Ron Paul one of only four House Republicans to request earmarks for 2011 budget

Washington Independent ^ | 8 Dec 10 | Patrick Caldwell

[LSUfan]

U.S. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Texas) was one of only four House Republicans to break rank from the party and request earmarks despite a Republican Conference earmark moratorium. Paul sent 41 earmark requests totaling $157,093,544 for the 2011 Fiscal Year. His largest single request was $19,500,000 for a naval training ship at the Texas Maritime Academy in Galveston, followed by a $18,126,000 to provide maintenance on the Matagorda Ship Channel.

For Fiscal Year 2010, Paul requested 54 total earmarks, adding up to $398,460,640 in pork that the former presidential candidate sought to bring home to his district. These requests were made prior to the House Republican Conference’s voluntary ban on filing earmarks.

Paul’s largest request in 2010 was $51.5 million in federal money to be spent on “Reconstruction of Bluewater Highway Hurricane Evacuation Route Between Brazoria and Galveston Counties in Texas.” He requested another $50 million to be directed to the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway and $46 million for deepening the Texas City channel. The majority of Paul’s requests were for projects related to various ports and channels, though other sectors of his district also received attention, such as $20 million for a hospital in Chambers County. Even smaller projects received attention from the libertarian representative, such as $2.5 million requested “to redevelop historic downtown area and to purchase trash cans, bike racks and decorative street lighting” in Baytown.

While Paul requested these earmarks, he can still claim to have voted against the spending. Here’s how he defended his earmarking habit when he was challenged during a Fox News interview in 2009:

I think you’re missing the whole point. I have never voted for an earmark. I voted against all appropriation bills. So, this whole thing about earmarks is totally misunderstood.

Earmarks is the responsibility of the Congress. We should earmark even more. We should earmark every penny. So, that’s the principle that we have to follow and the — and the responsibility of the Congress. The whole idea that you vote against an earmark, you don’t save a penny. That just goes to the administration and they get to allocate the funds.

Taxpayers for Common Sense released a database Tuesday of all the earmarks requested by members of Congress for Fiscal Year 2011. Over $130 billion was requested across 39,294 earmarks. With most House Republicans abstaining from the process, the majority of those requests came from Congressional Democrats. House Democrats requested over $51 billion, outpaced by Senate Democrats with just under $55 billion. On the other hand Senate Republicans only asked for $22 billion, with the four House Republicans accounting for a little over $1 billion in earmark requests. Louisiana Democratic Sen. Mary Landrieu had the highest request total for the year at around $4.5 billion.

From 2008-2010, the average Texas congressman brought back $74 million in earmarks, according to an analysis of data from the Center for Responsive Politics and Taxpayers for Common Sense, as the Texas Independent previously reported. In those three years, Paul sponsored/co-sponsored 45 successful earmarks totaling nearly $120 million. That was the sixth-greatest total among U.S. House members from Texas.

Of the five U.S. House members who brought home more total earmarked money than Paul, three were defeated in the November elections — Democratic U.S. Reps. Chet Edwards, Solomon Ortiz and Ciro Rodriguez (who all have large military installations in or near their districts.)

[cranked]

Say it ain’t so...../s =.=

[Cicero]

Not surprising. Ron Paul has been running wild since the election, voting on the wrong side of almost every issue.

I have a suspicion that he thinks the election was all about him.

“I won!”

[dirtboy]

I think you’re missing the whole point. I have never voted for an earmark. I voted against all appropriation bills. So, this whole thing about earmarks is totally misunderstood.

That is the exact same lame defence that Cornyn is attempting now. What is it about faux conservatives from Texas that they think this fools anyone?

Both need to be primaried in 2012 or whenever it is Cornyn is up next for election.

[chickadee]

This ear mark thing is very muddled and muddied. The money will be spent anyway. If a Senator or a Rep earmarks a sum, it is designated for that use only, instead of going into Obama’s boodle. It seems to me that the problem comes in when earmarks are used as “sweeteners”, as Harry Reid so quaintly puts it. Perhaps we could sort this out by establishing a rule that a Senator or Representative cannot vote on a bill that contains an earmark from him or her or that specifically benefits his/her state. That would end the bribery aspect of earmarks.

[GraceG]

Someone needs to tell Ron Paul that Earmarks are not in the constitution.

[rickb308]

“This ear mark thing is very muddled and muddied. The money will be spent anyway. If a Senator or a Rep earmarks a sum, it is designated for that use only, instead of going into Obama’s boodle”

What’s scary, is I actually understand this. LOL.

[DTogo]

Somehow this has to be Sarah Palin’s fault...

