These are dangerous times. These are the times, immediately following a national emergency, when the federal government feels it must do something. They’re not sure what exactly, but they know they must do something so that everyone knows how much they care.

     All taxpaying citizens should live in fear of these times, when politicians cannot be satisfied with their own contributions to Hurricane Katrina relief and start healing with our money. But understanding that such is the nature of politicians, I’ve come up with a few things they can do that do more to show just how much they care than throwing $50 billion in tax money in the general direction of the American South without a plan for using it.

     Purge the pork. The New York Times will probably be horrified to learn that it is in agreement with myself and The Heritage Foundation on this point. When Congress passed and President Bush signed the $286.5 billion transportation bill in early August, they all knew it contained a lot of nonsense—$24 billion to pay for more than 6,000 pet projects, to be exact. If Congress wants to do something, it should give up the projects. The regular citizens of their states are giving up much to help the victims, and I doubt the folks in Wilmington, Del. would miss a $6.5 million train station restoration.

     Perhaps Don Young, architect of the $223 million bridge to nowhere in Alaska, could be convinced to give up his project to pay for a bridge over the Bay of St. Louis in Mississippi. I’m glad to see folks on both ends of the political spectrum picking up on this idea, because our friends in Congress sometimes require a larger dose of shame than the average American to get in line. A tongue-lashing from both sides of the aisle could do the trick.

     Cut the Bacon. Davis-Bacon, that is. The Davis-Bacon Act is a Depression Era federal regulation that requires the government to pay the “prevailing wage” in federal construction projects. The “prevailing wage” is, of course, a product of a ridiculous bureaucratic formula figured with the help of lobbying unions. The formula effectively excludes anyone but union builders and sets the “prevailing wage” high enough to inflate federal construction costs by as much as 15 percent, according to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

     Luckily, President Bush has the power to waive Davis-Bacon in a time of national emergency, as he did yesterday. Now, Washington can show how much it cares by providing 15 percent more infrastructure for the same price. Waiving Davis-Bacon has the added benefit of allowing contractors to employ more out-of-work Gulf Coast residents.

     Under Davis-Bacon’s high wage requirements, contractors are more likely to hire seasoned union members, many from other parts of the country. But without Davis-Bacon, builders can afford to take a chance on out-of-work locals who may not have as much experience in construction, but are eager and able to help with reconstruction at a lower cost.

     The elder President Bush waived Davis-Bacon after Hurricane Andrew, and Franklin Roosevelt and Richard Nixon did it before him.

     Read the supplemental. One of the more appalling facts about Washington, D.C. is that Congress can get together, spend a couple of billion dollars and have little idea what it is spending that money on.    

     Congress is going to spend all of September on Katrina and the confirmation hearings for John Roberts. But surely someone can find the time to read the Katrina relief bills, right? Well, not so fast. As of now, folks on the Hill are open about the fact that few will read the Katrina relief legislation before it passes.

     My co-worker Tim Chapman, who has his ear to the Hill, predicts that the government will end up spending $100 billion in response to Katrina. That’s the equivalent of 5 percent of the annual federal budget. If you sent 5 percent of your annual budget to a charity for Katrina relief, would you do it without checking up on the charity and finding out exactly how they would spend the money? Of course not, but Congress doesn’t have many of the sensible habits of most Americans. Continued...