secretary Mr Spencer Abraham, for example, went to Orlando, Florida, last week to announce a $235 million grant to help build a clean-burning power plant. The project "will account for more than 1,800 jobs", he said.
Other recent awards were $46.7 million for light rail in the Pittsburgh area, $17.9 million to reduce aircraft noise at the Reno, Nevada, airport, $36,500 for a fire truck and ambulance in Minnesota, and $4.5 million in guarantees for a convenience store near Cleveland.
Florida, Pennsylvania, Minnesota, Nevada and Ohio are presidential battleground states. With Wisconsin, Iowa, New Mexico, West Virginia, Missouri, they are expected to decide the election for either President Bush or Democratic challenger Senator John Kerry.
"This is a technique that has been used for many, many years," said Mr David Williams of Citizens Against Government Waste, referring to the ballyhooing of local awards.
"One of the good things that happened this year," he said, to hold down questionable outlays, was that Congress has yet to approve funding for most parts of the government.
The spending bills often earmark money for local projects and provide fodder for attack by good-government groups that object to "pork", or excessive spending on local projects in return for political support. "That is a lot better hidden in agency budgets," said Mr Williams.
Budget watchdog Taxpayers for Common Sense said the $140 billion corporate tax Bill enacted by Congress this month, the biggest corporate tax overhaul in the United States in two decades, was filled with giveaways intended "to bribe swing states". The tax Bill extended the fuel tax break for corn-derived ethanol, a popular political cause in the Midwest, and created a similar credit for biodiesel, most often made from soybeans.
Earlier this month, Congress rushed to approve $14.5 billion in hurricane aid, mostly earmarked for Florida, which had been hit repeatedly by major storms. The money was attached to an unrelated Bill funding military construction. The Transportation Department has awarded more than $200 million in grants and other investments in swing states since July.
Transportation Secretary Mr Norm Mineta, the sole Democrat in Mr Bush's cabinet, was in Ohio last week to announce $82 million towards construction of a rapid transit project in the Cleveland area.
"We give out grants all year long every year. It's one of the main things this department does," said Mr Robert Johnson, spokesman for Mr Mineta. "It doesn't matter what's going on beyond these walls."
The department, then run by Democrats, also handed out large checks in 2000. One grant awarded before the election gave $230 million to California airport and transit programmes.
Also this week, the Agriculture Department announced a project with Ohio to pay farmers and landowners up to $207 million over 15 years to plant erosion-reducing grasses and trees to protect water quality for Columbus, the state capital. - (Reuters)