The IRE Resource Center is a major research library containing more than 23,250 investigative stories — both print and broadcast. These stories are searchable online or by contacting the Resource Center directly (573-882-3364 or rescntr@ire.org) where a researcher can help you pinpoint what you need. Browse or search the tipsheet section of our library below. Stories are not available for download but can be easily ordered by contacting the Resource Center:
Search results for "Federal Highway funds" ...
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Fraud on the Job
KING 5 dedicated nearly a year to dig into the complex world of the federal minority contracting program. The program is intended to remedy past and current discrimination against minority and women-owned contracting businesses who want a shot at working on federal highway projects. But instead of fostering equal opportunity, KING found staggering fraud and abuse in the taxpayer-funded program. The investigative series titled “Fraud on the Job" was born. The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) is responsible for administering the program. WSDOT contracts with a small state agency, the Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises (OMWBE) to certify which contractors qualify as "disadvantaged business enterprises" or DBEs. They also make sure that once in, the companies aren’t cheating or becoming too big to qualify. The state’s share of billions of federal highway funds comes with some strings attached, including a requirement that a certain percentage of money spent on transportation projects be reserved for minority-owned firms. The results of the “Fraud on the Job” series were swift and extraordinary. Two days after the first story aired, the governor ordered the Washington State Patrol to conduct a criminal fraud investigation. She also ordered a top-to- bottom review of OMWBE. Two weeks later, the governor asked the director of OMWBE to resign. Another top manager quit and another was fired. Two of the companies KING exposed as defrauding the government were removed from the DBE program by the state. State and federal legislation is now being drafted to stop the cheating. And now the FBI and the Inspector General of the U.S. Dept. of Transportation are investigating.
Tags: fraud; government; tax; taxpayer; fund
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Public Works, Hidden Violations
Several construction companies were given "tens of millions in federal stimulus contracts," even though they violated several laws and regulations. Also, a few had been "convicted of defrauding taxpayers on previous projects" and others had previously paid fines for violating regulations. These should have been revealed when filling out the forms to be approved for the stimulus contracts.
Tags: transportation; workplace; safety; pollution; environment; FOIA; Highway Division; officials; federal government; federal funds
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Dirty Money
Some law enforcement agencies have become addicted to seizing drug money. This story found:</p> <p>*Police agencies are seizing bulk cash from drivers and alleging it's drug money without finding any drugs, or, in many cases, without ever filing criminal money laundering charges.</p> <p>* Underfunded, usually rural police and prosecutor's offices have become dependent on seizing suspected drug money to carry out the basic functions of their offices, a state of affairs specifically discouraged by federal asset forfeiture laws.</P> <p>* In the extreme, some corrupt police forces are setting up "forfeiture traps," reminiscent of small-town speed traps, to catch suspected drug couriers and take their currency, a practice some attorneys call "highway robbery"</p> <p>* Some sheriff's departments have become more interested in confiscating cash than drugs, i.d. working southbound lanes into Mexico -- "our piggybank," one South Texas sheriff told me -- where they're more likely to catch money couriers. The reporters also found that these departments are not interested in investigating the couriers as a way to disrupt cartel activities -- all they're interested in is seizing the cash.</p> <p>* With little oversight built into state or federal asset forfeiture laws, some prosecutors' office are misspending their seized drug funds on things like margarita machines for the annual picnic and soccer uniforms for the police soccer team.</p> <p>* More and more law enforcement agencies are taking advantage of the "piggy banks" on their highways. According to the US Justice Department, in the past four years seized assets tripled from $567 million to $1.6 billion.</p>
Tags: Drug enforcement; seizure of money; US Justice Department; radio; forfeiture traps
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Land Condemnation: Who Pays the Price?
The investigation focuses on Kentucky's system of acquiring land for highway construction which wastes millions of dollars in public funds, is often performed by biased and unqualified surveyors, and efforts which have failed to change the system over the last three decades.
