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09-26-2014, 10:43 AM #1
Earmarks never went away --- they changed addresses
Earmarks never went away --- they changed addresses
BY SARAH WESTWOOD | SEPTEMBER 26, 2014 | 5:00 AM
Earmarks were once a way for members of Congress to carve out federal funding for projects in...Congress banned legislative earmarks in 2010, but that didn't end pork barrel spending; it just moved over to the federal bureaucracy.
Earmarks were once a way for members of Congress to carve outfederal funding for projects in their districts. It was the way to "bring home the bacon."
But Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., began a push in 2005 against earmarks — which he called "the gateway drug to federal spending addiction."
"When earmarks were banned, that was supposed to make sure lawmakers were focused on making decisions that were best for the nation as a whole," a spokesperson for Coburn's office told the Washington Examiner.
"That's why we have local funding, so that local and state governments can fund those types of projects," Coburn said.
Lawmakers now haggle with executive branch officials for funds rather than each other through a process known as "letter-marking" or "phone-marking."
Instead of inserting earmarks in legislation, congressmen use letters and telephone calls to pressure executive branch bureaucrats to fund projects back home in their districts.
Pork spending secured directly through federal agencies requires no vote, no public explanation and no reduction in spending.
According to the government watchdog group Cause of Action, which launched a website in early September dedicated to exposing executive earmarks, federal grant spending has jumped 40 percent since 2001.
Cause of Action began investigating executive branch earmarks in December 2011, when the group sent Freedom of Information Act requests to 21 different agencies to track down discretionary grants.
Hundreds of letters resulting from the organization’s probe and compiled on its new website reveal a pattern of funding requests that echo the language once found in legislative earmarks.
The Cause of Action website features a digital timeline of milestones in earmarking’s evolution, including Executive Order 13457, “Protecting American Taxpayers from Government Spending on Wasteful Earmarks,” which President George W. Bush signed in 2008.
The order, which requires publication of all communications between Congress and federal agencies regarding earmark funds on the agencies’ respective websites within 30 days, was never enforced.
Of the 17 agencies Cause for Action analyzed, only five had online pages displaying the communications, and only one had been updated in the past five years.
The Obama administration has yet to enforce the order and continues to place confidence in the “merit-based” system of awarding grants.
Like the tax dollars siphoned off through legislative earmarks, federal grant spending comes from discretionary funds written into the national budget.
One constant remains: Requests from powerful committee chairmen or party leaders are more likely to earn pork, while less prominent congressmen may go hungry.
Letter-marking can do no more than nudge an agency toward funding an initiative, and bureaucrats are more likely to pay attention to the lawmakers who hold their agency's purse strings.
In letters obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting in 2007, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid implored Dirk Kempthorne, then secretary of the Interior, to support pet projects in Reid's home state of Nevada, such as a $200,000 "science center" in the Mojave Desert.
Reid signed the bottom of his hand-written note with a personal invitation for Kempthorne to "Call if I can ever help."
Reid penned some of his letters to various agencies just days after boasting the new Democratic majority had cleaved all earmarks from Republican drafts of the $463.5 billion spending bill Congress ultimately passed that year.
The projects Reid and others letter-marked in the months following the "earmark-free" spending bill's passage were the same ones Democrats proudly eliminated.
In a letter obtained by Citizens Against Government Waste and shared with the New York Times in 2010, Illinois Sen. Mark Kirk wrote the Department of Education requesting funds "needed to support students and educational programs" in a local school district.
Then-Rep. Kirk was one of many Republicans to vote against President Obama's 2009 stimulus bill, a move Kirk touted during his campaign for the Senate seat he now occupies.
Woodland School District 50, which falls inside what was then Kirk's congressional district, later received more than a million stimulus dollars.
One way congressmen can give weight to their letters and calls is to push for more money for the agency they hope will fund their project, then strongly recommend the agency spends some of that extra cash in their district.
The new practice has had unintended consequences on the Hill. Legislative earmarks were once a powerful negotiating tool among congressmen, allowing elected officials to legally bribe and coerce each other into passing bills that contained substantive measures.
Some have argued that stripping Congress of its ability to earmark discretionary spending has contributed to the gridlock from which it suffers today.
