Idaho 1st District Congressman Bill Sali is touting his success in getting $500,000 in funding for a Highway 95 widening project included in a bill that he then voted against. “U.S. 95 has an unmistakable and irreplaceable role to play as part of Idaho’s economy,” Sali said in a press release. “This widening is important to the economic vitality of the entire state, but it is also important as it will help prevent accidents and save lives. While this may seem like a win for a freshman congressman in the minority party, much more importantly this is a win for the people of the whole state of Idaho.”

So if Sali was so proud of the measure, why did he vote against the bill? “The larger bill, H.R. 3074, passed 270-147,” Sali’s press release reported. “Congressman Sali voted against the overall measure because it contains a series of other unnecessary, bloated spending proposals and would hike overall spending by $7.1 billion more than current funding and $5.3 billion more than the President has requested.” He also noted that it included another of his funding proposals, for $500,000 in improvements to Forest Highway 24 from Banks to Lowman, and that senior Sen. Larry Craig helped get both earmarks included.

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