Article: Senate Democrats preserve controversial earmarks
Article: Tennessee: Area lawmakers lambaste, defend stimulus
GEORGIA--EARMARKS
Tennessee — $198.7 million
Georgia — $98.8 million
Source: Taxpayers Against Government Waste
CHATTANOOGA-AREA EARMARKS
* Chickamauga Lock renovation: $42 million
* Cherokee National Forest workstation improvements: $1.5 million
* Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport taxiway reconstruction: $1.2 million
* Chattanooga to Nashville high-speed ground transportation corridor: $570,000
* City of Chattanooga Law Enforcement Training Center: $550,000
* Moccasin Bend National Archeological District riverbank stabilization: $500,000
* Enterprise South industrial park workforce training center: $380,000
Source: Taxpayers for Common Sense
EARMARKS BY LAWMAKERS
* Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn.: $52.7 million
* Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn.: $2.5 million
* Sen. Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn.: $179.6 million
* Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn: $165.4 million
* Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga.: $0
* Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga.: $48.4 million
* Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga: $30.9 million
Figures include joint earmark requests made with other lawmakers and the president.
Source: Taxpayers for Common Sense
ON THE WEB
To see the earmarks database compiled by Taxpayers for Common Sense, go to: www.taxpayer.net
WASHINGTON — Chickamauga Lock, the Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport and Moccasin Bend National Archaeological District are among the Chattanooga-area projects and agencies slated to share in the billions of dollars in earmarks included in the federal government’s fiscal 2009 budget.
In all, according to the nonpartisan Taxpayers Against Government Waste, Tennessee will receive $198.7 million in earmarks, while Georgia will receive $98.8 million, assuming passage of the $410 billion spending bill, which is awaiting Senate approval.
Criticizing earmarks, which make up about 1 percent of the budget, as wasteful and sometimes unethical is an annual exercise in Washington, though the practice continues unabated.
Even Tennessee and Georgia lawmakers who say they are opposed to earmarks say they will participate, as long as the rules allow it. Earmarks allow individual members of Congress to direct federal funding as stipulated by the Constitution toward projects in their home states and districts.
“I believe the appropriations process is deeply flawed and in need of substantial reform,” said Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn. “This year, I supported a limited number of projects for Tennessee, each of which was rigorously vetted and determined to have a federal mission, promote safety, or be crucial to economic development.”
He added that he has backed a one-year moratorium on earmarks and other reform measures.
The lone Chattanooga-area member of Congress who declined to make any earmark requests this year was Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Ga., who earlier said he would not participate until meaningful reform is achieved.
Chickamauga Lock, in the midst of an 11-year renovation, will receive $42 million in earmarks this year. Rep. Zach Wamp, R-Tenn., who requested the earmark, along with Sens. Corker and Lamar Alexander, R-Tenn., said the project is appropriate for earmark funding because the federal government is charged with maintaining inland waterways.
“Everybody, from the far left to the far right, thinks Chickamauga Lock is a legitimate federal responsibility,” said Rep. Wamp, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee. “That’s my No. 1 priority, to get that lock replaced, and I make no bones about it.”
Other Tennessee earmarks include $2.4 million for the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation’s Methamphetamine Task Force, $1.2 million for reconstruction of a taxiway at Chattanooga Metropolitan Airport, $500,000 for riverbank stabilization at the Moccasin Bend National Archeological District and $380,000 for a work force training center at Enterprise South industrial park.
“I only recommend worthy projects that are in the public interest and where there’s a clear federal role,” Sen. Alexander, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, said of his requests. “I always publicly report those projects so people can evaluate them.”
Rep. Lincoln Davis, D-Tenn., also said he publicly reports his earmark requests and supports greater transparency. Most of his earmarks are for rapid transit, hospital improvements and water development.
“Transportation, health care and basic water infrastructure investments are badly needed in my rural district,” he said. “I will keep fighting for any federal dollars I can get, because the only one in Washington looking out for my district is me.”
Because Rep. Deal did not request any earmarks, none of the Georgia earmarks involve any projects or agencies in Northwest Georgia. The bulk of the state’s earmarks are for Army Corps of Engineers projects, including improvements at Lake Lanier and Lake Allatoona.
Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Ga., earmarked $48.4 million, including $2.9 million for Southern Piedmont conservation research and $2.4 million for Southeastern Poultry Research Laboratory, both of which are in Athens, Ga.
“Sen. Chambliss has supported eliminating earmarks and will continue to do so,” spokeswoman Brownyn Lance Chester said, noting the senator voted three times this week on failed amendments that would have stripped all earmarks, including his own, from the fiscal 2009 spending bill.
“As long as the rules allow targeted federal spending, Sen. Chambliss will support worthwhile projects to help stimulate investment in deserving communities and industries throughout Georgia.”
