{"id":1787505,"date":"2022-12-27T06:08:04","date_gmt":"2022-12-27T11:08:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1787505"},"modified":"2022-12-27T08:30:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-27T13:30:30","slug":"a-deeper-dive-into-16-billion-in-omnibus-earmarks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/a-deeper-dive-into-16-billion-in-omnibus-earmarks\/","title":{"rendered":"Omnibus Earmarks: Deeper Dive to $16 Billion"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">14<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fa-deeper-dive-into-16-billion-in-omnibus-earmarks%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1787505&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The more than 4,000-page $1.7 TILLION \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-omnibus?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_campaign=BonginoReport\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">omnibus<\/a>\u201d President Joe Biden pledged to sign the government funding bill. It includes $16 billion for pet projects. \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.theepochtimes.com\/t-earmarks?utm_source=partner&amp;utm_campaign=BonginoReport\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">earmarks<\/a>\u201d This is a movement that supporters consider a way for legislators to better serve their constituents, but which detractors frequently view as corrupt and wasteful. \u201cpork.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Earmarks refer to provisions in legislation that provide funds for specific programs or projects, usually for the benefit of a locality or group.<\/p>\n<p>The omnibus appropriations bill\u2019s 7,200-plus earmarks, formally known as Community Project Funding items, include $750,000 for Gender Non-Conforming Housing in New York (<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/THUD_DISCL_20221216.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>), $1 million for the\u00a0Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum in Ohio (<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/LHHS_DISCL_20221218_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>$3.6 million to support a Michelle Obama Trail in Georgia<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/THUD_DISCL_20221216.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>$5 million) for a Washington state salmon reintroduction effort (<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/CJS_DISCL_20221218.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\" data-testid=\"paragraph-6\">The $1.7 trillion bill passed the Senate on a bipartisan vote of 68\u201329, with the support of 18 of the 50 Senate Republicans including Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.).<\/p>\n<p class=\"text__text__1FZLe text__dark-grey__3Ml43 text__regular__2N1Xr text__large__nEccO body__full_width__ekUdw body__large_body__FV5_X article-body__element__2p5pI\" data-testid=\"paragraph-6\">It was supported by only nine of the 213 House Republicans. Rep. Kevin McCarthy (R.Calif.), the GOP House leader, strongly opposed the bill and called it &#8220;passage&#8221;. \u201cone of the most shameful acts\u201d He had never seen Congress before.<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\">Biden hailed the omnibus bill\u2019s passage in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/POTUS\/status\/1606454677821947904\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">post on Twitter<\/a>Call it \u201cgreat news for our economy, capping off a year of historic bipartisan progress for the American people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p data-testid=\"paragraph-6\">\u201cThis bill is proof that Republicans and Democrats can come together to deliver for families. I\u2019m ready to sign it into law,\u201d The president added.<\/p>\n<h2 data-testid=\"paragraph-6\"><strong>Debate Over Earmarks<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>There is ongoing debate about the use of earmarks in legislative decision-making, with some arguing they\u2019re an effective way to fund local projects, especially when those projects might not get funded through the normal appropriations process.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongressionally-directed spending is just another way I can make sure Washington state communities are heard in the other Washington\u2014whether it\u2019s securing direct funding for salmon recovery, affordable housing, or local infrastructure needs,\u201d Senator Patty Murray (D. Wash.), second-ranking Democrat on Senate Appropriations Committee secured over $230 Million in earmark funds to her state.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.murray.senate.gov\/senator-murray-secures-nearly-230-million-in-federal-funding-for-washington-state-projects-in-draft-appropriations-bills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">said in a statement<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Others claim that earmarks are used to benefit certain interests, or to steer funding away from projects that may not need or be particularly worthy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEarmarks, also referred to as pork-barrel spending or the currency of corruption \u2026 have a history of waste and abuse,\u201d\u00a0Romina Buccia, director for budget and entitlement policy, Cato Institute, a libertarian think-tank, wrote in a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/five-things-know-about-monstrous-lame-duck-omnibus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">recent analysis<\/a>\u00a0What she called &#8220;a wonderful experience&#8221; \u201cmonstrous\u201d omnibus appropriations package.