Washington, D.C. – The following is a written statement from Aileen Roder, Program Director of Taxpayers for Common Sense, a national budget watchdog organization, about H.R. 901, legislation that would require federal taxpayers pay the full costs of a new bridge project at Folsom Dam:

Taxpayers shouldn’t have to pay the full tab for a new bridge at Folsom Dam. While the project is expected to be voted out of committee and will eventually pass the House, it is almost certain that this proposal is dead on arrival when it gets to the Senate. It is a bridge over troubled waters.

This bill attempts to end run normal federal cost-sharing requirements and other transportation rules. Local interests usually pay around 20% of the costs of building a highway or bridge, but in this case, the proponents want to receive financial absolution from Uncle Sam. If the beneficiaries really want this bridge, they should pay their fair share instead of pursuing this special deal that rips off taxpayers.

The legislation also ignores the fact that the Army Corps of Engineers plans to build a temporary bridge southeast of Folsom Dam in conjunction with their overall plan to raise the Folsom Dam seven feet in order to provide much needed flood control to the City of Sacramento. This bridge could be turned over to the City of Folsom and would resolve the security concerns that caused the Bureau of Reclamation to close the bridge over Folsom Dam to public use.

Taxpayers for Common Sense strongly opposes H.R. 901 and the attempts to wrap this project in a homeland security flag, when there are currently other alternatives that are much less costly to taxpayers.