toledoblade.com --

Embedded in the $286 billion transportation bill signed by President Bush are 6,371 "earmark" projects worth some $24 billion. These pet appropriations were included at the behest of members of Congress, although calling them "pork" would be to slander pigs, which aren't that greedy.

To be fair, the legislation, signed to great bipartisan fanfare last week, is mostly about construction and repair of roads, bridges, and the like, but the "earmark" projects stand out because some have little or nothing to do with transportation.

Like $2.75 million to renovate the six-year-old Packard National Museum in Warren, Ohio; $6 million for graffiti elimination in New York; $2.4 million for a visitor center at a wildlife refuge in Louisiana, and, well, you get the idea.

The chief problem with earmarking funds in this manner is that the money must be used for the specified project or not at all.

In some cases, funding is included for projects pushed by the member of Congress, even though state or local officials aren't necessarily on board. Example: $207 million for the Prairie Parkway connector in sprawling suburbia outside Chicago, earmarked by House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R., Ill.).

To underscore the White House's contention that the legislation will create "hundreds of thousands of good-paying jobs," Mr. Bush even broke off his 35-day Texas vacation to sign the bill - at a construction equipment plant in Mr. Hastert's district.

It was another policy reversal for Mr. Bush, who several years ago declared war - figuratively, at least - on pork-barrel spending. So far, the President has failed to stop any of the wasteful bills pushed through by fellow Republicans in Congress, and his veto is an empty threat.

Along with the boondoggles, the legislation does have some bright spots. It assures each state at least a 19 percent increase in transportation funding, although Ohio and Michigan still will be paying more in highway taxes than the states get back.

The Toledo area is in for $25 million in projects, including $7.4 million for the much-needed re-engineering of the I-75/475 split, and another $2 million for the seemingly never-ending refurbishment of the Martin Luther King bridge.

As usual when political clout rather than sound policy is at work, the allocation of funds among the states is decidedly off kilter.

Rep. Don Young (R., Alaska) used his power as chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee to bring home the bacon, to the tune of $941 million. Alaska ranks 47th in population among the states but will be getting the fourth-largest share of highway dollars from this bill behind only California, Illinois, and New York. Ohio's share, $665 million, ranks a respectable ninth while Michigan's $527 million is 15th.

Supporters of the transportation bill point out that pork projects represent only about 8 percent of the total appropriation. Still, $24 billion is a formidable chunk of change that undoubtedly could be put to better use by the states, were they given the discretion lost in the earmarking process.

We can dream, but changing the way Congress operates is about as likely as repealing the laws of physics.