Politicians keep playing games with our tax money

 The bill would increase the flow of highway aid to states by adjusting current spending levels to take into account inflation over the past several years. States would have greater discretion over how to spend the money, but the bill also would create a new set of performance and project eligibility requirements aimed at preventing waste and making sure national goals are met.
A credit assistance program that helps leverage private investment for transportation projects of national and regional significance would be increased tenfold to $1 billion. In the past, the program has been able to generate as much as $30 in private capital for every $1 in aid, Boxer has said.
The measure also would reduce the number of federal transportation programs by roughly two-thirds in an effort to eliminate duplication. Bicycle, pedestrian, safe routes to schools and rails-to-trails programs — which were targeted by Republicans — were preserved by moving them into a larger congestion mitigation program where they would have to compete with other programs for moneyFULL STORY HERE