Brazos Valley tallies $41 million in earmarks
Saturday, December 29, 2007
BV tallies $41 million in earmarks
The Bryan College Station Eagle
By JANET PHELPS |Eagle Staff Writer
More than $41 million will be poured into Brazos Valley projects next year, thanks to earmarks by U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards, D-Waco.
President Bush criticized special project money as "wasteful government spending" when he signed the $555 billion bill Wednesday that funds the Iraq war into 2008 and keeps government agencies running through September.
The money will go to 16 projects in Brazos, Robertson, Madison and Grimes counties. The projects range from high-profile aerospace engineering and biofuel research at Texas A&M University to a small, church-based drug prevention program.
Edwards said Friday he was proud of the federal money he secured for local projects because it's an effective way to encourage local growth.
The Constitution gives Congress the power to make appropriations, he said, and earmarks allow local leaders to identify and receive funding for projects they see as important.
"I believe [locally initiated projects] make more sense than letting some bureaucrat in the Office of Management and Budget in Washington, D.C., make decisions about what projects to fund," he said. "I would challenge anyone to criticize agricultural research at A&M or emergency response training that help make our cities safer."
A majority of the $41.6 million will go to Texas A&M, including $985,000 for biofuels research and $705,000 for aerospace engineering projects that are used by NASA for lunar and Mars exploration.
Ken Peddicord, director of Texas A&M's Texas Engineering Experiment Station, said the funding is an important step in advancing research into new energy sources.
Texas A&M's BioEnergy Alliance -- a partnership between the Texas Agricultural Experiment Station and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station -- has developed groundbreaking research in alternative fuels such as sorghum that do not come from food sources, he said.
"This money allows the program to strike off in new directions, to move away from corn and ethanol," he said.
St. Joseph Health System also received money for repairs to its Madisonville hospital.
Gentry Woodard, director of legislative affairs and grants for the St. Joseph Health System, said employees at the 57-year-old hospital have volunteered on weekends to make repairs themselves.
Edwards said the staff dedication is one reason he allotted $117,000 to pay for repairs to the roof and emergency room upgrades.
"It was terribly important to that community," he said.
The earmarks come on top of the 2008 defense appropriations bill that was signed into law in November, in which Edwards secured $6.8 million for Texas A&M defense projects and $2.6 million for Lynntech Inc.
Other local earmarks include:
- $392,000 to repave County Road 172 in northern Grimes County.
Edwards Praises Ag Research at Texas A&M
U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards Praises Ag Research at Texas A&M, Tours Labs
Dave Mayes | Ag News | July 3, 2008
COLLEGE STATION – U.S. Rep. Chet Edwards of Waco on Wednesday praised the agricultural research accomplishments of the Texas A&M System, then toured some campus labs to get a first-hand look at efforts aimed at world solutions to food and energy needs.
Congressional Earmarks
Congressional Earmarks
In 2007, the House passed unprecedented earmark transparency and accountability rules. One of the rules requires the listing of the names of supporting Representatives next to each project that is funded in Appropriations bills. I voted in favor of this new rule.
While only a small percentage of the funds in most appropriations bills are designated for locally advocated projects, I will continue to fight to include local priorities in appropriations bills to ensure our district receives our fair share of funds.
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