[Bob Eimiller]

Ron Paul has always been a WACK JOB

[Nervous Tick]

>> What is it about faux conservatives from Texas that they think this fools anyone?

Who knows.

I’m ashamed of both of ‘em.

[skeeter]

Earmarks are a nasty congressional habit, but they’re a fraction of the overall budget and I believe are being used to divert attention from more serious issues.

[CJ Wolf]

So the way I understand it is that the money is going to be spent anyway and if he doesn’t earmark it for his district the money will go somewhere else. So he is doing his district a favor by putting the earmarks in. But he votes no on the spending because he doesn’t think we should spend the money and someone else (other dems and rinos) vote yes and gets it passed....So when passed some of the taxpayer money from his district gets returned. If more people would vote no like him, then there wouldn’t be any earmarks....

[LIBERTARIAN JOE]

Someone needs to tell Ron Paul that Earmarks are not in the constitution.

Someone needs to tell GraceG that representing the residents of a congressional district (by forwarding on their funding requests to the house appropriations committee) is, by definition, the duty of a member of the House of Representatives.

[paul51]

the system and the players are so corrupt that anyone trying to get a handle on it would be better off trying to herd cats. none of these people are trustworthy. if they were, they wouldn’t be politicians to start with. the taxpayers are a bunch of dupes

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks LSUfan.

• McCain: Republicans could lose seats if omnibus passes -- Republicans could relinquish a significant portion of the gains they made in the midterm elections if they "allow" the omnibus spending bill to pass, Sen. John McCain said Wednesday.

[TheBattman]

Paul has never been against earmarks...

Amazing how someone who pontificates on fiscal “responsibility”, always harping on America’s failed economic policies - votes largess from the IOU-funded treasury.

It is this kind of schizophrenic and hypocritical actions that prevent Ron Paul from being taken seriously - even when he is speaking the cold-hard truth.

[Salvation]

Paul needs a good kick in the behind out of Congress. I never did trust him.

No REAL Republicans should be asking for earmarks!

You’ve got to give John McCain credit here — he has never asked for or accepted earmarks.

[chainsaw]

If earmark items are so important they should be able to pass as a stand alone bill with an up or down vote it both houses.

[MEGoody]

I can’t speak to the actual necessity of any of the earmarks Paul has requested, but earmarks aren’t always a bad thing. For example, if the Navy training ship is needed, then no problem. If it’s not needed (i.e. one already exists or there are already plenty of training ships, just not any located in his district), then Paul should have bamboo shoved under his fingernails.

[Eagle of Liberty]

I tracked down all of my outgoing Senator Voinovich's earmark requests. I suggest you do the same:

FY 11 Omnibus Agriculture Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Financial Services Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus CJS Earmark Table

FY 2011 Omnibus Energy and Water Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus Homeland Security Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus DOD Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus Interior Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus Milcon Earmark Chart

FY 2011 Omnibus Transportation HUD Earmark Chart

Labor HHS Omnibus Earmark Chart

- Case Western Reserve University, Northern Ohio Structural Laboratories: Advanced Instrumentation for Northeast Ohio's Bio‐imaging Cluster, Cleveland, OH $125,000 Fudge Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Ohio University, Small Business Development for Appalachian Ohio's Emerging Biomass Industry, Athens, OH $125,000 Space; Wilson (OH) Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- National Institute of Food and Agriculture Extension Ohio-Israel Agriculture Initiative, OH 700,000 Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- National Institute of Food and Agriculture RE/FA Dietary Intervention, OH 866,000 Kaptur Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- National Institute of Food and Agriculture RE/FA Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia, OH 500,000 Kaptur Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- National Institute of Food and Agriculture SRG Agriculture Science, OH 450,000 Boccieri; Kaptur Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Natural Resources Conservation Service Conservation Operations Great Lakes Basin Program for Soil Erosion and Sediment Control, Great Lakes Commission 404,000 Brown, Sherrod; Durbin; Levin; Schumer; Stabenow; Voinovich