While most earmarks were tiptoed onto legislation in committee, they were still a matter of public record.Today's letter-marks are rewarded behind closed executive branch doors, and often by officials who have never once stood for election.
But earmarks emanating from the White House aren't just being used to buy constituent votes.
Presidentially appointed bureaucrats can pressure federal agencies to direct funds to certain congressional districts in an attempt to effectively "buy" their representative's vote on contentious legislation.
A Heritage Foundation analysis of grants issued during the 111th Congress revealed significant spikes in the amount of federal funds sent to the districts of moderate Democrats around the times Obamacare, Dodd-Frank and "cap-and-trade" emissions regulations came up to vote.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/earmar...rticle/2553967
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09-26-2014, 10:58 AM #2
There is an interactive map at this site that shows the amount received by each state. surprise - the largest amounts are being spent in the states that have the most illegals.
These are a few.
From 2012
Transaction # 1
Federal Award ID: AIDGHHG000200002: 0017 (Grant)
Recipient: WORLD BANK OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
1818 H ST NW, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 19-1031 "GLOBAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, STATE" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: 936-3110 Obligation Date:
06-22-2012
Obligation Amount:
$1,018,158,867
Transaction # 2
Federal Award ID: AID306IO1200001 (Grant)
Recipient: WORLD BANK OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
WORLD BANK, TREASURY OPERATIONS, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 72-1037 "ECONOMIC SUPPORT FUND, FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE PRESIDENT" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: ARTF Obligation Date:
03-29-2012
Obligation Amount:
$371,243,600
Transaction # 3
Federal Award ID: 09CH0002 (Grant)
Recipient: LOS ANGELES COUNTY OFFICE OF EDUCATION
9300 EAST IMPERIAL HIGHWAY, Downey, CaliforniaProgram Source: 75-1536 "CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families CFDA Program: 93.600: Head Start Description: HEAD START Obligation Date:
06-28-2012
Obligation Amount:
$210,201,363
Transaction # 4
Federal Award ID: AIDGHHG000200002: 0016 (Grant)
Recipient: INTERNATIONAL BANK FOR RECONSTRUCTION & DEVEL
1818 H ST NW, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 19-1031 "GLOBAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, STATE" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: 936-3110 Obligation Date:
12-16-2011
Obligation Amount:
$210,000,000
Transaction # 5
Federal Award ID: 3287EMCAP0000000: 1 (Grant)
Recipient: MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS
2800 MEADOWVIEW ROAD, , CaliforniaProgram Source: 70-0702 "DISASTER RELIEF FUND, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.036: Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters) Description: GRANT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMEN ... (More) Obligation Date:
10-27-2011
Obligation Amount:
$201,847,007
Transaction # 6
Federal Award ID: AIDGHHG000200002: 0018 (Grant)
Recipient: WORLD BANK OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
1818 H ST NW, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 19-1031 "GLOBAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, STATE" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: 936-3110 Obligation Date:
09-25-2012
Obligation Amount:
$187,500,000
Transaction # 7
Federal Award ID: 06ER801187011 (Grant)
Recipient: CA DOT
California Department of transporta, Sacramento, CaliforniaProgram Source: 69-8083 "FEDERAL-AID HIGHWAYS, LIQUIDATION OF CONTRACT AUTHORIZATION, FEDERAL HIGHWAY ADMINISTRATION, TRANSPORTATION" Department/Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Highway Administration CFDA Program: 20.205: Highway Planning and Construction Description: SM CO NEAR PACIFIC ON RT 1 S/O LINDA MAR BLVD, CON ...(More) Obligation Date:
03-23-2012
Obligation Amount:
$182,027,295
Transaction # 8
Federal Award ID: 36000112 (Grant)
Recipient: NYS Dept of Environmental Conservation
