TRAX gives U. good seat on 'pork barrel' express

Thanks to light rail, the University of Utah got a high ranking on a list that looks at which of the country's colleges and universities benefit the most from federal monies for "pork-barrel" projects.

The Sept. 26 issue of the Chronicle of Higher Education ranked the U. 30th on a list of 716 public and private colleges for the fiscal year 2003, which ends tomorrow.

That's largely because of the $12 million the school benefited from via the Department of Transportation for a TRAX light-rail line through its campus to the U. and Primary Children's medical centers.

The $90 million line opened to riders Monday. About $54 million of the total bill came from federal sources — of that, $12 million came in FY 2003 as an "earmark" for the latest extension.

"FTA (Federal Transit Administration) and Congress have learned to appreciate the successes and like supporting potential successful projects," said U. spokeswoman Coralie Alder. TRAX construction projects have gained a reputation for coming in under budget and ahead of deadline. Alder said the feds also recognize that TRAX has been a big hit with riders.

The so-called earmark funds don't require schools to compete directly with one another for the money. Nor does President Bush budget for the projects that benefit from this funding source. Overall, Utah ranks 31st nationwide in academic pork.

Earmark funding, however, has critics who say the funds are more about which lawmakers in Congress have the most political clout in this federal money grab. Sen. Bob Bennett, R-Utah, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee and transportation subcommittee, is credited with securing the 2003 earmark for the U. light-rail line.

"Certainly Senator Bennett is happy his seat on Appropriations was able to deliver some of these funds," said Bennett spokeswoman Mary Jane Collipriest.

Utah Transit Authority general manager John Inglish said that the $12 million earmark, which appears in the Chronicle to go directly to the U., actually benefits the two medical campuses. That money, he noted, went through the Utah Department of Transportation and UTA first before ending up funding the TRAX line through the U. campus.

All total, the Chronicle reports that the FY 2003 higher education earmarks topped $2 billion, a record. Much of that money went toward myriad Department of Defense-related projects.