Georgia lawmakers’ earmark requests could bring millions to the state

“Who knows better about funding for projects in our district than the representative from that district? Certainly not someone in the executive branch who may have never even been to our district,” Carter said. “That’s why I think it is important for us to be involved in that process. I think it’s important for the representative of that area, who knows the area as well as anyone up here in Washington, D.C., to be involved in it.”

Democrats brought back the earmark process last year, ending a 2011 ban put in place by Republican House Speaker John Boehner, who cited instances of abuse and scandal.

The most infamous of earmarks labeled as “pork barrel” spending may be the “Bridge to Nowhere” that allocated hundreds of millions of dollars to connect a small town in Alaska to an airport. It was eventually abandoned. In another high-profile incident, a Republican House member from California resigned in 2005 after pleading guilty to accepting kickbacks from a defense contractor in exchange for government business and other favors.

U.S. Rep. Jody Hice is among those who decided against participating for the second year in a row. The Greensboro Republican said the process has been used in years past as a bargaining stick by lawmakers in leadership positions who agreed to grant requests to members who voted their way on unrelated issues.

“No question it has happened in the past; that’s why they did away with it,” Hice said. “And for us to think that to bring it back would avoid that type of thing from happening again, it’s just being blind to reality.”

Under the new process, limits were placed on the amount of budget spending that could be dedicated toward community projects, and members are now required to publicly disclose their requests and attest that they will not financially benefit from that funding.

Each member could submit up to 15 projects this year, up from the 10 allowed last year. This year, there were 4,386 requests that total $8.2 billion, according to CQ Roll Call.

Among Georgia’s eight GOP members in the House, only Carter and U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk of Cassville have sought earmarks. All six of the state’s House Democrats submitted requests, which are moving through the appropriations process as bills head to the House floor for votes in the coming weeks. Requests could be increased, decreased or eliminated altogether before a final bill is signed later this year or possibly early 2023.

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, the only Georgia lawmaker serving on the Appropriations Committee in either chamber, has used his position to secure the panel’s support for funding all 15 of his community projects requests. The projects include $400,000 for Keryx Ministries to support a health clinic in Macon’s Unionville neighborhood staffed by medical students from Mercer University.

Bishop also has a $1.5 million line item for construction of a 500,000-gallon elevated water tank in Bainbridge and a $1.9 million request to renovate the Boys & Girls Clubs in Albany, Montezuma and Plains.

“We are excited about the possibilities this funding will provide for our organization and the young people we serve,” Marvin B. Laster, CEO of Boys & Girls Clubs of Albany, said in a press release about the request advancing through the appropriations process. “If approved, more youth and teens in Dougherty, Sumter and Macon counties will have access to safe, fun places to go, to grow, and to thrive.”

The Senate also adopted similar rules for earmarks last year, and the process has more bipartisan support in that chamber where members have no limitation on the number of requests. Georgia’s Jon Ossoff and Raphael Warnock have project lists with dozens of line items.

Separately from these earmarks, lawmakers from Georgia also advocate for district-specific projects as part of a separate request process for transportation and infrastructure projects. And then there is the annual National Defense Authorization Act that outlines policy and funding for military and national defense installations, including 13 in Georgia.

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott is among the six House Republicans from Georgia who for the second year in a row declined to submit any earmark requests. But he is involved in deliberations on the defense act as a member of the Armed Services Committee that is in charge of finalizing the measure.

Scott was successful in getting language added to the House version of the bill that prohibits closure of the Combat Readiness Training Center in Savannah, a campaign supported by Georgia’s entire delegation after President Joe Biden’s budget plan recommended shuttering the facility as a cost-cutting measure. The delegation also worked to ensure that funding for the CRTC was included in appropriations legislation.

The defense act includes $25 million for a power generation and microgrid at Fort Stewart-Hunter Army Airfield, $11 million for a conservation program at Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay and nearly $300 million for new construction at Kings Bay that will include a nuclear regional maintenance facility and expanding the Trident Training Facility.

The House passed the measure Thursday evening in a bipartisan fashion, 329-101. Five of the 14 Georgia lawmakers were opposed: Republicans Hice, Andrew Clyde, Marjorie Taylor Greene and Barry Loudermilk and Democrat Nikema Williams.

WHAT ARE EARMARKS?

Members of Congress can request federal dollars for specific projects, or earmarks, in their districts. Then-House Speaker John Boehner banned earmarks in 2011, citing instances of waste and abuse. Democratic leaders have brought the process back with new limitations and transparency requirements they say will improve public confidence.

Earmark requests for Georgia

Both of Georgia’s U.S. senators and eight of its 14 U.S. representatives have submitted requests for earmarks to funnel money directly to the state. Six Republican House members have chosen for the second year in a row not to participate in the earmark process.

Example of earmarks requested by Georgia lawmakers:

U.S. Sen. Jon Ossoff

$28 million for a new Army Reserve facility located at Marine Corps Logistics Base Albany

$13.2 million to fund repairs and maintenance to the U.S. National Poultry Research Center in Athens

U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock

$23.6 million to support construction of a new Echols County Courthouse

$20 million to support a combined sewer separation project in Albany

U.S. Rep. Sanford Bishop, D-Albany:

$3.9 million to purchase radio system equipment for the Southwest Georgia Regional Commission

$1 million to expand the Rosalynn Carter Institute for Caregivers Dealing with Dementia program.

U.S. Rep. Carolyn Bourdeaux, D-Suwanee:

$2 million to build bus shelters along Gwinnett Transit Route 25

$1 million for a 24/7 Victim Services and Mosaic Resilience Center in Duluth

U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-Pooler:

$16 million for roads and infrastructure improvements in Pooler

$8.7 million for the National Park Service to expand the acreage of the Cumberland Island National Seashore

U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson, D-Lithonia:

$3.6 million to expand the Michelle Obama Trail project in DeKalb County

$1.5 million for the Memorial Drive Gateway project in DeKalb County

U.S. Rep. Barry Loudermilk, R-Cassville:

$2 million for resurfacing streets, installing sidewalks and improving drainage in Kennesaw

$2 million to improve the safety and operation of U.S. 41 and Cobb Parkway in Cobb County

U.S. Rep. Lucy McBath, D-Marietta:

$7 million for a Path 400 Trail extension in Sandy Springs

$2 million for improvements to the pedestrian corridor of Broad Street in Chamblee

U.S. Rep. David Scott, D-Atlanta:

$3.5 million to construct a pump station for Friendship Village in Fulton County

$2 million for the Austell-South Cobb Transfer Center for CobbLinc riders

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams, D-Atlanta:

$2.5 million for the Propel Center technology hub at the Atlanta University Center

$1.6 million for water main upgrades in East Point

Did not submit requests:

U.S. Rep. Rick Allen, R-Evans

U.S. Rep. Andrew Clyde, R-Athens

U.S. Rep. Drew Ferguson, R-West Point

U.S. Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Rome

U.S. Rep. Jody Hice, R-Greensboro

U.S. Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton

Complete lists:

Ossoff’s requests

Warnock’s requests

U.S. House members’ requests