625 Broadway, Albany, New YorkProgram Source: 68- Department/Agency: Environmental Protection Agency CFDA Program: 66.458: Capitalization Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds Description: This agreement is for a capitalization grant which ... (More) Obligation Date:
06-27-2012
Obligation Amount:
$156,001,000
Transaction # 9
Federal Award ID: DC-75-0002-00 (Grant)
Recipient: WMATA
600 FIFTH STREET, NW, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 69-1128 "WASHINGTON METROPOLITAN AREA TRANSIT AUTHORITY, FEDERAL TRANSIT ADMINISTRATION, TRANSPORTATION" Department/Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Transit Administration CFDA Program: 20.524: Passenger Rail Investment and Improvement (PRIIA) Projects for Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) Description: FY2011 PRIIA Appropriation Obligation Date:
06-27-2012
Obligation Amount:
$149,700,000
Transaction # 10
Federal Award ID: AIDGHG1000001: 0002 (Grant)
Recipient: GAVI ALLIANCE
CHEMIN DES MINES 2, Geneve, SWITZERLANDProgram Source: 19-1031 "GLOBAL HEALTH PROGRAMS, STATE" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: GH/HIDN/MCH 936-4000 NEW GAVI PIO Obligation Date:
09-12-2012
Obligation Amount:
$130,000,000
Transaction # 11
Federal Award ID: 02CH9944 (Grant)
Recipient: Administration for Integral Child Care and De
P. O. Box 15091, San Juan, PUERTO RICO [UNITED STATES]Program Source: 75-1536 "CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families CFDA Program: 93.600: Head Start Description: HEAD START PROGRAM Obligation Date:
02-28-2012
Obligation Amount:
$123,392,134
Transaction # 12
Federal Award ID: H89HA00015 (Grant)
Recipient: NEW YORK CITY DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
2 LAFAYETTE ST, ROOM 1400, Church Street, New YorkProgram Source: 75-0356 "RYAN WHITE HIV/AIDS PROGRAM, HEALTH RESOURCES AND SERVICES ADMINISTRATION, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Health Resources and Services Administration CFDA Program: 93.914: HIV Emergency Relief Project Grants Description: HIV EMERGENCY RELIEF PROJECT GRANTS Obligation Date:
02-22-2012
Obligation Amount:
$120,489,151
Transaction # 13
Federal Award ID: EMW2012FS00006 (Grant)
Recipient: NATIONAL BOARD FOR THE EMERGENCY FO
FOOD AND SHELTER PROGRAM, THE, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 70-0707 "EMERGENCY FOOD AND SHELTER, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.024: Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program Description: Emergency Food and Shelter National Board Program Obligation Date:
09-05-2012
Obligation Amount:
$120,000,000
Transaction # 14
Federal Award ID: 1763DRIAP0000000: 1 (Grant)
Recipient: MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS
DIVISION 1301 EAST WALNUT STREET, , IowaProgram Source: 70-0702 "DISASTER RELIEF FUND, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.036: Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters) Description: GRANT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMEN ... (More) Obligation Date:
01-11-2012
Obligation Amount:
$106,766,246
Transaction # 15
Federal Award ID: EMW2012SS00123 (Grant)
Recipient: CALIFORNIA EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGE
3650 SCHRIEVER AVENUE, Mather, CaliforniaProgram Source: 70-0560 "STATE AND LOCAL PROGRAMS, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.067: Homeland Security Grant Program Description: Homeland Security Grant Program Obligation Date:
08-15-2012
Obligation Amount:
$102,586,570
Transaction # 16
Federal Award ID: 06000112 (Grant)
Recipient: CA State Water Res Ctrl Brd
1001 I Street, Sacramento, CaliforniaProgram Source: 68- Department/Agency: Environmental Protection Agency CFDA Program: 66.458: Capitalization Grants for Clean Water State Revolving Funds Description: The primary purpose/objective of this program is t ... (More) Obligation Date:
07-18-2012
Obligation Amount:
$101,065,000
Transaction # 17
Federal Award ID: AIDBFSG1100002: 0003 (Grant)
Recipient: WORLD BANK OFFICE OF THE PUBLISHER
1818 H ST NW, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 72-1021 "DEVELOPMENT ASSISTANCE, AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, FUNDS APPROPRIATED TO THE PRESIDENT" Department/Agency: Agency for International Development CFDA Program: 98.001: USAID Foreign Assistance for Programs Overseas Description: CGIAR WORLD BANK PIO GRANT Obligation Date:
09-28-2012
Obligation Amount:
$99,603,990
Transaction # 18
