The Archive

GUESS WHAT’S BACK

Bashful about pork? Earmarks are back, and Democrats are shouting about it.

The passage of the $1.5 trillion omnibus spending bill last week was a huge win for one group of pols – endangered House and Senate Democrats.

The massive bill contained hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks for these vulnerable Democrats. And most – although not all — wasted no time in bragging about them. There’s lots of happy testimonials from very pleased state and local officials too. Everyone loves free federal money!

Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Ariz.) got more than $80 million in construction funds for three military bases and $59 million for a light-rail project in Phoenix, according to his office.

This comes on top of the hundreds of millions of dollars in border enforcement funding that Kelly and Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-Ariz.) pushed for, as well as money for an array of other Arizona projects. Here’s a list of projects the pair got funded

Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto of Nevada, perhaps the most vulnerable Senate Democrat, helped secure hundreds of millions of dollars in grants for local police forces, a key issue for the former state attorney general.

Cortez Masto was able to funnel tens of millions of dollars toward a number of Nevada projects, her office disclosed.There’s $7 million for clean buses – on top of millions of dollars the senator secured in the bipartisan infrastructure bill – and $950,000 for the Clark County School District’s mental health program. According to the Hill, “Cortez Masto successfully requested 15 transportation and HUD-related earmarks totaling $34.9 million and a $3 million earmark for Lake Mead in the energy and water development section. The Biden administration requested only $595,000 for the Lake Mead project.”

Sen. Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.) hasn’t been in the Senate that long, but this is a key seat for Democrats this November, and the endangered incumbent was able to secure more than $100 million in earmarks for several dozen projects. This comes on top of billions of dollars from American Rescue Plan funding and even more money from the bipartisan infrastructure law.

Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-N.H.) didn’t request any earmarks, although she did work to steer a lot of money back home to her state.

Vulnerable House Democrats got lots of money for their own districts, although maybe not quite as much as their Senate counterparts. Dozens of Frontliners – House Democrats in swing races – were able to snag hundreds of millions of dollars in earmarks.

Democratic Reps. Tom O’Halleran and Greg Stanton of Arizona were able to secure $6.3 million and $9.95 million respectively.

Rep. Mike Levin (D-Calif.) got more than $21 million for his district, including federal aid for some major beach restoration work.

Frontliners who serve on the House Appropriations Committee raked in the bucks. Rep. Sanford Bishop (D-Ga.), a member of the House Appropriations Committee, got $11 million for his district. Rep. Matt Cartwright (D-Pa.) was able to steer close to $20 million back home. Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-Va.) snared almost $13 million for 10 projects. Rep. Susie Lee (D-Nev.) got more than $9 million for her southern Nevada district.

Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), one of the leading Democratic moderates, won $8.3 million for 10 projects in his districts. Fellow New Jersey Democrat Tom Malinowski claimed nearly $9 million in earmarks.

Rep. Lauren Underwood (D-Ill.) got $10 million for projects in her district, while her fellow Illinois Democratic Rep. Bill Foster can claim nearly $19 million.

You get the idea here. The return of earmarks after a decade-long absence is going to pay political benefits for these Democratic lawmakers. How much the ol’ style pork barrel spending will help remains to be seen in what is shaping up to be a tough year for Democrats. But it definitely can’t hurt.

Here’s Rep. Sean Patrick Maloney of New York, the DCCC chair, on the political impact of earmarks:

“Well, we think it’s terrific that our Frontline members are able to deliver for the districts on those community projects that have been fully vetted and that represent real local priorities,” Maloney said last week in Philadelphia. “It’s going to be one more thing that those Democratic members are delivering for their districts. It’s a big win.”

THE ROAD TO RECOVERY SERIES

Punchbowl News is hitting the road!

We’re heading to the states! Punchbowl News is partnering with Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Businesses Voices to take our Road to Recovery series to Detroit for a conversation with Sen. Gary Peters (D-Mich.) on the challenges facing small businesses coming out of the pandemic. The conversation is the first in a four-part traveling series. Michigan-based small business owners Jill Bommarito and Felicia Harris will join Anna and Jake afterward for a fireside chat. RSVP today to join us in Detroit or watch virtually.

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Who we’re watching

Federal Reserve Chair Jay Powell. The Fed’s Federal Open Market Committee meets today and tomorrow and is expected to raise interest rates by at least 25 basis points. Powell, who is the chair, is the face of U.S. monetary policy, and the Fed is under tremendous pressure to take action to tame inflation.

Speaker Nancy Pelosi. As we explained above, a new Covid spending package is going to be very tricky, if it happens. Pelosi is quite adept at managing these situations, but it’s always interesting to see how she steers the caucus.

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What we’re watching

“Dairy farms disappearing, prices up, COVID still not gone,” Godlewski says in the ad. “And what’s Ron Johnson done? Voted against new jobs and told us to take mouthwash to cure COVID.”

The spot is part of a seven-figure ad campaign on television and digital platforms in major markets across Wisconsin, according to a Godlewski campaign spokesperson.

The ad employs a different anti-Johnson message than ads from liberal PAC Opportunity Wisconsin. The PAC’s spots have attacked Johnson as a self-enriching politician rather than a conspiracy theorist.

Godlewski’s main challengers in the Democratic are Lt. Gov. Mandela Barnes, Milwaukee Bucks SVP Alex Lasry and Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson.

MOMENTS

10:30 am: President Joe Biden will get his intelligence briefing.

2:10 p.m.: Biden will address the National League of Cities Congressional City Conference at the Marriott Marquis.

3 p.m.: Jen Psaki will brief.

7:45 p.m.: Biden will appear at a DNC fundraiser.

Biden’s week ahead: Tuesday: The Bidens, Harris and Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff will hold an Equal Pay Day event to celebrate women’s history month.

Thursday: Biden will host Irish Taoiseach Micheál Martin at the White House

CLIP FILE

NYT

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AP