Giffords requesting fewer earmarks this year: $120 million

Friday, March 21, 2008
Arizona Daily Star
By Daniel Scarpinato
U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords released her federal earmark requests Thursday, with large requests to fund commuter- and light-rail projects topping the $120 million tally.

Giffords’ wish list is much slimmer than what she submitted last year, when it hit $326 million. One of last year’s requests alone €” $187 million in guided missiles for the Army €” exceeded all her requests combined this year.

Her priorities also have shifted. In 2007, the bulk of Giffords’ requests were for military projects €” to the tune of $226 million. This year only $15 million is tagged for defense spending.

Instead, the largest share €” $50 million €” is for public transit. That includes $43 million for a modern streetcar system in Downtown Tucson, to be matched with Regional Transportation Authority funds. Another $7 million would pay for a state study of a commuter train running between Tucson and Phoenix.

The earmark process tacks spending projects onto House and Senate bills, rather than going through the normal appropriations process. Just like the requests of other members of Congress, none of Giffords’ requests is guaranteed to receive funding.

Last year less than $20 million of her total $326 million in requests ended up being funded through earmarks. And some, such as $14 million for Tucson’s Arroyo Chico flood-control and drainage project, had also been requested by neighboring Democratic Rep. Raúl Grijalva. However, there are ways other than earmarks to get money appropriated, and at least one project €” $5 million to fund the development of a computer program to predict and prevent insurgent attacks €” was funded directly in the budget.

This year, that program is, again, on Giffords’ list of earmarks.

The largest single item after the transit request is $14.5 million for a new fire- and crash-rescue station for Davis-Monthan Air Force Base. Giffords has asked for an additional $10 million for the Arroyo Chico project.

Another big-ticket item is a request for a $4.5 million air-traffic-control tower at Marana Regional Airport. Giffords also wants $2 million for improvements to the Catalina Highway, which takes visitors to the top of Mount Lemmon.

The list reflects Giffords’ stated interest in preservation of the San Pedro River, with $1.4 million in multiple conservation-related efforts.

About $1.4 million has been requested for three solar projects: $1 million for research on solar generators; $183,534 for solar panels at Bisbee City Hall; and $200,000 for panels at the Tucson Community Food Bank.

One small allotment €” $125,000 €” would pay for an investigation into using reclaimed water for food processing. Research would be conducted by University of Arizona students at a Frito-Lay facility near Casa Grande, according to the request.

A number of small requests, including $160,000 for a senior center in Willcox, are for rural interests, totaling $5.5 million.

Giffords’ slimmer list is a reflection of the economic downturn and the current federal budget situation, said her spokesman, C.J. Karamargin.

“The vetting process in our office changed as a result of that,” Karamargin said. “There are a lot of entities that come to members of Congress seeking federal funds, . . . and they need to state why they are of national or community benefit.”

The shift away from defense spending, he said, is not a change in priorities.

“Each of these things has to stand on its own merits,” he said. “They all fall under the large context of an economy that is going through a period of uncertainty.”

Giffords has said she would support a ban on earmarking, but Karamargin said that until that happens, she will seek earmarks.

“This is the process now in place,” he said. “The congresswoman knows that every year her constituents send millions of dollars to Washington. She wants to make sure some of that money comes back to the district.”

Democratic state Rep. Steve Farley of Tucson, who has been one of the most vocal local advocates of public transit, was pleased to hear about the $50 million request for rail. “I think she’s realizing the electrification of the streetcar means we can use homegrown solar energy to power our transit,” Farley said.

After facing criticism last year for initially keeping her earmarks under wraps only to eventually release them, Giffords wasted no time in making them known this time. She posted them on her congressional Web site Wednesday evening, the same day they were due. Grijalva, who released his list first last year, plans to release this year’s requests within the next several days.

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