Spending Bill Loaded With Earmarks, Many From GOP

Republicans have been railing against government spending — and earmarks — all year. But the spending bill now before the Senate is larded with earmarks, many thousands from Republicans. NPR's David Welna talks to host Melissa Block about what's happening with earmarks. Plus, we'll hear about several of the earmark projects from around the country, including the Advanced Genetic Technologies Center at the University of Kentucky, the Texas Height Modernization project at Texas A&M, and the Polynesian Voyaging Society.

ROBERT SIEGEL, host:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, host:

And I'm Melissa Block.

We turn now to earmarks, federal funding for pet projects that lawmakers are so fond of putting in spending bills. Republicans have been railing against earmarks for months, but the omnibus spending bill now before the Senate has thousands of them, many from prominent Republicans.

In all, the bill has more than $8 billion worth of earmarks. In a moment, we'll look at where some of that money would go. But first, I'm joined by NPR congressional correspondent David Welna. And David, earmarks are an especially big issue this time around, right?

DAVID WELNA: That's right, Melissa. Earmarks have become sort of the poster child this year for the out-of-control congressional spending that conservatives, especially ones with tea party ties, say have to be reined in.

So to avoid their wrath, congressional Republicans have made some really big shows of swearing off earmarks for the next two years. House Republicans did it first, and then a bit more reluctantly, Senate Republicans followed suit, even though their leader, Mitch McConnell, has brought a lot of federal bacon back to his home state of Kentucky over the years.

BLOCK: So David, help us understand, though. How is it that Republicans who are railing against these earmarks at the same time are loading the spending bill with earmarks for their home states?

WELNA: Well, yeah, right. Republicans have requested about 5,600 earmarks this year, and they got a lot of them approved. GOP leader McConnell, for example, has $86 million worth of earmarks in this big omnibus package. South Dakota Republican Senator John Thune got more than $38 million worth approved.

And when I asked him why he hasn't requested that they be removed from the omnibus, he said he's voting against the whole package. But of course, that omnibus might pass, and since there are some Republicans who will vote for it, that way McConnell and Thune and 31 other Republican senators who all requested earmarks this year could get them despite their public stance of being against them.

BLOCK: David, what is the rationale? If the Constitution gives Congress the power of the purse, why would they swear off earmarks?

WELNA: Well, Melissa, I think the only explanation for swearing them off is fear. Some major GOP earmarkers got knocked out of their primaries this year by tea party-backed challengers, who basically said death to earmarks.

But some Republicans now seem to be having second thoughts about having climbed onto the no-earmarks bandwagon. They're starting to realize they might have a lot of other voters mad at them for leaving the bacon behind in Washington.

BLOCK: Okay, NPR congressional correspondent David Welna, thanks so much.

WELNA: You're welcome.

BLOCK: We're going to hear now about several of those earmark projects around the country, starting with one that was added to the bill by the Republican leader Mitch McConnell: $650,000 for the University of Kentucky's Advanced Genetic Technology Center. That's where Christopher Schardl is the director.

And Dr. Schardl, this is a DNA research center. Why don't you explain what kinds of DNA research this money would go to fund?

Dr. CHRISTOPHER SCHARDL (Director, Advanced Genetic Technology Center, University of Kentucky): Well, we basically take a comprehensive look at whole genomes, such as the entire genetic constituent of an organism. This is primarily directed toward agriculturally-relevant organisms: plants, animals, microbes, pathogens, as well.

BLOCK: And what's the application for that once you figure out the genome of these organisms?

Dr. SCHARDL: In a practical sense, it provides an avenue to information about how to control diseases or maximize yields of crops or maximize productivity of livestock and the health of organisms and so forth.

BLOCK: I was trying to do the math and figure out what fraction of the total spending bill your earmark would be. I think it's one-1,692,000th of the total. And you would say that's money well-spent, I assume.

Dr. SCHARDL: Oh, yes, absolutely. If I did not think that, I would not be involved in this.

BLOCK: That's Christopher Schardl. He directs the Advanced Genetic Technology Center at the University of Kentucky in Lexington. Thanks so much.

Dr. SCHARDL: Well, thank you for having me.

BLOCK: Now on to Texas, where a $300,000 earmark from Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison would fund the Texas Height Modernization Project. Garey Gilley directs the Texas Spatial Reference Center at Texas A&M in Corpus Christi.

And Garey Gilley, you're modernizing the height of what and why?

Mr. GAREY GILLEY (Director, Texas Spatial Reference Center, Texas A&M): Well, we're trying to modernize is actually to bring up to current standards the national control system for positioning, both horizontal and vertical across the face of the Earth.

Most everybody is now familiar with GPS. They have GPS in their cars. That's very, very accurate as to where you are on the face of the Earth. But GPS is not accurate as to how high you are and what is your relative position to mean sea level.

BLOCK: And why do we need to know that? What are the implications there?

Mr. GILLEY: Well, for the very reason. For instance, in the Beaumont, Port Arthur area of Texas, when Hurricane Ike came through a couple, three years ago, there were 54 homes destroyed by flooding. Each of those homes had been certified to be above the projected flood plain level. Those certifications as to the height of those structures were actually incorrect.

Someone, a surveyor or engineer or somebody, has to put a mark on the ground and says here's the limits of that flood-prone area. And we don't have a control network sufficient to make that information readily available to the public.

BLOCK: Well, Garey Gilley, director of the Texas Spatial Reference Center in Corpus Christi, thanks so much.

Mr. GILLEY: Thank you.

BLOCK: And we end in Hawaii, where $300,000 is designated for the Polynesian Voyaging Society. It's an earmark from Democratic Senators Daniel Inouye and Daniel Akaka. The society is devoted to exploring the ancient, sea-faring heritage of the Hawaiian people. And the group's president, Nainoa Thompson, says it's now focused on what he considers an urgent need in Hawaii's schools. He hopes to develop new education models that speak more directly to Hawaiian children, and one way the society does that is by taking them onto the water.

Mr. NAINOA THOMPSON (President, Polynesian Voyaging Society): When we take children, when we take teachers on the ocean, we get them close and to understand and appreciate the importance of the beauty of our oceans and therefore the Earth.

I think it's vitally critical that children today are taken onto the ocean and taken into the environment so they can understand and appreciate. We'll protect those things that we love. We love those things that we understand. And those things that we understand are taught. We are a tool to teach loving the Earth.

BLOCK: You know, Mr. Thompson, Senator John McCain has singled out this earmark, for your group, as the number one pork barrel project in the spending bill. What would you want him to know?

Mr. THOMPSON: I would like him to come to Hawaii, meet our educational leadership, meet our students, and just to try to help him. You know, Hawaii is not Arizona. We are unique. We are special. And part of that uniqueness is our heritage and our culture.

I am fiercely protective of the work of this (foreign language spoken), it's sacredness. I'm fiercely protective of the thousands of people that have cared for her, loved her, sailed her and help create educational opportunities that give relevance and inspiration to kids. I'm fiercely protective of that.

And so if we haven't been able to communicate to people like John McCain that I'm reaching out, and if that's what's needed - and I say this in an extraordinarily humble way, that our work is quality, our work is important. And I think to understand that, you need to understand Hawaii, and you need to understand our children here.

BLOCK: Nainoa Thompson, thanks very much.

Mr. THOMPSON: Thank you very much.

BLOCK: Nainoa Thompson is president of the Polynesian Voyaging Society in Hawaii.

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