Nancy Hauskins with Inside Politics interviewed Sen. Mae Beavers (R-17th) on the budget and the current legislative session.
In this video clip (1:00), Beavers cites the jobs created from the federal stimulus bill her party voted against that will directly benefit her constituents. She also talks about needed road and bridge repairs that have not received funding or attention during the the six years she’s represented the district.
Beavers says Tennessee deserves the money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, but inaccurately states that we only get a portion of every dollar sent to Washington. Tennessee gets a $1.27 back from every dollar we send to Washington. Tennessee is, in fact, a welfare state that takes money from other wealthier states to keep our government funded in the absence of a state income tax. Because of our state’s regressive tax policy, Tennessee needs other states to spread their wealth around. Despite our generous share of other state’s tax revenues, Sen. Beaver’s district still cannot get the necessary road projects she says will bring jobs and economic growth to her District.
Beavers calls the federal stimulus “good news for those people like Clay County where they’re desperately trying to get jobs into their county and need road works to give them better connection to the interstate system.” The Senator also lists projects in her district she’d like to see get a slice of the federal stimulus.
Last week, NIT geo-mapped the first jobs to be created around ten bridge projects, one of which is in Sen. Beavers’ district. The first ten TDOT projects funded by the federal stimulus favor Republican districts 2 to 1.
Below is a transcript of the video starting at the 1:00 min. mark:
HAUSKINS: So, what is the latest? We’re talking about the federal stimulus money. What is latest on all of that money coming into Tennessee, and where we’re going to just overall see some of it go. We know the problems. It’s going to go away in 2 years, but what do you see is some of the benefits?
BEAVERS: Um, the roads program, the bridge program. The money that we’re getting, you know, to stimulate, uh, to supposedly stimulate by rebuilding roads and things, you know, temporary jobs for people that, uh, that’s where it can help, and, um, you know, we deserve more road money back in the state of Tennessee. We send a dollar to Washington. We only get a portion of that dollar back. We’re actually helping fund roads in other states, and, so, um, even though we’re kinda glad to see that money finally come back, um, and TDOT though has many more projects than can possibly fund with the stimulus. There are certain criteria on that stimulus money. It has to be what they call a shovel-ready project which means that they are pretty much ready to break ground, they’ve bought the right of way, they’ve done all the studies, you know, they are ready to go with the construction of the road. Now, that will, once this list of projects is funded with the stimulus package, and we have about $900 million worth of shovel-ready projects and only about $500 million coming in. So, obviously they won’t all make the stimulus list. The ones that don’t make the stimulus list have a better chance of making the budget this year with just the normal funding for roads. And, so, the department really expects to get about $1.1 billion worth of roads underway this year, so that’s a good thing for those of us who are in the areas that are growing so fast, that have traffic problems. Uh, it’s good news for those people like Clay County where they’re desperately trying to get jobs into their county and need road works to give them better connection to the interstate system.
HAUSKINS: What are some of the major projects for your constituents are watching. What are some of the projects in your area that are shovel-ready?
BEAVERS: Uh, the North Mt. Juliet Road, to finish widening North Mt. Juliet Road, uh, then there’s a project up in Clay County. I’s called Corridor J. It’s the Highway 52 widening from Livingston on into Celina so part of that’s in my county. And then we got a bridge up in Dekalb County, Sligo Bridge. Many people have been up to Center Hill lake and known where that is, but that needs to be replaced and that has been designated as maybe a project that can be picked up with the stimulus. It’s on the list. If it’s not “rebuild,” either repair the bridge in the next three years it will have to be closed and people will be driving 50 miles out of the way. School buses will be driving 50 miles out of the way, so, it’s a huge problem. As I understand it they’re still looking into the guidelines in the stimulus bill as to, a lot of it said it has to go to depressed counties, counties that need jobs. Clay County would certainly fit that description.
NIT
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