Shovel Ready?

Lauren Dorgan reports in the Concord Monitor on yesterday's presentation by Congressman Paul Hodes about the stimulus package, and his efforts to exempt New Hampshire from the shovel-ready restrictions on transportation spending:

That was one of the many questions local and state officials put to U.S. Rep. Paul Hodes, a Concord Democrat, yesterday morning in a forum on the expected $825 billion federal stimulus package and what it will bring to New Hampshire. Last night, Hodes submitted an amendment to the House Rules Committee permitting an exemption for states where "cold weather and freezing conditions" make winter construction impossible.

"This is a question that Congressman Hodes is very concerned about," said Hodes spokesman Mark Bergman.

New Hampshire Department of Transportation spokesman Bill Boynton said administrators from his department had raised a concern about whether cold weather would freeze New Hampshire out of eligibility for full road aid. The shovel-ready, or 120-day standard, was promoted to ensure the roughly $30 billion the federal government will funnel to states for roads and bridges will put people to work fast.

Under the plan being debated in Washington, states would have 120 days from passage to begin construction on any projects included in the bill. Even if the bill passed today, that means projects would have begin by May 27th, so it's hard to imagine frozen ground keeping New Hampshire projects off the list.