Local lawmakers rake in millions in earmarks

By: EDWARD SIFUENTES - Staff Writer
Money benefits law enforcement, road construction and defense industry | Sunday, February 24, 2008 12:19 AM PST ∞

While GOP leaders in Congress criticized Democrats last week for failing to rein in "earmarks," local Republican congressmen secured tens of millions of dollars for projects in this year's federal budget, according to a watchdog group's analysis.

Rep. Duncan Hunter, R-El Cajon, led local representatives bringing in more than $25 million, according to the analysis by the Washington-based Taxpayers for Common Sense. Hunter ranked 20th among all House members in individual earmarks, or pet projects that lawmakers insert into spending bills without a vote, and which critics call "pork barrel spending."

Earmarks have come under scrutiny in recent years in the wake of corruption scandals, including those that landed former North County Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham, R-Escondido, and lobbyist Jack Abramoff in prison.

Since taking control of Congress, Democrats have made changes to the earmarks process, but Republicans say those changes have not gone far enough.

Some Republican lawmakers have called for a moratorium on earmarks, including Sen. John McCain, the front-runner for the GOP presidential nomination, but others have resisted the call.

Joe Kasper, a spokesman for Hunter, said that while it needs reform, the congressman "does recognize the value in the earmarking process."

Kasper said Hunter had used the process to secure "funding for many important and lifesaving initiatives, including advanced body and vehicle armor for our servicemen and women." Hunter has also secured funding for "transportation and infrastructure improvements and environmental restoration efforts," Kaspar said.

Hunter, who is the top Republican on the House Armed Services Committee, sponsored several military-related earmarks. The largest one was a $15.2 million request for Titan Corp. in San Diego to develop a less expensive alternative to the Tomahawk Missile, which cost about $1 million each.

In its analysis, Taxpayers for Common Sense ranked lawmakers on earmarks they sponsored alone, those they sponsored in concert with other members of Congress and as groups with the president.

Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Solana Beach, was among those in Congress who sponsored the least amounts, $1.6 million in solo earmarks. Rep. Mary Bono Mack, R-Palm Springs, sponsored $1.9 million and Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Vista, wrote in $2.8 million.

Bilbray campaigned partially on earmarking reform after the congressman he sought to replace in the 50th District, Cunningham, was caught in an earmarking-corruption scandal. Bilbray said he intentionally kept his requests to a few worthy projects, including road and law enforcement equipment.

"I made priority decisions," Bilbray said. "If it wasn't transportation or national security, I didn't do it."

Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., got the most out of earmarks in the House, $159.9 million, by himself. Alaska Republican Ted Stevens got the most in the Senate, $389 million, according to the Taxpayers for Common Sense analysis.

Until recent years, earmarks were inserted into bills anonymously, making it difficult to trace them back to their sponsors. But laws enacted in recent years require lawmakers to put their names on the projects, said Steve Ellis, a spokesman for Taxpayers for Common Sense.

For example, while Rep. Susan Davis, D-San Diego, sponsored $9.6 million in earmarks by herself, adding earmarks she sponsored with others brings her total to $21.7 million.

"We've got to have transparency," Ellis said. "What we are requesting is to get rid of the black-box decision-making process and bring down the number of earmarks."

In 2006, Democrats campaigned against earmarks in their efforts to win control of Congress. But the analysis of the fiscal year 2008 budget produced under their rule indicates they fell short of their goal, Ellis said.

The budget includes more than 12,881 earmarks totaling more than $18 billion, according to the taxpayer group.

That amount was about 23 percent less than the high water mark set in 2005 when the Republicans were in charge, but fell short of the 50 percent reduction in earmarks that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, had promised.

No huge split
Earlier this month, House Republican leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized Pelosi and other Democrats for not doing more to hold back earmark spending.

"Wasteful pork-barrel earmarks have become a symbol of a broke Washington. Both parties are to blame," Boehner said in a press release. "Until the process is fixed, public confidence in our institution will remain at an all-time low."

One thing is sure, both sides are to blame, Ellis said. His group's analysis shows that the total in earmarks split roughly down the middle, with Republicans taking about 46 percent of the spending.

"It's not a huge split," he said. "Forty-six percent is a pretty good haul."

Much of the money secured by local members of Congress was requested for research, road, military and law enforcement projects. For example, Bilbray requested $490,000 for Highway 56 connectors and Interstate 5 widening. Issa requested $341,000 for a nursing education program at MiraCosta College.

Frederick Hill, a spokesman for Issa, said Thursday that the congressman has adopted new criteria for sponsoring earmarks in the future. He will no longer request money on behalf of for-profit organizations.

To make the process more transparent, Issa said he will ask local governments and nonprofit organizations to have their councils and boards approve in a public meeting their requests for money, before he will sponsor them.

"These new requirements for funding requests I make on behalf of the 49th District are a part of my efforts to change the way the House spends taxpayer dollars," Issa said in a recent press release on his new guidelines.

The Taxpayers for Common Sense report is available at www.taxpayer.net.

Contact staff writer Edward Sifuentes at (760) 740-3511 or esifuentes@nctimes.com.