South Salt Lake could get hundreds of new street lights. Electric shuttles could take tourists to the sleepy eastern entrance of Zion National Park. The FrontRunner commuter line could expand their service. Foster children may find a new way to attend University of Utah.
These are just four of the projects that members of the Utah House support as Congress reinvigorates the controversial process known as ear tags.
Her Senate colleagues – Mike Lee and Mitt Romney – are refusing to attend. Fearing that bringing home money on pet projects is wasteful, they find that Congress banned it 10 years ago after scandals resulted in some lawmakers going to jail.
But Democrats and Republicans are still bringing back ear tags, arguing that the role of Congress is to pass budgets and that lawmakers know the needs of the areas they represent. This enables representatives and senators to honor specific projects directly. Rep. John Curtis said ear tag resuscitation was not his preference, but when it happened, “part of my responsibility to represent my constituents was to participate in that process.”
The four members of the Utah House of Representatives, all Republicans, are looking for ear tags. They have submitted letters explaining why they believe the projects are worth taxpayers’ money and that they will not get any financial benefit from them.
Here’s what happens next: Congress will set aside 1% of domestic spending on these pet projects. The appropriation committee, which includes Rep. Chris Stewart, R-Utah, will conduct some investigation. Every legislator will get some ear tags through; others are not funded.
“We just hope it works for the best,” said John Scott, Ephraim Mayor. Stewart sponsors a total of six ear tags, and two are for Ephraim, a town in central Utah of approximately 7,000 residents.
Stewart wants $ 3 million to help replace 60-year-old pipes that provide drinking water from springs in the mountains east of Ephraim. The congressman is looking for another $ 4 million to build a traffic light and a new road that connects Highway 89 to an industrial park where investors want to attract high-tech companies.
Stewart’s office has reached town, Scott said. And Ephraim officials worked with a lobby group to come up with their proposals. The rep didn’t promise Ephraim’s ear tags would make the cut, but the mayor is excited to have the support of the influential lawmaker.
“We hope against hope,” said Scott, “because these projects are so important to Ephraim’s progress as a city.”
Curtis is not entirely sure how the process will play out and it will be the subject of House-Senate negotiations. He approached the applications with a view to where the federal government is competent. One earmarked proposal that stuck with him is a request to fund cancer screenings in San Juan County.
“It’s going to break your heart to go there and talk to people in these communities where we mined uranium and all. And you see this high cancer incidence, ”he said.
Former Utah Senators Orrin Hatch and Bob Bennett received federal funding for such tests years ago. Curtis seeks more than $ 500,000 to revive efforts.
“That is a role that the federal government should play. We have a responsibility here, ”said Curtis. “By the way, we can actually save money by catching this early. let alone save lives and livelihoods. “
Earmark enemies
Since the ear tags were released, Fox News has been creating lists of “eye-popping” requests. Stewart appeared on Fox News Thursday, defending the ear tags against complaints that they represent unnecessary spending that adds to national debt.
Stewart called himself “a deficit hawk” and said, “Ear tags are not the problem. They only account for 1% of our expenses. “
The Fox News moderators are a long way from being the only skeptics.
Lee, Utah’s Senator, was one of the most outspoken critics. He took office in 2011, the year Congress banned them.
The GOP Senator recently called ear tagging “one of the most shameful practices in Congress” and dismissed the argument that incorporating the relatively small projects helped Congress get bigger bipartisan deals.
Romney has sided with Lee, saying ear tags are “full of waste and abuse”.
The two signed a letter stating, “We will not participate in an inherently wasteful spending practice that is prone to serious abuse.”
In Utah, the only way for an injection of direct federal money is the house, and state officials received a healthy dose of applications.
“There is interest from the 10 counties I represent and other organizations across the state,” freshman Rep. Blake Moore said recently. “You submit requests in a very open and transparent manner.”
Last week, legislators published the projects they supported on their websites. And there is an ear tag supported by all four Utah representatives. That’s $ 5 million to expand the Utah Transit Authority’s FrontRunner commuter train that now runs from Ogden to Provo, including the addition of a second track that would increase the speed and frequency of the trains. It’s part of a much bigger project. The state has saved $ 300 million, and UTA plans to charge another $ 38 million from the federal government over the next few years.
Here are some of the other requests supported by Utah House members.
Rep. Chris Stewart
In addition to the two inquiries for Ephraim, Stewart is looking for $ 2 million to start an electric shuttle system in Kane County to take tourists to the eastern entrance of Zion National Park. This is just part of a larger plan to ease the pressure on the more traditional route to Zion through Springdale. Efforts are being made to create a new visitor center at the east entrance, as well as a lodge, expanded walking trails and possibly a theater.
Stewart’s ear tags would also replace an aging and leaky water tank in Centerville and expand an industrial street in Cedar City.
Rep. John Curtis
Most of Curtis’ ear tags focus on modernizing walkways, bridges and roads. This includes funding a new sidewalk outside of the Peruvian Park Elementary School in Sandy; a better walk between Helper’s Main Street and the Price River; and an extended trail outside Moab along the Colorado River.
Curtis is also aiming for $ 400,000 to expand parking and build a new toilet at Neff’s Canyon Trailhead, a project requested by Millcreek City.
He wants $ 5 million to help Utah State University build a system for charging electric articulated trucks in the inland port, the major project planned in western Salt Lake City.
MP Blake Moore
Four of Moore’s grants are for colleges in Utah, including $ 1 million to enroll more people who were in care at the university. He is also seeking $ 700,000 to create a new institute on land, water, and air at Utah State University that will focus on research to educate policy makers.
Moore is looking for money to upgrade Vernal’s main street and create an app for Cache Valley residents to use to track buses. He is hoping for more money to expand Ogden-Hinckley Airport and add hiking trails on the west side of Hill Air Force Base.
Rep. Burgess Owens
South Salt Lake wants $ 4 million to add at least 800 street lights. In his letter in support of the project, Owens said it would help fight crime in a city that is now a homeless center.
Owens also helps provide security fences around Camp Williams, clean up contaminated soil at Herriman, and use sewage water in parks at Eagle Mountain.
He is Utah’s only lawmaker looking for an ear tag for a nonprofit organization. He wants $ 300,000 to go to Saffron Kitchen, the nonprofit arm of a chain of Indian restaurants. The funding would pay for refugees learning how to work in Utah’s food service industry.
And Owens is seeking a funding allocation for the Salt Lake City Housing Authority to fund a “human rights housing project” that will provide shelter to people who have been trafficked, such as child labor, prostitution and indentured servitude.
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