How to pay for Katrina

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There are only three ways to pay for the emergency supplemental appropriation passed by Congress to help the victims of Hurricane Katrina: raise taxes, increase the national debt or tighten the belt of the federal government.
Hensarling introduced an amendment to the Katrina bill which WOULD have forced Congress to cut back a lot of pork to pay for the emergency assistance. His amendment would have offset nearly $52 billion in hurricane emergency spending with funding from lower priority programs (such as in the $25 million highway bill) over five years.
You guessed it: Hensarling's amendment was voted down. Our Representatives in D.C., it seems, just can't get ENOUGH of our money for their pet pork projects.

Is it asking too much for Richmond, Indiana, to give up $3 million for its hiking trail, or Newark, New Jersey, to put a hold on its $2 million bike path?" or
$230 million for the infamous "Bridge To Nowhere" in Alaska which will service an island town of just 50 people
* $4 million for bike paths and park space in Calexico, California
* $4 million for sidewalk improvements in Clarkson, Georgia
* $3 million for a river path in Springfield, Oregon
* $2.8 million for a bike/pedestrian path in Madison, Wisconsin
* $2.7 million for renovation of the Packard Museum in Warren, Ohio
* $2.48 million for bike/pedestrian paths in Chicago, Illinois
* $2.3 million for landscaping enhancements along the Ronald Reagan Freeway in California
* $2 million to construct an "intermodal center" at the Philadelphia Zoo in Pennsylvania
* $2 million for a parking garage in San Antonio, Texas
* $1.8 million to construct a visitor interpretive center at the Gray Fossil Site in Tennessee
* $1.2 million to install lighting/steps at the Blue Ridge Music Center in Virginia
* $640,000 to extend a bicycle trail in Aberdeen, South Dakota
* $320,000 for a new bicycle/pedestrian trail in Shelbyville, Tennessee
* $33,440 for a trolley barn in Harrison, Arkansas
6,000-plus "pork" projects in the highway bill
But a spokesman for Rep. Don Young (R-AK), Chairman of the House Transportation Committee, called the pork-for-relief swap proposal "moronic," and the Washington Times reports that House Majority Leader Tom DeLay says there simply isn't any "fat" left in the budget to be cut.
Let's make our voices heard loud and clear on this issue. First, make two quick phone calls to Reps. Young and DeLay, and just let them know: "Repeal the 'pork' projects in the highway bill, and spend it on Katrina relief efforts!" Here's the numbers:

Rep. Don Young: 202-225-5765
Rep. Tom DeLay: 202-225-5951

call or email your congressman

capwiz.com/sicminc/issues/alert/?alertid=8042021&type=CO