Federal Award ID: 02CH1064: 1 (Grant)
Recipient: NEW YORK CITY AGENCY FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
66 JOHN STREET, 4TH FLOOR, New York-New York, New YorkProgram Source: 75-1536 "CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families CFDA Program: 93.600: Head Start Description: HEAD START FY F.D. & P.D.; SERVICES TO HANDICAPPED ... (More) Obligation Date:
05-29-2012
Obligation Amount:
$96,657,108
Transaction # 19
Federal Award ID: 02CH1064 (Grant)
Recipient: NEW YORK CITY AGENCY FOR CHILD DEVELOPMENT
66 JOHN STREET, 4TH FLOOR, New York-New York, New YorkProgram Source: 75-1536 "CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families CFDA Program: 93.600: Head Start Description: HEAD START FY F.D. & P.D.; SERVICES TO HANDICAPPED ... (More) Obligation Date:
01-27-2012
Obligation Amount:
$95,295,609
Transaction # 20
Federal Award ID: SLMAQM12GR1014: 0001 (Grant)
Recipient: NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY (NED)
1025 F STREET, NORTHWEST, Washington, District of ColumbiaProgram Source: 19-0210 "NATIONAL ENDOWMENT FOR DEMOCRACY, STATE" Department/Agency: Department of State CFDA Program: 19.345: International Programs to Support Democracy, Human Rights and Labor Description: To enable the Endowment to carry out its purposes ... (More) Obligation Date:
03-23-2012
Obligation Amount:
$93,370,460
Transaction # 21
Federal Award ID: 1791DRTXP0000000: 1 (Grant)
Recipient: MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS
TEXAS DIVISION OF EMERGENCY MTG, , TexasProgram Source: 70-0702 "DISASTER RELIEF FUND, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.036: Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters) Description: GRANT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMEN ... (More) Obligation Date:
03-23-2012
Obligation Amount:
$90,196,899
Transaction # 22
Federal Award ID: B-12-DT-36-0001 (Grant)
Recipient: STATE OF NEW YORK
Nys-Ogs Special Events., Albany, New YorkProgram Source: 86-0162 "COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND, COMMUNITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT, HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT" Department/Agency: Department of Housing and Urban Development: Assistant Secretary for Community Planning and Development CFDA Program: 14.218: Community Development Block Grants/Entitlement Grants Description: DISASTER ASSISTANCE Obligation Date:
08-15-2012
Obligation Amount:
$71,654,116
Transaction # 23
Federal Award ID: 09CH7015 (Grant)
Recipient: NEIGHBORHOOD HOUSE ASSOCIATION
5660 COPLEY DRIVE, San Diego, CaliforniaProgram Source: 75-1536 "CHILDREN AND FAMILIES SERVICES PROGRAMS, ADMINISTRATION FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES" Department/Agency: Department of Health and Human Services: Administration for Children and Families CFDA Program: 93.600: Head Start Description: HEAD START Obligation Date:
04-02-2012
Obligation Amount:
$71,251,212
Transaction # 24
Federal Award ID: 1603DRLAP0000000: 1 (Grant)
Recipient: MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS
EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, , LouisianaProgram Source: 70-0702 "DISASTER RELIEF FUND, FEDERAL EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT AGENCY, HOMELAND SECURITY" Department/Agency: Department of Homeland Security: Federal Emergency Management Agency CFDA Program: 97.036: Disaster Grants - Public Assistance (Presidentially Declared Disasters) Description: GRANT TO LOCAL GOVERNMENT FOR REPAIR OR REPLACEMEN ... (More) Obligation Date:
03-08-2012
Obligation Amount:
$71,122,292
Transaction # 25
Federal Award ID: 31700221232012 (Grant)
Recipient: ILLINOIS DEPARTMENT OF TRANS
2300 S DIRKSEN PARKWAY, Springfield, IllinoisProgram Source: Not reported Department/Agency: Department of Transportation: Federal Aviation Administration CFDA Program: 20.106: Airport Improvement Program Description: Improve Existing Airport Obligation Date:
07-26-2012
Obligation Amount:
$70,000,000
Spend some time and look around this sight to see how the Federal government is spending your tax dollars.
http://www.usaspending.gov/search?form_fields={%22recip_state%22:null,%22reci p_congdist%22:null,%22recip_country%22:null,%22spe nding_cat%22:[%22g%22],%22fyear%22:[%222012%22],%22asst_type%22:[%2204%22]}
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