WHO SINGS ROAD TO NOWHERE FULL

In November 2006, in a speech to a conservative political action committee, he blames midterm election losses on earmarks including the bridge: ''Those and other earmarks passed by a Republican Congress included $50 million for an indoor rain forest, $500,000 for a teapot museum $350,000 for an Inner Harmony Foundation and Wellness Center and of course, as you all know, $223 million for a bridge to nowhere. McCain mentions the bridge in interviews and speeches. Obama and Biden both vote in favor of it, and the bill passes 93 вЂ“ 1 with six not voting.Дў0: The Bridge to Nowhere becomes a symbol for government pork, helped in no small part by McCain's anti-earmark enthusiasm. McCain is not present to vote on the revised bill. 186) Makes available to the Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities for eligible surface transportation projects, subject to specified conditions, any amounts otherwise available under SAFETEA-LU for the Gravina Island bridge and the Knik Arm bridge. It can also be used for other transportation-related projects. The money may, but need not, be used to build the bridges. Instead, the revised appropriations bill strips the earmarks from the bridges and allots that money to the Alaska Department of Transportation with no strings attached. The amendment fails 82 вЂ“ 15 with three not voting. Obama and Biden vote against the amendment. The amendment would strip the earmarked funds from the Gravina and Knik Arm bridges and commit them to the rebuilding of the Twin Spans bridge in Louisiana, which was damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Tom Coburn proposes an amendment to a bill making appropriations for transportation. The highway bill passes 91 вЂ“ 4 with five not voting. McCain and only three others vote against it. I donвЂ™t know what that works out to per capita, but it is about a million-something per person at least.Д«iden and Obama vote for the $286.4 billion highway bill, with the Gravina bridge and the other projects included. Guess how many people live on the Gravina Island? Fifty five-zero. McCain (July 29, 2005): We figure it is about $80 million. McCain makes an impassioned speech on the floor decrying both bridges and dozens of other projects he considers unnecessary. Both bridges go to low-population areas and are labeled 'bridges to nowhere.' Sen. The bill includes funds earmarked for the Gravina bridge and the less-famous Knik Arm bridge.

July 2005: Congress votes on a bill authorizing funding for highways. Meanwhile, we're also getting questions about Obama's and Biden's positions on the Bridge to NowhereВ вЂ“ did they vote in favor of the original earmarked legislation? In an attempt to forestall further repetition of misinformation, we present the Bridge to Nowhere time line:

вЂњI told Congress thanks but no thanks to that Bridge to NowhereВ вЂ“ that if our state wanted to build that bridge, we would build it ourselves,' she said. But she came back to it today, citing it as an example of earmark reform she and McCain would push for in the White House. Palin had cut the refrain from her speech during her three-day visit to Alaska. Independent groups and media fact-checkers have said Palin advocated for the federal earmark before opposing it, only ended after Congress had essentially killed it, and kept the $223 million for the appropriation after the project was killed. 13: Palin has come under fire in recent days for misleadingly saying she told Congress вЂњthanks but no thanks,вЂќ refusing an earmark for a bridge to a sparsely inhabited island in her home state. As NBC's Matthew Berger reports, Palin reiterated a line that's becoming a familiar refrain: 14 McCain campaign spokeswoman Carly Fiorina erroneously told ABC News, 'The facts are that Sarah Palin rejected the money for the bridge to nowhere.' And Palin herself is still claiming credit for defeating the bridge, most recently at a campaign rally in Nevada.

But there are still misunderstandings and distortions floating around, and we're still getting questions about them.ДЇor instance, on Sept. We've written about the Gravina Access Project, also known as the Bridge to Nowhere, several timesВ вЂ“ first back in November when John McCain used it as an example of pork-barrel spending, again this month when we looked at Sarah Palin's convention speech, and finally in a post on the FactCheck Wire.

What is the truth about the Bridge to Nowhere? Did Palin support it? Did she keep the funds for the bridge and use them elsewhere in Alaska after she changed her position? Or was the money returned to the government? If it was returned, did Congress offer to send the funds to Katrina victims and Obama and Biden both voted against it? Obama and Biden voted for the big transportation bill that contained it.

WHO SINGS ROAD TO NOWHERE FULL

Q: What's the full story on the Bridge to Nowhere?ДЄ: Palin supported it even after McCain denounced it, then blamed 'inaccurate portrayals' when she canceled it for lack of money.

Who sings road to nowhere