Show us the money!

There's no slowing the torrent of bailout and "stimulus" funds coming from Washington, regardless of whether they work as intended. But the next round of handouts -- if done properly -- might bring some additional relief to congested Southern Nevada.

At a joint news conference Monday, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and local transit officials said some 60 projects with a combined price tag of about $1 billion could be started within 180 days if Congress follows through on a massive infrastructure spending plan. Sen. Reid left no doubt that piles of money are on the way, and he indicated the state could be in line for even more transportation funding.

"There's no question it's going to be passed," Sen. Reid said of the economic stimulus lawmakers clamoring for. "It's a question of how robust it is. I think without any question it will be $750 billion to $800 billion, and much of that will go right into infrastructure."

Sen. Reid and his colleagues like to say that the plan will create hundreds of thousands of jobs and infuse hundreds of local economies with new spending. But the overall economic benefit of this plan is being overstated because it's 100 percent debt -- taxpayers will be putting every one of these projects on the federal government's credit card and making minimum payments for decades.

"What has been talked about in recent months is to spend the money," Sen. Reid said about deficit considerations.

The major economic benefits will come upon the completion of projects that allow commuters and commercial vehicles to reach their destinations more quickly, reducing their costs and increasing their productivity. And Southern Nevada has no shortage of desperately needed road and highway capacity improvements.

Among the ready-to-go projects identified Monday by Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission:

-- $200 million in upgrades to the Las Vegas Beltway's airport connector interchange.

-- $82 million worth of improvements to the Beltway's northern leg.

-- The construction of a $55 million interchange in the southern valley at Interstate 15 and Cactus Road.

-- $122 million road renovations.

Congress typically has provided federal funding for transportation projects through earmarks or pork-barrel appropriations, ignoring actual need in favor of political gain (see editorial below). That Sen. Reid is consulting Mr. Snow and the Regional Transportation Commission is a promising development.

When Congress passes this legislative largess, the bill should mandate that state and local transportation agencies decide exactly which projects receive funding. These are the officials already retained by local taxpayers to develop transportation plans -- federal lawmakers spend entirely too much time in Washington to know which choke points are worse than others.

Indeed, Mr. Snow said that once he knows how much money Sen. Reid has secured for the Las Vegas Valley, the Regional Transportation Commission will prioritize the 60 projects to identify the ones "that give us the biggest bang for our buck." Such evaluations will be important because Congress might very well take away any infrastructure money that isn't spent within six months, Mr. Snow said.

It will be impossible for Congress to resist greasing some palms along the way. Delegations from the 50 states will likely need protective gear in the scrum that decides who gets how much. But once the initial fight at the trough is settled, local officials are best suited to follow through on addressing the top priorities.