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCongress should ban earmarks and focus time and energy on fixing the federal government\u2019s unsustainable spending trajectory instead,\u201d She added.<\/p>\n<p>After a decade-long ban on Community Project Funding, Democrats have relaunched it ahead of fiscal 2022. The fund saw $9.7B in earmarks from both parties.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Tom McClintock (R-Calif.) introduced an amendment earlier this year to ban earmarks, but House Republicans voted 52\u2013158 against it.<\/p>\n<p>The earmarks in this year\u2019s omnibus amount to slightly less than 1 percent of the roughly $1.7 trillion funding package, a cap Congress imposed when reviving the earmarking process following its longtime ban.<\/p>\n<p>Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), who offered an amendment to the omnibus bill that\u00a0would have erased more than 4,000\u00a0earmarks, called the Community Project Funding requests a \u201cgateway drug to the massive deficit spending, to the mortgaging of our children\u2019s futures. It has to stop.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The omnibus bill was passed with some Republican support. It contains funding for Ukraine at $45 billion and funding for border protection in Egypt and Tunisia at hundreds of millions.<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) said on\u00a0Friday\u2019s broadcast of the Fox News Channel\u2019s \u201cThe Story\u201d The nine House Republicans that voted in favor of the Omnibus Bill were not Republicans. \u201ctaking the pork and running\u201d They are most likely retiring.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf you went through this bill\u2014and I tried, it was 4,100 pages, we tried to do what we could in terms of going through it\u2014you found a lot of wasteful programs, more money being sent to international organizations, more money being sent to umbrellas under the United Nations, more money being spent overseas for all sorts of purposes in other countries while we have American families struggling here at home,\u201d She said.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt is unfortunate, because I don\u2019t believe that this is in the best interests of the American people,\u201d Malliotakis said that it was important to focus on spending reductions rather than funding pet projects.<\/p>\n<p>Strangely, $3 billion in earmarks was given to legislators who voted against the Omnibus Spending Package, almost all of which were Republican.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/rollcall.com\/2022\/12\/23\/gop-omnibus-opponents-bring-home-billions-of-earmarked-dollars\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">according to<\/a>\u00a0Roll Call tally<\/p>\n<h2><strong>Earmark Details<\/strong><\/h2>\n<p>The omnibus earmarks\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/transparency\/fiscal-year-2023\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">were distributed<\/a>\u00a0There are 12 agencies involved, and some of the most important or larger-ticket funding requests came from the following.<\/p>\n<p>Agriculture, Rural Development, Food and Drug Administration, and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/AG_DISCL_FINAL.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $7 million for a cereal disease lab in Minneapolis, Minnesota; $4 million each for a sugarcane research unit in Schriever, Louisiana, an agricultural animal genetic engineering centre in Columbia, Missouri, and a waterway conservation project in Twin Falls, Idaho; $2.95 million to address \u201cclimate challenges\u201d New York City water quality and agriculture, and $1.5million for a \u201cclimate resilient\u201d Prairie View, Texas agricultural research program<\/p>\n<p>Commerce, Justice, Science, and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/CJS_DISCL_20221218.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $17.4 million for a bioscience research facility in Orangeburg, South Carolina; $16.6 million for a workforce development and outreach centre in Scranton, Pennsylvania; $12.3 million for an innovation and education wing at a lab in East Boothbay, Maine; $3 million \u00a0for an internet of things (IOT) lab in Rome, New York; and $2 million for a climate change impact on water centre in Texas.<\/p>\n<p>Defense<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/DEFENSE_DISCL_20221208.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $8 million for battery magazines in defence applications in Miami, Florida; $5.7 million for soldier performance and readiness in Statesboro, Georgia; and $1.3 million for a Central American open source research initiative in Miami, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Energy and Water Development, and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/EW_DISCL_20221206_3.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $9.6 million for environmental infrastructure for a U.S. Army Corps facility in New Mexico; $2 million for a water facilities hydroelectric and solar project in Tampa, Florida; $459,000 for a solar panel installation at a YMCA in Nashua, New Hampshire; and $328,000 for an energy efficiency and decarbonization project in\u00a0South Charleston, West Virginia.<\/p>\n<p>Financial Services and General Government\u00a0(<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/FSGG_DISCL_20221206.