Posted on 08/16/2006 9:30:03 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
Inland Rep. Jerry Lewis defended congressional earmarking Tuesday during a visit to Mt. San Jacinto Community College's nursing program in Menifee.
A $1.49 million federal grant has helped expand the program at the Menifee campus and school officials thanked Lewis, R-Redlands, for his support.
Colleges such as Mt. San Jacinto would suffer without the special-funding projects delivered by members of Congress, Lewis said.
"One of our jobs is to help California and my district get as much of their money back as possible," Lewis said.
Earmarks, which have increased more than threefold in the past decade, are special projects inserted into federal legislation by lawmakers. They often come with little or no public debate.
The practice has come under increased scrutiny since former Rep. Randy "Duke" Cunningham pleaded guilty in November to conspiring to accept bribes in exchange for earmarks. The Rancho Santa Fe Republican is serving more than eight years in prison.
Washington watchdog groups have called for reform to make the earmarking process more open.
Meanwhile, Lewis also is facing scrutiny as part of a wide-ranging federal investigation into a Washington, D.C., lobbying firm.
In May, a federal grand jury subpoenaed documents from several Inland cities and counties about their decision to hire the lobbying firm formerly known as Copeland, Lowery, Jacquez, Denton & White and their relationship with Lewis.
Lewis has not been accused of any wrongdoing and no charges have been filed as part of the investigation. Lewis is a friend of firm partner Bill Lowery, a former congressman who served on the House Appropriations Committee. The firm also has employed several former Lewis staff members.
Lewis said Tuesday that Congress has the constitutional right to appropriate funding.
There is a misunderstanding, particularly in the media, that earmarks are "out of control," said Lewis, who is chairman of the House Appropriations Committee.
Earmarks total less than 1 percent of the $900 billion in federal funding that passes through the Appropriations Committee, Lewis said. It is not outrageous for Congress to "massage" that tiny portion of the president's budget, he said.
Lewis said projects such as the Predator unmanned spy plane and the proton cancer treatment center at Loma Linda University Medical Center would not be realities without earmarks.
"Much of this college's campus would be negatively affected" without federal money, he said as he stood outside Mt. San Jacinto's nursing lab.
Lewis was first elected in 1978 and is seeking a 15th term in November. He said he has not heard concerns from constituents about the ongoing federal investigation.
"My voters aren't even asking me," Lewis said. "They don't know what it is about, and I don't even know what it is about."
During his tour Tuesday, Lewis talked with faculty and students and inspected a new high-tech simulation lab funded with the grant money. The lab includes five computerized mannequins that have heartbeats, can moan and even deliver babies. College officials say the mannequins safely help train students how to diagnose and treat a host of ailments.
Mark Drummond, chancellor of the state's community colleges, said the two-year institutions train the majority of California's new nurses. The partnership with the federal government will help the state get closer to meeting the need for 11,000 new nurses annually, he said.
"The congressman has been very helpful," Drummond said. "Today we see some of the fruits of what he has done."
Worthless Cur
I'm glad you put "Congressman" to clarify. 'Cause I was about to say "LADIES!" glaven.
The National Endowment for the Arts and National Endowment for the Humanities are also under 1% of the budget.
But, like earmarks, that doesn't make them right either.
"A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, (which is) always followed by a dictatorship." Alexander Tyler
A related thread on earmarks:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1684452/posts
Thank the article author, I still slip up now and then. ;-)
Thanks, just cross linked with that thread.
Thanks for cross posting.
There are less than 20 members of the House who would qualify as fiscal conservatives
This guy Jerry Lewis (this one isn't funny) just doesn't get it. It really doesn't matter how much of the budget earmark make up---folks don't like their money being wasted on stupid crap. Will the people of his CA district please vote this clown out.
This attitude irks me. Earmarks need to end.
25 billion dollars here, 25 billion dollars there, pretty soon you're talking about real money, Mr. Congressman.
Thank God we're a Representative Republic.
Gee, less than 1% of the budget. That's a bit more than it takes to run NASA.
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