Driehaus voted for the Healthcare Bill as one of the last Democratic holdouts, primarily because the majority of his constituents are roman catholic and the healthcare bill provides for abortion. This is the reason Biden came to Cincinnati the week before the vote to stump for Driehaus.
news.cincinnati.com
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Earmarks? West side yes, east side no
By Malia Rulon • mrulon@enquirer.com • April 9, 2010
WASHINGTON -- If you live in Rep. Steve Driehaus' district, which covers the west side of Cincinnati and part of Butler County, then your community might get extra federal funding in next year's budget.
If, however, you live in any other local district - which are all represented by Republicans - then you're out of luck. House Republicans have decided on a one-year self-imposed ban on asking for funding for local projects, also known as "earmarks."
• The Driehaus earmark list
• House Appropriation Committee list of earmarks
"For millions of Americans, the earmark process in Congress has become a symbol of a broken Washington," said House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-West Chester, explaining that the ban shows "the American people we're serious about reform."
Earmarks are budget requests made by lawmakers that are included in the annual spending bills that make up the federal budget. Although they make up a tiny percentage of federal spending, they remain controversial.
Critics say funding for lawmakers' pet projects are a waste of money designed to boost incumbents' chances of re-election and could invite corruption.
Pro-earmark lawmakers, which include Democrats and some Republicans who are participating in the ban, contend that they know best which projects in their districts are worthy of federal funding.
Driehaus, a West Price Hill Democrat has asked for $33.2 million in federal funding for 23 projects to be included in the 2011 federal budget.
Among his requests: $6.65 million for the Ohio Riverfront park, which is part of the Banks development; $1 million to renovate the United Way of Greater Cincinnati building; and $500,000 for an energy-efficient "green" roof at the city's iconic Union Terminal.
"I do think it is the job of a member of Congress to advocate for a project in their district," Driehaus said. "It's not like someone else is going to do it for you. If you, the elected official, aren't doing it, then you're turning over that responsibility to bureaucrats in the administration. I want to have a say in the process."
He said the Republican ban on earmarks sends "mixed messages."
"The Republicans have for years and years asked for earmarks," he said. "Suggesting that earmarks are driving spending in Washington makes for good politics, but from a practical standpoint, the impact of eliminating earmarks is minuscule."
Money for choir games, Wyoming
So, do taxpayers in GOP districts lose out? Sort of.
"Miami University gets very little financial support advocated by their member of Congress," Driehaus said," but the University of Cincinnati is getting support from their member. Is that fair? Just because Miami happens to be located in Boehner's district instead of mine?"
Boehner is one of a handful of lawmakers who never asks for earmarks, ban or no ban.
Driehaus said that while he supports allowing earmarks, he'd like to see more stringent criteria for what constitutes a legitimate project.
Democrats have announced this year that all earmark requests must go to nonprofit institutions, something Driehaus strongly supports.
Also, this is the second year that lawmakers are required to disclose earmark request lists, a change instituted under Democratic leadership that has brought more transparency to the process.
Each list must include the amount of money being requested, the intended recipient and why it's a valuable use of taxpayer dollars. Lawmakers are required to post lists with this information on their official Web sites.
Driehaus' list is 10 pages long and includes meaty explanations for why funding for each project is worthy of taxpayer dollars. Many of the project entries also list how many jobs would be created.
For example, if the House Appropriations Committee agrees to insert $1.5 million into the federal budget to help the University of Cincinnati renovate a field station that is listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the project could create up to 85 temporary construction jobs.
Renovating the United Way building, which as not been updated since 1933, would create 280 jobs, while the Ohio Riverfront park would create as many as 234 jobs.
Other projects on Driehaus' list include $402,500 to train nurses, $500,000 to help the city host the World Choir Games in 2012, and $615,000 to help the city of Wyoming install a monitoring system that would help protect residents' drinking water and keep their water costs in line with those in neighboring communities.
"One should be very disciplined," Driehaus said of his list, which is far shorter than the 100-plus-item lists that other Ohio Democrats have submitted. "The federal budget doesn't exist as a Christmas tree for legislators."
Meanwhile, the Senate has not restricted earmark requests. So if requests for local funding drop off in the House, the same requests could be made by senators. |
