Ron Paul's earmark requests for FY2009 TX14

Houston Chronicle ^

[mnehring]

house.gov

Ron Paul has disclosed his earmark requests for 2009.

The deadline has passed for House members to submit their requests for earmark projects for fiscal year 2009.

We'll post the requests by the Houston delegation as we receive them. Here they are for Rep. Ron Paul, R-Lake Jackson:

Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science:
• $250,000 for Galveston Economic Development Partnership, for Galveston Center for Business and Technology Development to help spin off private investment at National Lab of the University of Texas Medical Branch
• $500,000 for City of Bay City for NuBlac Rehab Center (youth rehabilitation)

Subcommittee on Defense:
• $3.5 million for study of health risks of exposure to vanadium

Subcommittee on Military Construction:
• $2 million for City of Bay City for NuBlac Rehab Center (serving minority veterans)

Subcommittee on Energy and Water Development:
• $41.073 million for Army Corps of Engineers to deepen and widen Texas City Channel
• $21.6 million for Army Corps of Engineers to dredge and reconfigure jetties at mouth of Colorado River
• $7.02 million for Army Corps of Engineers to dredge Freeport Harbor
• $16.021 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Galveston Harbor
• $1 million for Army Corps of Engineers for construction at Cedar Bayou
• $3.297 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Texas City Channel
• $200,000 for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Cedar Bayou
• $13.038 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Matagorda Ship Channel
• $42.018 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Gulf Intercoastal Waterway
• $3.026 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain channel to Victoria
• $600,000 for Army Corps of Engineers for feasibility study for Sabine Pass to Galveston Bay
• $400,000 for Army Corps of Engineers for feasibility study for Feeport Harbor
• $100,000 for Army Corps of Engineers for feasibility study for Lower Guadalupe River Basin
• $400,000 for Army Corps of Engineers for preliminary engineering and design study at Freeport Harbor.
• $21.7 million for Army Corps of Engineers for construction at Houston Galveston Navigation Channel
• $2.165 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Trinity River
• $6.979 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Wallisville Lake
• $1.3 million for Army Corps of Engineers to study flooding around Colorado River
• $11 million for Army Corps of Engineers for construction at Wharton and Onion Creek
• $3.026 million for Army Corps of Engineers for Chocolate Bayou
• $533,000 for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain channel to Port Bolivar
• $41.623 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Houston Ship Channel
• $1.01 million for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Double Bayou
• $3 million for Army Corps of Engineers for construction at Clear Creek
• $500,000 for Army Corps of Engineers to maintain Port Palacios
• $100,000 for Army Corps of Engineers to study sand placement near Brazoria County shoreline

Subcommittee on Interior and the Environment:
• $5 million for Fort Bend County for City of Kendleton water and sewer improvements

Subcommittee on Homeland Security:
• $10 million for Coast Guard to improve Galveston Rail Causeway
• $8.8 million for FEMA for drainage at Cove Harbor in Aransas County
• $2.2 million for FEMA to reconfigure and stabilize Capano Causeway Pier
• $500,000 for FEMA for Aransas County drainage master plan
• $35 million for FEMA for drainage in Friendswood
• $10 million for FEMA for drainage project for Friendswood/Clear Creek
• $10 million for FEMA for drainage project for Friendswood/Clear Creek
• $5 million for FEMA to recycle household hazardous waste in Friendswood

Subcommittee on Transportation:
• $1.96 million to replace buses in and around Victoria
• $2 million to renovate transit maintenance facility in Galveston
• $5 million to reconfigure Texas Clipper training ship
• $25,000 to install security cameras at Fox Run Apartments in Victoria
• $2 million to beautify Galveston Seawall and support Transit Access Program in Galveston
• $3.6 million to construct inter-modal transit facility in Victoria
• $3.5 million for analysis of commuter rail alternatives in Galveston
• $10.3 million for City of Bay City for NuBlac Youth/Community Center
• $2.2 million for City of Bay City for improvements to electrical wiring in low and moderate income housing

Subcommittee on Labor, HHS, Education:
• $90,000 for Victoria Chamber of Commerce for business/career-related education for youth
• $248,942 for UTMB for employee wellness program for small businesses
• $1.748 million for University of Houston-Victoria for DNA testing and genetic diagnostic lab
• $300,000 for Bay City MEHOP for fund reinstatement of mobile unit
• $200,000 for Bay City MEHOP to recruit nurse practitioner
• $1.92 million for UTMB to study muscle mass loss in aging vs. microgravity (NASA related) at International Space Station National Lab
• $750,000 for Houston Memorial Hermann HealthCare system for Life Flight operations center
• $26 million for Washington, D.C. "Reading is Fundamental" program
• $10 million for Boston, Mass., "Reach Out and Read" national center

To view Rep. Paul's earmark requests on his Web site, click here.

[magellan]

Small Government, Austrian School, Libertarian ping!

Or for those from Rio Linda: Ron Paul! Ron Paul! Ron Paul!

