House Commerce Justice Science Spending Bill: 1,126 Earmarks, $442,562,000

Jul 2, 2008 | 4 min read | Print Article

The FY 2009 House Commerce-Justice-Science Appropriations bill contains 1,126 earmarks worth $442,562,000. That is a decrease of 13 projects and an increase of roughly $40 million from the 2008 bill. The Appropriations Committee should be commended for adding information in the CJS Spending bill report charts describing the actual beneficiary of each earmark, rather than just a general description of the earmark, as was done last year. ( Click here for the database )

Rep. Alan Mollohan (D-WV), Chairman of House CJS Appropriations Subcommittee, received 23 earmarks worth $9.7 million, which is close to twice the total value in projects he had in this version of the bill last year. Ranking Member Rep. Ronald Frelinghuysen (R-NY) received 9 earmarks worth $5.5 million, which was the same amount he received in the previous fiscal year.

There are 36 earmarks worth $26.7 million in the spending bill for the NASA budget, which is up from the 2008 House bill of about $20 million.

Here are some interesting projects in the House version of the legislation:

Appropriations Committee member Rep. John Olver (D-MA) obtained a $300,000 earmark for Shakespeare and Company for the company's Educational Programming to Assist At-Risk Students. The Shakespeare and Company education program , according to its website, strives “to bring the classical poetry and plays of Shakespeare alive and into the lives of as many students and teachers as possible in ways that are personally meaningful, educationally inspiring, and theatrically compelling.” Rep. Olver received 6 earmarks worth $2,400,000
Rep. Bill Shuster (R-PA) obtained $300,000 for Operation Our Town in Altoona, PA, which is a business-led and funded coalition fighting drugs and violent crime in central Pennsylvania. One of the things they do is distribute a “ Most Wanted ” list of criminals that they say are “innocent until proven guilty.” Rep. Shuster obtained 3 earmarks for $850,000.
Retiring Appropriations Committee member, Rep. James Walsh (R-NY) collected $2.5 million for the Greater Syracuse Chamber of Commerce to operate the Space Alliance Technology Outreach Program (SATOP). SATOP is, according to it’s website, a “FREE service designed to provide technical assistance and speed the transfer of space technology to the private sector. By giving FREE technology assistance to small businesses, SATOP helps them solve their challenges and increase their chances of succeeding.” Well, correction, it’s not free. Taxpayers pay for it.
A former Major League baseball pitcher obtained a $75,000 earmark. The pitcher, Wayne Gomes , created the non-profit Youth Baseball Diversity Foundation . It raised money last year and received interest, from some 120 teenagers who played from March to July. Last year, the league budget was about $70,000, mainly raised from grants and sponsorships. This year Rep. Bobby Scott (D-VA) is requesting the same amount of money for the foundation.
Rep. John Culberson (R-TX) obtained $4.5 million for the Texas Border Sheriffs Coalition, one of the largest earmarks in the CJS spending bill. According to Culberson earmark request for the coalition, the money is to pay for overtime, hire additional deputies and to purchase equipment.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) obtained $150,000 for a Middle School Expansion Project for Cleveland Scores, a chapter of the national America Scores . The program’s mission is to empower students in urban communities using soccer, writing, creative expression and service-learning. According to tax filings , this earmark would exceed the program’s revenue for all of last year.