Earmarks aid private airports

WASHINGTON, Nov. 2 (UPI) -- U.S. taxpayer funds earmarked for "low priority" airports favor politics over practicality, Oklahoma Sen. Tom Coburn said.

"We are putting politicians' interests ahead of safety and efficiency," Coburn said referring to federal funds that support airports, including many that have no public passenger service, USA Today reported Monday.

Since 2001, about $1.1 billion in federal funds have been earmarked for "low priority projects ... funded over high-priority projects," a 2007 report by a Department of Transportation inspector general said.

Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Marcia Adams said 5 percent of airport funding goes to handpicked projects that meet federal standards.

The grants include $3.5 million given to Lake Cumberland Regional Airport in Kentucky to build a passenger terminal, despite having no passenger service in 2004, when the grant was awarded, the newspaper said.

An airport in North Carolina, Statesville Regional, was awarded $6.5 million over five years for improvements designed to accommodate home improvement retailer Lowes, which uses the airport for its five corporate jets.