- DOC NOAA Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH Monitoring of Lake Erie Water Quality with Remote Sensing $250,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOC NOAA Great Lakes Science Center, Cleveland, OH Northeast Ohio Informal STEM Education $250,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOJ COPS—LE Tech City of Cleveland, Office of the Mayor, Cleveland, OH 800 MHz Radio System $250,000 Fudge; Kucinich Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOJ OJP—Byrne Cuyahoga County Board of County Commissioners, Cleveland, OH Prisoner Re-entry Program $300,000 Fudge; Kucinich; Sutton Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOJ OJP—JJ Improved Solutions for Urban Systems, Dayton, OH Court Involved Drop-Out Youth Re-Engagement $250,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOJ OJP—JJ YWCA Columbus, Columbus, OH At-Risk Youth Initiative $250,000 Kilroy Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- DOJ OJP—JJ YWCA Youngstown, Youngstown, OH At-Risk Youth Strengthening Initiative $300,000 Ryan (OH) Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- NASA CAS University of Toledo, Toledo, OH Advanced Photovoltaics Array Testing $1,000,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Corps of Engineers Construction CHICAGO SANITARY AND SHIP CANAL, DISPERSAL BARRIER, IL 5,900,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Durbin; Levin; Stabenow; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Construction GREAT LAKES FISHERY AND ECOSYSTEM RESTORATION, MI 956,000 Jackson '(IL) Voinovich; Levin; Stabenow; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Construction HOLES CREEK, WEST CARROLLTON, OH 1,500,000 Voinovich

- Corps of Engineers Construction EUCLID, OH 1,100,000 Voinovich

- Corps of Engineers Construction PORTSMOUTH CSO MITIGATION, OH 500,000 Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Construction TOLEDO WATERWAYS INITIATIVE PHASE 2, OH 1,000,000 Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Construction OHIO RIVERFRONT, CINCINNATI, OH 2,184,000 Driehaus Voinovich; Sherrod Brown,

- Corps of Engineers Investigations GREAT LAKES REMEDIAL ACTION PLANS & SEDIMENT REMEDIATION, MI, IL, IN, MN, NY, OH, PA & WI 216,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Levin; Stabenow; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Investigations INTERBASIN CONTROL OF GREAT LAKES-MISSISSIPPI RIVER AQUATIC NUISANCE SPECIES, IL, IN, OH, WI 311,000 Kaptur; Lipinski Voinovich; Durbin; Levin; Stabenow

- Corps of Engineers Investigations OHIO RIVER BASIN COMPREHENSIVE STUDY, WV, KY, OH, PA, IL, IN, VA, AL, TN, NY, MD, NC, MS & GA 1,422,000 Rahall Voinovich; Bunning; Rockefeller

- Corps of Engineers Investigations WESTERN LAKE ERIE BASIN, OH, IN, & MI 1,422,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Operation and Maintenance CLEVELAND HARBOR, OH 2,205,000 Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Corps of Engineers Operation and Maintenance HURON HARBOR, OH 485,000 Kaptur Voinovich

- Corps of Engineers Operation and Maintenance TOLEDO HARBOR, OH 1,889,000 Kaptur Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Department of Energy Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Ohio Low Cost Carbon Fiber Initiative (OH) $1,500,000 Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Department of Energy Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability Great Lakes Energy Institute $950,000 Fudge; Ryan (OH) Voinovich; Sherrod Brown

- Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Nuclear Fabrication Consortium (OH) $2,000,000 Voinovich

- Department of Energy Nuclear Energy Ohio State Nuclear Reactor Laboratory Facility Research and Education Expansion $2,000,000 Kilroy Voinovich

- CG Acquisition, Construction, and Improvements Coast Guard Station Cleveland Harbor, OH $21,050,000 Voinovich

- General Provision Mitigation, Findlay, OH Voinovich

- RDTE,A Distributed Power from Wastewater 1,200,000 Wilson (OH) Brown (OH), Voinovich

- RDTE,A Smart Machine Platform Initiative 2,800,000 --- Voinovich

- RDTE,A Smart Wound Dressing for MRSA-infected Battlefield Wounds 2,800,000 --- Kerry, Warner, Webb, Voinovich

- RDTE,AF Advanced Aerospace Carbon Foam Heat Exchangers 3,200,000 --- Voinovich

- RDTE,AF Mitigating RoHS Lead-Free Issues in Aerospace Circuit Board Manufacturing 1,600,000 Sutton, Kaptur Brown (OH), Voinovich

- RDTE,AF Unmanned Aerial System Exploitation 2,800,000 --- Voinovich

- RDTE,DW Military Medical Decontamination System 4,000,000 --- Brown (OH), Voinovich

- RDTE,DW Paintshield for Protection from Microbial Threats 3,200,000 --- Brown (OH), Voinovich

