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  1. #1
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    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

  2. #2
    Super Moderator Newmexican's Avatar
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    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 Columbia
    Program 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 Columbia
    Program 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, California
    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
    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 Columbia
    Program 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, , California
    Program 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 Columbia
    Program 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, California
    Program 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 York
    Program 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 Columbia
    Program 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, SWITZERLAND
    Program 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 York
    Program 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 Columbia
    Program 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, , Iowa
    Program 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, California
    Program 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, California
    Program 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 Columbia
    Program 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 York
    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 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 York
    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 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 Columbia
    Program 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, , Texas
    Program 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 York
    Program 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, California
    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
    Obligation Date:
    04-02-2012
    Obligation Amount:
    $71,251,212

    Transaction # 24
    Federal Award ID: 1603DRLAP0000000: 1 (Grant)

    Recipient: MULTIPLE RECIPIENTS
    EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS, , Louisiana
    Program 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, Illinois
    Program 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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