Members of Congress are requesting about $40 million in federal earmarks for Howard County businesses, nonprofits and government agencies in the upcoming 2010 budget.

The requests include everything from new hybrid buses for the county to millions of dollars for a private company to develop explosion-detection kits for military and law enforcement. They include money to start computer centers in senior housing facilities and funds to build better prosthetics for injured military veterans.

About a dozen projects out of several hundred throughout the state either directly affect the county or would benefit a county business.

This is the first year that members of Congress have been required to disclose their budget earmarks — money set aside for specific projects — on their Web sites, along with the reason for them, prior to the requests being submitted to committees. The leaders of the House and Senate Appropriations committees announced the changes earlier this year as part of an effort to increase transparency, provide for greater scrutiny of projects and reduce the amount of earmarks in the federal budget.

U.S. Sens. Benjamin Cardin and Barbara Mikulski, both Democrats, each listed more than $1 billion in earmarks for more than 200 projects, though there is overlap between their lists, according to documents posted in May.
 
U.S. Reps. John Sarbanes and Elijah Cummings, both Democrats, are seeking about $300 million and $450 million, respectively, for about 90 projects each, though their lists also overlap.

The biggest projects on the senators’ lists are $300 million for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to consolidate its offices into one facility in Silver Spring, $170 million for the Blue Plains Wastewater Treatment Plant as part of a plan to clean up the Chesapeake Bay and $150 million for Washington’s Metro system.

A Cardin spokesman said the senator typically receives far more requests than he ultimately submits for funding. The office culls through the requests, finding ones that advance Cardin’s main priorities (including health care, public safety, education and the environment) and are eligible for federal money.

Cardin’s number of requests is about the same as in previous years when the earmarks were not posted on the Web, the spokesman said. The goal is for earmarks to be kept below 1 percent of discretionary spending in the 2010 budget, which is lower than it has been in previous years.

“The Maryland appropriations requests I put forward for fiscal year 2010 were carefully vetted to ensure that they reflect our regional and national priorities,” Cardin said in a statement. “Particularly during this tough economy, the federal government should do all it can to help develop economic assets that can preserve and create quality jobs and attract private-sector investments.”

In a statement, Mikulski said her priority with requests was investing in jobs to help the economy recover.

“These federal funds take the burden off local taxpayers. It shouldn’t fall upon locals – like families and small business owners – to meet federal responsibilities where the federal budget is skimpy and spartan,” she said in the statement. “That’s why my requests include funds for Maryland from federal programs dedicated to fixing traffic hot spots and replacing crumbling water and sewer systems.”

County Executive Kenneth Ulman said county officials tend to be selective when they ask for federal funding for projects. Ulman cited a request for $2.6 million for hybrid buses in the county as an example of something that not only fills a need but saves money in the long run by replacing aging buses with more energy-efficient models.

Federal dollars are never guaranteed, and Ulman said he tries to make sure requests are for one-time-only expenses. Planning on federal money for ongoing expenses — and then not receiving it — could create budget problems, he said.

“We rely on the delegation to deliver funding for priority projects,” Ulman said. “Clearly it’s more important now than ever because of the challenge of gaining funding” on state and local levels.

All requests must first go through the House and Senate Appropriations committees before being voted on as part of budget bills by the full House and Senate. Those budget bills must then be reconciled before going to President Obama for his signature.

The federal fiscal year begins Oct. 1.

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user comments (8)

user beatendowntaxpayer says...

These idiot politicians prove once again they have no clue about what it's like to not be able to afford something. STOP spending our money! I'm sure the 6 people who ride HoCo transit can wait a few years for their hybrid buses.

Posted 11:52 PM, 06.03.09 | Permalink

user independent says...

The only solution for spending is to vote out incumbents. I'd ask beatendowntaxpayer if their vote has gone for any incumbent in the past 3 years. The Republican administration bailed out banks last year: $700 Billion. The Democrats plan a stimulus of $700 this year. One more economic hit like gas prices that we don't control, and we'll be in a sprial lasting decades instead of the few years it would have been had we left everything alone.

