WASHINGTON -- Sen. John Ensign wants to cut federal spending on earmarked projects in a $286.4 billion highway bill, but Tuesday he stopped short of naming any Nevada projects that should be cut.
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Ensign and five other Republican senators who are members of the Senate Fiscal Watch Team appeared at a news conference to push for spending cuts to pay for relief provided to victims of Hurricane Katrina.
"We're ... proposing eliminating all of the earmarks in the highway spending bill," the Nevadan said at the news conference.
If all the earmarks were eliminated, the Las Vegas Valley would lose more than $46 million for seven road projects.
Las Vegas Beltway interchanges would lose $20 million for construction involving Interstate 15 and U.S. Highway 95.
Ensign does not want to eliminate the projects, which he considers worthwhile, spokesman Jack Finn said.
"He wants to reform the earmark process to eliminate the wasteful projects that are often included," Finn said.
Ingrid Reisman, a spokeswoman for the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, said $11.7 million in earmarks in the highway bill for her agency are "desperately needed."
"With continued growth, we critically need all available transportation funds just to meet today's mobility demands and will continue to request funds for additional projects in the future," Reisman said.
Another senator who attended the news conference was Tom Coburn, R-Okla., who proposed an amendment last week that would have removed money in the highway bill for two "bridges to nowhere" in Alaska.
The Senate rejected Coburn's amendment by a vote of 82-15, and Ensign was among those who voted against it.
"I just happened to disagree," Ensign said. He said Coburn's amendment did not include a significant amount of money.
But Ensign said the cuts he, Coburn and the other senators proposed Tuesday could save taxpayers $125 billion.
The proposal calls for a 5 percent cut in all federal spending with 1 percent reserved for the president to spend on essential needs such as veterans' health care.
With cutting local projects in the highway bill, the senators are proposing a two-year delay in the Medicare prescription drug benefit and a freeze on pay raises for federal workers.
Other senators on the Fiscal Watch Team include Sam Brownback of Kansas, Jim DeMint and Lindsey Graham, both of South Carolina, John McCain of Arizona and John Sununu of New Hampshire. Graham did not show up at the news conference.
The news conference was the group's second in less than five weeks.
"We feel like we are gaining some momentum," Ensign said.
