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Highway Bill Update & May 3-4, 2004 Agenda

Highway Bill update

The South Bend Tribune, on 5-1-04, wrote the following excerpt:

“Zirkle also believes that Chocola fell short by securing just $45 million in federal transportation funding out of the proposed $275 billion in highway funding sought over the next six years.

According to Zirkle, there are 435 congressional districts, so simple division says each member of Congress should be bringing home over $632 million as his or her share of the $275 billion.

"Either I'm missing something, my math is wrong or (Democratic candidate Joe) Donnelly is fast asleep," Zirkle declared. The comment brought a ready response from Brooks Kochvar, who is Chocola's chief of staff.

"He's missing something and his math is wrong," Kochvar said. According to Kochvar, only a small percentage of the highway funding is allocated to projects "earmarked" for individual members of Congress. The rest is returned to the states in the form of gasoline tax funding. Kochvar said only $11.4 billion was set aside for earmarked projects, and the average Republican member of Congress was allocated about $13 million for projects in his or her district. Chocola's $45 million includes about $30 million for the U.S. 31 project, which Kochvar said is in the top 10 among projects funded throughout the nation.

Kochvar added that the $45 million secured by Chocola is over and above the $4.8 billion that will be received by the state of Indiana. Staff writer James Wensits:”

I agree that I was correct in saying that I was definitely missing more than something. This issue represents one of the risks that an incumbent incurs when he declines a public primary debate. A challenger like me with limited information and no opportunity to publicly dialogue can easily mislead voters with incomplete information. This is the first time Congressman Chocola’s office has responded to my campaign, and the additional information was quite helpful and appreciated.

However, I’m still trying to figure out how my math is wrong. $275 billion divided by 435 seats is $632 million on my calculator; however, that issue is moot now. A couple of questions still remain. $11.4 billion in earmarked projects divided by 435 house seats is 26.2 million. How is it that the average Republican only received 13 million which is half of 26.2 million that the average congressman should have gotten? Also, of the 45 million for U.S. 31, how much of that money covers Miami, Tipton, Hamilton, Marion and the non-2nd district parts of Howard Counties? So, it’s probably not entirely accurate that he has scored $45 million for the 2nd district alone, since some of that will be shared by Miami Co. (3rd district?) and Tipton (5th districts?).

Also of a $275 billion transportation bill, if we subtract $11.4 billion in earmarked projects, we have $263.6 billion left to be returned to the “states in the form of gasoline tax funding.” What does that mean? How does one “fund” a gasoline tax? Also, if we take $263.6 billion in gas tax funding and divide that by 435 congressmen, the average congressman would get $606 million. If we multiply $606 million by 9 Indiana Congressmen, we get $5.454 billion that we should have gotten on average. Chocola’s office stated that Indiana only received $4.845 billion. $4.845 billion that Indiana got divided by $5.454 billion that we should have gotten on average is only 88.8% of what we should have received. Before Chocola’s office makes this one of their number one issues for the fall, perhaps his office would like to take a moment to check my numbers here. Perhaps my math really is wrong.

What is clear here is that my suggestion that Congressman Chocola might only have returned 7.12% of what he should have on average is clearly wrong. I regret the error and have conveyed this to one of Mr. Chocola’s campaign staff. I will update my Web site ASAP.

2. May 3rd and 4th Campaign Agenda

I have pledged to visit each of the 12 counties each month during the primary. On Monday, May 3, I will undergo a 9 county courthouse tour of the district. If anyone has any questions, they can meet me at the following courthouses. I will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Porter County courthouse in Valparaiso and then move on to the following counties in this orderr:

Starke, Pulaski, White, Carroll, Cass, Howard, Fulton, and Marshall counties. I can be reached on my cell phone at (219) 308-1673 should anyone wish to meet with me. You can call me to see where I am on the route. If noone shows up, I’ll simply introduce myself to as many people in the court houses as possible.

On May 4th, I will begin at 8:00 a.m. at the Prairie Vista elementary school on Brick Road in Granger, St. Joseph Co. I will stay until 9:00 where I will then go to the Harris Township Fire Department on State Rd. 23 for 15 minutes and then to the other fire station in Harrison Township which is on the corner of Anderson and Bittersweet where I will remain for another 15 minutes. At 9:30, I will travel to the Elkhart City Republican Headquarters on Main Street. I should arrive about 10:00 a.m. I will stay until 10:30 when I will then travel to the St.. Joseph County Republican Headquarters on South Main Street in South Bend. I will arrive around 11:00 a.m. and will stay until 12:30 p.m. Next, I will travel to the LaPorte Co. Republican Headquarters on Jefferson St. in LaPorte. I should arrive shortly after 1:00 p.m.. I will remain until 2:00 p.m. I’ll then take lunch, leave time open for contingencies, meet up with my family, perhaps take a swim with my kids and then go to vote shortly before the polls close at the Lutheran Church on Auten Road in South Bend, which is where I’m still registered to vote.

Should you wish to be removed from further press releases, please contact me at Campaign@TonyZirkle.com or by cell phone at 219-308-1673.

Your presence is welcome.

It's the Kids, Smartie Campaign Committee