Posted 8:08 AM, 06.04.09 | Permalink

user brdoon says...

Lat year Howard Transit accomodated 940,000 trips. It is expected this year that there will be approximately 1.1 million trips on Howard Transit. Howard Transit patrons include Seniors who cannot or will not drive, students to both secondary schools and colleges and most of all workers who are often noticeable only when absent...those lower paid individuals who man the restaurants, hotels, landscaping and construction crews, daycare centers, nursing homes and the many other occupations that make life convenient, inexpensive and comfortable for the rest of us. Many of these folks hold more than one job, work hard but for one reason or another either lack a car and/or driving permit. Nevertheless without them our local economy would be in trouble. or at best, a lot more costly. Surely they deserve transportation that is safe, secure and predictable...like Howard Transit.

Posted 11:12 AM, 06.04.09 | Permalink

user milton says...

Wow, if what brdoon says is true, Howard Transit is a very expensive and inefficient service paid for by tax dollars. According to the proposed Howard County Operating Budget on the county website, $7.3 million dollars in “transportation service expenditures” were incurred in 2008 (page 117 of the .pdf). Note that these are operating expenses, and do not include the cost to purchase the buses. If only 940,000 trips were made last year, that is a subsidy of $7.80 per trip. That sounds pretty expensive to me. How many residents actually use the buses?

Posted 12:23 PM, 06.04.09 | Permalink

user jmoney says...

user beatendowntaxpayer says... "I'm sure the 6 people who ride HoCo transit can wait a few years for their hybrid buses." I am one of the many people who ride Howard Transit buses and I will tell you right now we are need of a quality bus system in Howard County. Their buses are prone to breaking down and are very old. Obviously you are not one of the "six" people who ride the buses in Howard County or else you would have already known that. I have been left stranded or had to walk across Columbia due to the poor quality of their buses. Next time I suggest you try riding the buses here for a while to get the whole Howard Transit "experience" before you try and grace everyone with your "expert" opinion.

Posted 12:26 PM, 06.04.09 | Permalink

user magicskip says...

jmoney, would you ride the bus if you had to pay the true cost of it? Add the $7.80 subsidy (according to milton) - would you pay that to ride? Why should all the rest of the HoCo citizens pay it for you? Why should all of west county pay to subsidize buses in Columbia? Here's a tip for you: Columbia Cab. And for that matter, why should the *federal* budget (i.e. taxpayers across the country) pay for buses for HoCo transit? Or for DC Metro? Or any of the other "earmarks"?

Posted 4:25 PM, 06.04.09 | Permalink

user jmoney says...

I have no choice but to ride the bus. I cannot afford a car. So yes if the bus costed 7.80, I guess I would be stuck paying 7.80. As far as your Columbia Cab tip. A cab costs 12.00 ONE WAY to get to work. So that is 24.00 a day to get to and from work. This is not including if I have errands to run, go to the grocery store, or even anything extra. So I appreciate your suggestion of a cab but it does not beat the cost of a bus by a long shot. And I am sorry but what does WEST COUNTY have anything to do with this? I am a taxpayer too. So whether I live in west county or not, west county is not the only part of the county that houses taxpayers. One final note, I do not know if any of the people posting here are bus riders, all I know is I do not know what I would do without our transit system "earmarked" or not.

Posted 4:05 PM, 06.05.09 | Permalink

user citizentaxpayerjane says...

Every taxpayer in the county will pay millions when zra102 is passed allowing unrestrained (that is, county approved) zoning changes by all village centers. We'll pay for the mess that Columbia becomes when 13,000 cars hit the road in Towne Center and that is just the beginning of 'vibrancy'. Other villages are already mulling adding thousands more cars in addition to the 13k.

Posted 4:58 PM, 06.05.09 | Permalink