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $7.5 million for the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, Georgia; $6 million for an archive of Alaskan leaders at the Alaska Community Foundation in Anchorage, Alaska; $5 million for a drug-use reduction program in Oxford, Mississippi; $1.66 million for a substance prevention centre in Huntington, West Virginia; and $1 million for exploring cultural linkages between black Marylanders and civil rights movements in other countries in Annapolis, Maryland.<\/p>\n<p>Homeland Security<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/HOMELAND_DISCL_20221217.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $4.2 million for stormwater and sanitary sewer improvements in Beckley, West Virginia; $2.3 million for a levee upgrade in Mayfield, Pennsylvania; $3.5 million for a city dock \u201cresilience and revitalization\u201d Annapolis, Maryland project; $2 million to a \u201cclimate resiliency\u201d Revere, Massachusetts &#8211; Project<\/p>\n<p>Interior, Environment, and Related Agency (<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/INTERIOR_DISCL_20221218.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $3 million for an Alaska Native Justice Center in Anchorage, Alaska; $2.5 million for a community winter access trails pilot program in\u00a0North Slope Borough, Alaska; $1.3 million for a \u201cclimate resiliency\u201d project in Medway, Massachusetts; $1.2 million for the Cascade\u2013Siskiyou National Monument in Oregon; and $575,000 for a mobile buffalo meat processing unit in New Mexico.<\/p>\n<p>Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/LHHS_DISCL_20221218_2.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $2 million for \u201cgreen job\u201d workforce development and equipment in Collegeville, Pennsylvania; $1 million for career skills and job counselling at a women\u2019s centre in Kew Gardens, New York; and around $3 million for a half dozen LGBT-related projects and programs, including $500,000 for LGBTQ youth and family services in Lake Worth Beach, Florida.<\/p>\n<p>Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/MILCON_DISCL_20221217.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $99 million for a physical fitness centre annex at Ft. Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska; $82.2 million for recruit barracks in San Diego, California; $68.1 million for aircraft airfield pavement improvements on Whidbey Island, Washington; and around $100 million for a half dozen child development centres, including $32.1 million for one in Camp Pendleton, California.<\/p>\n<p>Transportation, Housing and Urban Development and Related Agencies<a href=\"https:\/\/appropriations.house.gov\/sites\/democrats.appropriations.house.gov\/files\/documents\/THUD_DISCL_20221216.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">pdf<\/a>): $3.75 million for renovation of a YMCA facility in Chicago, Illinois; $2 million for a wax museum on prominent black Americans in Baltimore, Maryland; $1.5 million for an LGBTQ community services centre in White Plains, New York; and $750,000 for transitional housing and services for LGBT and \u201cgender non-conforming\u201d Albany, New York<\/p>\n<p>In her\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.cato.org\/blog\/five-things-know-about-monstrous-lame-duck-omnibus\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">analysis of<\/a>\u00a0the 4,155-page omnibus legislative text, which is accompanied by another 2,670 pages of explanatory documents, the Cato Institute\u2019s Romina Boccia said that most members of Congress wouldn\u2019t have time to read it before voting.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAnd that\u2019s intentional,\u201d She claimed that the \u201ccurrent legislative process does not intend for members of Congress to carefully deliberate policy decisions\u201d This would cause more opposition.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cInstead of rushing this bill through this week, Congress should punt [defer] on appropriations until 2023. Members should instead take time over the Christmas holiday to deeply reflect on their responsibilities and return refreshed in the new year with a strong fiscal agenda that would put the U.S. budget on a sustainable path and avert a future fiscal crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The members of Congress voted to approve the Omnibus and its Earmarks. This seems to have been a missed opportunity for deeper reflection. But, it remains open to debate whether or not there will be a Community Project Funding ban in the future.<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The more than 4,000-page $1.7 TILLION \u201comnibus\u201d President Joe Biden pledged to sign the government funding bill. It includes $16 billion for pet projects. \u201cearmarks\u201d This is a movement that supporters consider a way for legislators to better serve their constituents, but which detractors frequently view as corrupt and wasteful. \u201cpork.\u201d Earmarks refer to provisions &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1787640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[547],"tags":[6962,9404,4484,5458,9942,11954,9405,3682,7991,3819],"class_list":["post-1787505","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-bongino-report","tag-the","tag-9404","tag-billion","tag-bongino","tag-deeper","tag-dive","tag-earmarks","tag-into","tag-omnibus","tag-report"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787505","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1787505"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1787505\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1787640"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1787505"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1787505"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1787505"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}