[Gondring]

I love how he votes against it all, despite dutifully passing on the requests from constituents. Eat your heart out RINOs!

[mnehring]

His votes are symbolic.
Putting the pork in the bill in the first place is substance.

Symbolism
Substance

Your choice..

I’ve posted our other represenatives earmark requests at the same time, I’m sure you’ll want to go make some excuses for them as well..

[SlapHappyPappy]

If it is his “duty” to pass on requests from his constituents, then it is also his “duty” to make sure they pass as that too represents the will of his constituents.

In other words, you can’t have it both ways. You can’t claim to be against earmarks while taking direct action you know will create earmarks.

Plus, as already stated, he votes “no” knowing full well his district will get the money anyway, which makes it a charade of the highest caliber.

[mnehring]

He is a long time career establishment politician, what do you expect. He just knows how to play the game better than some in that he can have some conservatives bending over backwards to make excuses for him while he gives his contributors a little wink.

[ejonesie22]

So basically you finally admit RP is a shyster, not fully representing his constituents, as is his job under the Constitution he loves to pretend to be expert on, while gladly taking their money and support, as he will from anyone who can fog a mirror...

Well that's a little progress...

[ejonesie22]

He is a long time career establishment politician, what do you expect. He just knows how to play the game better than some in that he can have some conservatives libertarians bending over backwards to make excuses for him while he gives his contributors a little wink.

Sorry but just had to make a minor change. I would not refer to his backers as Conservatives.

Remember, while Reagan said libertarianism is the heart of Conservatism, there was a reason he and the rest of us are Conservatives, not libertarians.

Life goes past simple myopic views and selfish absolutes...

[Gondring]

Read up on the process and then get back to me. You have things mixed up.

[Gondring]

Putting the pork in the bill in the first place is substance.

This is not "pork in a bill"...there's no additional spending requested here.

I don't know whether you are ignorant of the process or if you are intentionally trying to distort the picture, but this is NOT any additional spending.

Whether or not these earmarks are made, the appropriation level is set...this is just Rep. Paul requesting his district's requests be reserved from the already appropriated funds, rather than allowing it to be spent willy-nilly by Congress.

Don't confuse this with earmarks added to other bills. There are different types of earmarks.

[mnehring]

OMG, I've heard that before, but it is just as funny every time.. Paul's earmarks are special, they are there but they don't increase the budget. I guess you've never heard of baseline budgeting or the congressional budget cycle. Future budgets are calculated using the previous year's budget as a baseline. Any unappropriated funds are generally not budgeted in. Earmarking continues the cycle of increased baselines.

But, what is funnier is the other excuse you make, he votes against it. IF Paul's earmarks are somehow ‘different’ as you claim, than other congressmen and they have the magical power not to increase the budget, why does he vote against them? He claims he is passing on the budget request from his district and he is elected to represent his district, so, if they don't increase the budget and he is just following his voter's will in requesting them and (the other excuse) bringing the money out of Washington and back to his district, they why not vote for it?

You have been drinking the koolaid way to long. The propaganda and spin is really starting to just be funny.

[mnehring]

Here is the process Congress uses that Gondring doesn't want you to read about.

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=policy_Baseline_Budgeting

You may also want to take a gander over at Citizens Against Government Waste’s Pork page, including the infamous Pig Book.

http://www.cagw.org/site/PageServer?pagename=issues_budget

They sure don't consider Paul's pork ‘special’ and ‘not effecting the budget’. At that, he is listed as a porker along with all the others.

[mnehring]

By the way, if this is just returning money to his district and forwarding on his district's requests, they why does his pork requests include: • $26 million for Washington, D.C. "Reading is Fundamental" program • $10 million for Boston, Mass., "Reach Out and Read" national center

[jmc813]

Wow. This series of threads went over like a lead zeppelin. You need to post your threads during more active freeping hours of the day.

[mnehring]

Yep, posted all the reps in our district, only one other had any responses. I guess folks just don’t care about stopping pork any more.

[jmc813]

I guess folks just don’t care about stopping pork any more.

That'll at least be one consolation prize if McCain wins. He ain't too bad on that. I'll post a Paultard thread in about an hour when the West coasties start logging on. Betcha it gets lots of good activity. That's the secret of successful FR threads. Timing.

[ejonesie22]

One, it is not the Kool Aide, unless the wacky weed has a new slang term attached to it I am not familiar with...

Two, beyond the earmark bit I still am laughing about the whole “Ron Paul passes on the wishes of those in his district he was elected to serve and then votes against it so he can look good to the nut jobs who support him nationally” bit be perfectly fine.

What a servant of the people he is...

Damn, just damn...

[jmc813]

unless the wacky weed

1972 called. They want their drug slang back.

[ejonesie22]

Goes around comes around, I hear it’s back in fashion. I just hope bell bottoms and wide ties stay away.

[mysterio]

I was going to reply on this thread, but there's no reasoning with those who think paleoconservatives are worse than dems. And beleive me, there are some who hate Ron Paul as much as they hate the Clintons.

They'll deny it, but it's true.