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U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron, says he’ll stick by a House Republican pledge and refrain from requesting any federal earmarks — including one economic-development leaders in his district asked him to support for the four-laning of Highway 30 from Carroll to Glidden.
U.S. Rep. Steve King, R-Kiron
Last month, the U.S. House Republican Conference approved a one-year moratorium on earmarks, which are provisions directing federal funds for specific projects. During a session with the Carroll Area Development Corp., King was specifically asked if he would support the U.S. 30 earmark.
Leaders from the Carroll area presented a case to the Iowa Department of Transportation earlier this month for prioritizing the seven-mile section of federal highway from Carroll to Glidden for four-laning. Meanwhile, local officials and members of the coalition in support of the project — called the U.S. Highway 30 Coalition of Iowa — promised to press Iowa’s congressional delegation to support funding for four-laning the full route through the state.
One way to get this done is to earmark funds for specific portions of the highway work. However, King said he won’t cut ranks with his party to go after the money through the earmark process.
“I’m not going to break with that resolution that was passed by the conference,” King said. “That’s where we are today. That doesn’t mean that I can’t be supportive of an idea or a project, and it doesn’t mean I can’t have those conversations with our senators who will be in a position to make those kind of requests.”
Senate Republicans did not pass the earmark ban.
For his part, King said he has requested earmarks in the past but says it’s vital to stick with the party now as the earmarking process has been poisoned. Last year, King secured 13 earmarks worth $6.65 million in various spending bills, according to the group Taxpayers for Common Sense.
The moratorium is intended to help restore national fiscal sanity, he said.
“I’m going to abide by that,” King said.
He added that his office has spent staff time and resources helping to build the case for Highway 30 but that it will not be used for an earmark request, at least in the time frame covered by the moratorium.
Carroll Mayor Jim Pedelty said King’s position places Carroll, and all of the 5th Congressional District, for that matter, at a disadvantage in the fight for federal money.
“I was disappointed as I think we were all disappointed,” Pedelty said.
Pedelty said as the commercial hub of west-central Iowa, Carroll deserves consideration for the four-laning project.
What’s more, Pedelty says flatly that King isn’t delivering on the vital economic-development project.
“I know other congressmen are more successful in getting money for their cities,” said Pedelty, a registered independent.
Former Carroll Mayor Robert Christensen said King’s position is not surprising. King has always put the needs of U.S. Highway 20 first, he said.
In fact, King reiterated the point again before the Carroll Area Development Corp.
“My No. 1 transportation priority was to four-lane Highway 20,” King said. “That’s not a secret in this town. I’ve said that all over the district from the Missouri border to the Minnesota border since 2002.”
He added, “I had to set a priority. I did that years ago.”
Christensen noted that an overpass is being constructed in Jefferson with the assistance of federal money.
“Our representative doesn’t see fit to support us on the most important economic-development project of the last 10 years,” Christensen said.
Iowa’s other Republican congressman, Tom Latham of Ames, who has been successful in pushing for federal money for Jefferson, has agreed to the moratorium on earmarks as well.
“He (Latham) has not submitted any funding requests for the fiscal year and will not,” a Latham spokesman said.
Latham led Iowa’s congressional delegation in securing individual earmarks in the 2009 omnibus spending bill. He trailed only King in earmarks secured with other members of Congress.
The president of the U.S. Highway 30 Coalition of Iowa, Edith Pfeffer of Clinton, a former chair of the Republican Party in that eastern Iowa county, says there are some encouraging signs in King’s comments.
“He didn’t say he was going to work against you,” Pfeffer said.
Additionally, the fact that King said he will advocate for the Carroll-to-Glidden project with U.S. Sens. Tom Harkin and Chuck Grassley does mean something, Pfeffer said.
“I think the fact that he said he was willing to talk to the senators is very positive,” Pfeffer said.
The cities and businesses along U.S. 30 need all the support for four-laning they can get, said Carroll City Manager Gerald Clausen.
“We’ve had a lot of effort go into Highway 30, and we’ve had a lot of businesses along Highway 30 indicate that transportation is key,” Clausen said. “Economic development generally follows where the highway system is at.”
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