November 19, 2007

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Peter Kovar 202-225-5931

Congressman Barney Frank today released the following statement regarding the status of 2008 appropriations bills, and earmarks he is seeking.

“The irony of President Bush resisting efforts by Congress to spend about $20 billion dollars more than he has asked for on important domestic programs, and his insistence that Congress provide him more than five times that amount to continue to prosecute his badly mistaken and damaging war in Iraq would be funny if it were not for the serious negative consequences it has on our society.

“I think it important that residents of the congressional district I am privileged to represent know what this means not just for the country as a whole, but specifically for us. Some of the programs where the President is resisting increased spending are very important to the Fourth District – for example, he is seeking to reduce spending on the Community Development Block Program, which is so useful for Newton, Taunton, Fall River and New Bedford. The administration is also opposing Congressional efforts to increase spending for the Environmental Protection Agency, and important environmental projects in our district – including the clean-up of Superfund sites in Norton and New Bedford -- will suffer as a result.

“In addition to losing important funding for education, housing, the environment, transportation and other efforts, the President has greatly exaggerated the issue of earmarks. There have been abusive earmarks by some Members of Congress, and I have joined with the Republicans in voting to cut some of them, although regrettably we have rarely succeeded. I have on the other hand voted in favor of other earmarks because I believe that, properly done, they are a very important part of a Representative’s job.

“In my case, I am very proud of the earmarks that I have sought for the district I represent, because in every case they resulted from consultation with local business people, labor leaders, officials of cities and towns, and other residents, and they represent very important public benefits.

“So far this year three of the appropriations bills containing funding for earmarks I requested have been released in final form, and I am listing here the earmarks that I received in these bills. Sadly, the President vetoed the appropriations bill for the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Service and Education, causing grave damage I believe to important social programs, as well as depriving us of the benefits that would come from the specific projects mentioned here. I’ve also listed the projects I succeeded in winning in the Defense Department, which were signed into the law since the President is willing to lavish unlimited amounts of money on defense. I should note that while I was pleased to get support for these important projects, which I believe are environmentally and economically useful, I did vote against the whole Defense Appropriations bill because of its excessive spending – far more than the total that the President objects to in all the other bills combined.

“Finally, I’m listing the projects for which I received funding in the Transportation-Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. I note that transportation projects have been among the most important areas in which I have sought to get specific funding. This is partly to make up for the fact that so much of the overall federal transportation funding provided to Massachusetts in years past went to the Central Artery project in Boston, and left too little for other important projects. We do not know whether the Transportation-HUD bill will ultimately become law. The President has also threatened to veto it, and, assuming he does, we will be voting when Congress reconvenes in December on overriding the veto. Of course, whether these particular spending items that I mention here are ultimately projects from which we can benefit will depend on that vote.”

The following is a summary of the earmarks included as part of the appropriations bills mentioned above. The House and Senate have completed negotiations and worked out final versions of these three bills. Other spending bills, some of which include earmarks supported by Frank, have not yet been finalized by Congress.

DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE BILL (Signed by the President)

(Companies in line to receive funds; DoD Earmarks generally don’t list individual companies by name)

Night Vision Technology

Kopin. Inc. (Taunton, MA)

$1.6 million

Sonar Modification System

Mikel, Inc. (Fall River, MA)

$3.2 million

Undersea Oxygen Generation System

Giner Electrochemical Systems, Inc. (Newton, MA)

$800,000 (with 2^{nd company in Connecticut; over $400,000 expected for Giner)}

TRANSPORTATION-HUD BILL (Veto threatened by President)

New Bedford Airport Safety Upgrades

New Bedford Airport

$100,000

Newton, MA Rapid Transit Handicap Access Improvements

Massachusetts Bay Transit Authority (MBTA)

$400,000

Removal of Damaged Elco Dress Factory Building (New Bedford, MA)

City of New Bedford

$400,000

Route I-195/Coggeshall St. Interchange (New Bedford)

(Design/environmental study)

Mass. Highway

$500,000

Route 495 Southbound Ramp at Route 140 (Mansfield & Norton)

Design/engineering)

Mass. Highway

$750,000

Southeastern Mass. Veterans Housing Program Renovations

Veterans Transition House (New Bedford, MA)

$200,000

LABOR-HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES-EDUCATION BILL (Vetoed)

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center

Pediatric/maternal care improvements

Greater New Bedford Community Health Center

$350,000

Mount Ida College Veterinary Technology Program

Mt. Ida College (Newton, MA)

$150,000

Morton Hospital Radiology Department Upgrades

Morton Hospital and Medical Center (Taunton, MA)

$350,000

 

 

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