Tags: Federal Highway Administration; Kentucky's Transportation Cabinet; FOIA; public funds; highway construction; land condemnation
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A Bridge Too Old
This story shows that in spite of more than $300 million in repairs, the Tappan Zee bridge has worse safety ratings than it did ten years ago. The reporters used a computer analysis of government records for their story.
Tags: Federal Highway Administration; National Bridge Inventory; bridge safety; New York State Thruway Authority; public funds; transportation
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County's Aging Bridges at the Breaking Point
One third of Ventura county's bridges were built before 1965 and 28 of them have been designated as "structurally deficient." But the county is still waiting for the funds to fix or replace them. California's winter floods in 2005 washed away one bridge and left others even more weakened. Dodge examines the Federal Highway Administration's Inventory and discusses funding problems as well as the potentially fatal consequences of continuing neglect.
Tags: Federal Highway funds; state highway grants; bridge repairs; structural damage; floods; erosion; engineers; transportation; roads
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Pigging Out
A National Journal investigation looks at the new developments in the "age-old practice of lawmakers pledging their support for key legislation in exchange for federally funded projects in their districts." The tradition, known as "pork barrel spending," isn't likely to die, even though Republicans who seized Congress in 1994 wouldn't put up with it, the magazine reports. The story reveals that most GOP revolutionaries have been trying to steer money for roads and bridges toward their districts in exchange for supporting the new transportation bill. The article provides insight on how funding for infrastructure has changed over the years.
Tags: transportation; lawmakers; politicians; GOP; Republicans; Democrats; pet projects; highways; gas tax; federal funds
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Ralph Nader Is Not Sorry
Rolling Stone portrays in depth Ralph Nader as a person and a politician, who is "too busy saving the world." The analysis looks at the role he played in the 2001 presidential elections, and reports on how Nader did "precisely what Democrats had feared," since he snared enough votes to give the Oval Office to George W. Bush. The story also sheds light on Nader's relation to his right-hand man, George Farah, and reveals that the latter may be the person to whom Nader will "pass the torch of activism."
Tags: Green Party; Al Gore; Bill Clinton; White House; elections; federal matching funds; presidential campaign; pollution; environment; auto and highway safety; consumer protection
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Asleep at the Wheel: The Government Auto Safety Breakdown
In a series of news and investigative stories the Los Angeles Times "focused on how the deceptions by auto and tire companies coupled with the ineffectiveness of the nation's auto safety regulators..." Some of the major findings included that "State Farm insurance company had notified federal regulators about problems with Firestone tires as far back as 1998, but got no response" and that "Ford Motor C. was aware of instability problems with its Explorer SUV...but twice had declined to make design changes...". Reporters found out that " tires made by Goodyear had been experiencing similar problems to the Firestones and had been linked to several fatal crashes". Some of the stories questioned the companies' practice to keep "knowledge of unsafe products out of public eye". The series raised questions about the efficiency of federal government on safety issues. It pointed out that "the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration had been thwarted for over two decades from setting or updating auto safety standards because of industry pressure and lack of funding and political support from Congress."
Tags: Firestone; automobiles; highways; tires. lawsuits; the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration; accidents; fatalities; Ford; Goodyear; State Farm Insurance; Continental General Tire Inc.; General Motors; Suzuki; Venezuela; Saudi Arabia; FARS; NHTSA
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Roads To Nowhere: Squandering Highway Money in West Virginia
The series investigated "questionable and wasteful expenditures by the state Division of Highways." The reporter found out that "Since 1997, Gov. Cecil Underwood and the Legislature have approved the sale of $ 440 million in state road bonds. This year [2001] they hope to sell another $ 110 million. These bond sales will create a long term debt of more than $ 1 billion....The bond sales brought few additional federal matching funds to West Virginia...Much of the state road bond cash, moreover, was spent for routine resurfacing and maintenance, which has a short life span. Voters will still be paying off road bonds for years after these improvements are worn out." In some of the stories the reporter exposed "the failure of weak state laws to control overweight coal and lumber trucks that pose major threat to public safety."
Tags: diskette; FOIA; Virginia state Division on Highways; state issued bonds; wasteful expenditures; road construction; overweigth trucks; public safety; taxpayers; election