- RDTE,N Naval Port Security System 4,400,000 --- Reed, Voinovich, Whitehouse

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - Metropolitan Sewer District of Greater Cincinnati for Lick Run CSO Reduction Project - $850,000 - Driehaus - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - Northeast Ohio Regional Sewer District for a wastewater project in the Village of Cuyahoga Heights - $800,000 - Kucinich - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - Belmont County for a wastewater project in the Neffs Community - $350,000 - Wilson (OH) - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - City of Dayton for a drinking water, wastewater and stormwater project - $500,000 - Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - City of Fremont for wastewater project - $800,000 - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - City of Marietta for water infrastructure improvements - $600,000 - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Environmental Protection Agency - STAG Water and Wastewater - City of Defiance for combined sewer overflow improvements - $300,000 - Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Air NG Ohio: Blue Ash ANGS Renovations for Building 2 $2,000,000 Sherrod Brown; Voinovich

- Air NG Ohio: Toledo Express Airport Replace Security Forces Complex $7,300,000 Kaptur Sherrod Brown; Voinovich

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) IM - Interstate Maintenance Discretionary I-71 Corridor Access in Cincinnati, OH $1,000,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Driehaus

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Investments City of Canton, OH $500,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Boccieri

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Investments Rickenbacker Pickaway East-West Connector, OH $500,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Investments Seiberling Way Bridge Replacement, OH $500,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Ryan (OH)

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Investments State Route 794 Realignment, Springfield, OH $1,125,000 Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) Surface Transportation Investments Warrensville/Van Aken Transit Oriented Development, Shaker Heights, OH $725,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Fudge

- Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) TCSP - Transportation & Community & System Preservation Route 82 Reconstruction and Widening, North Royalton, OH $650,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Sutton

- Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Buses & Bus Facilities COTA Electronic Fare Payment System, Columbus, OH $1,300,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Kilroy

- Federal Transit Administration (FTA) Buses & Bus Facilities Reconstruction of the Mayfield Road Rapid Transit Station and Bridge, OH $2,000,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Fudge

- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) American Red Cross, Cincinnati Area Chapter, OH Construction and Build Out of a Regional Red Cross Hub $950,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod Driehaus

- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) City of Springfield, OH For the redevelopment of an industrial Brownfield site $750,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Dayton, OH For Improved Solutions for Urban Systems, Inc. to renovate workshops and laboratories using LEED Standards and renewable energy technology $250,000 Voinovich

- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Hocking Co. Community Improvement Corporation, Logan, OH To construct an incubator/light manufacturing building $750,000 Voinovich Space

- Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) Economic Development Initiatives (EDI) Regional Foodbank, Akron-Canton, OH For energy conservation improvements for the food bank facility $250,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cleveland, OH, for science education programs, including the purchase of equipment $150,000 Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Cleveland Metropolitan School District, Cleveland, OH, to improve math, science, technology and language skills through music education $100,000 Kucinich Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Cuyahoga County Office of Early Childhood / Invest in Children, Cleveland, OH, for an early childhood education initiative, including scholarships $100,000 Fudge Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Friends of E Prep Schools, Cleveland, OH, for technology including the purchase of equipment $150,000 Kucinich Voinovich

- Department of Education Elementary & Secondary Education (includes FIE) Jobs for Ohio's Graduates, Inc., Columbus, OH, for dropout prevention programs for at-risk youth $150,000 Kilroy; Space Voinovich

- Department of Education Higher Education (includes FIPSE) Cincinnati State Technical and Community College, Cincinnati, OH, for GED and transition to college programs and job placement $150,000 Voinovich

- Department of Education Higher Education (includes FIPSE) Cuyahoga Community College, Cleveland, OH to expand the program in advanced manufacturing, alternatives to auto technology, veterans jobs and green jobs, which may include the purchase of equipment $700,000 Fudge; Kucinich; Ryan (OH); Sutton Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Department of Education Higher Education (includes FIPSE) Ohio Dominican University, Columbus, OH, for science programs, including the purchase of equipment $150,000 Voinovich

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services Austen BioInnovation Institute in Akron, Akron, OH for medical research facilities and equipment $550,000 Sutton Brown, Sherrod; Voinovich

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services BioOhio, Columbus, OH, for a national vaccine manufacturing and logistics center study $100,000 Kilroy; Kucinich Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services Cleveland State University, Cleveland, OH, for facilities and equipment $100,000 Ryan (OH) Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services Mercy Medical Center, Inc., Canton, OH, to implement an electronic medical records system $250,000 Boccieri; Ryan (OH); Space Voinovich

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center - James Cancer Hospital and Solove Research Institute, Columbus, OH, for facilities and equipment $200,000 Kilroy Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services Ohio University, Athens, OH, for health outreach and services in Appalachia Ohio $200,000 Space; Wilson (OH) Voinovich; Brown, Sherrod

- Department of Health & Human Services Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) - Health Facilities and Services University Hospitals, Cleveland, OH, for facilities and equipment $200,000 Sutton Voinovich



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