WASHINGTON, DC – April 11, 2008 – Congresswoman Niki Tsongas today released a list of 75 projects in the Fifth Congressional District in need of public support that she submitted to the Appropriations Committee.  The federal funding requested by Congresswoman Tsongas would help retain and create jobs, support the construction of products and equipment to best equip and protect our servicemen and women, expand access to health care for Fifth District families, provide first responders with the most up-to-date technology, preserve our environment, and promote economic development.  Following is a statement from Congresswoman Tsongas:

"I am pleased to release the following list of projects that I have submitted to the Appropriations Committee for federal funding.  Over the next few months I will be working to see that they receive serious consideration by members of the Committee and I will ensure that the members understand the important needs they will address in the Fifth Congressional District.

"I believe that the purpose of the federal appropriations process is to enable members of Congress to secure funding for projects, like those listed below, that are important to their district; that the Representative from a particular district is a far better judge of the district's needs and priorities than a bureaucrat from a Washington agency, who in all likelihood never set foot in that district.

"When applied properly, earmarks allow the federal government to work as a partner with cities and towns that often do not have sufficient funding for emergency services, economic development initiatives, and job creation efforts.  In previous years, the Fifth District has benefited tremendously from federal funding for projects such as the expansion of Lawrence General Hospital emergency room - one of the five largest in Massachusetts seeing more than 65,000 visits each year, the establishment of the Lowell Riverwalk - which has brought new economic opportunity to Lowell, the planning of the I-93 interchange - which has the potential to bring more than 1,000 jobs to our area, as well as the provision of needed funding for our first responders for upgraded technology and emergency response equipment.

"Over the past several months, I have been meeting with local elected officials, city and town managers, directors of nonprofit organizations, major employers, economic development specialists, first responders, and university administrators in our area to find out where the Fifth Congressional District could benefit most from federal investment and how exactly this federal investment would be used.

"Each of the projects that I submitted to the Appropriations Committee for funding are broadly supported by localities in the Fifth District, have demonstrated value to Fifth District residents and advance the interests of our state and nation.  These projects promote public safety, enhance on-going economic development efforts, improve health care access, and help protect service men and women in the armed forces.

"I am pleased to make public this list of projects for which I have asked for federal help.  From 1996 to 2007, the secretive process by which earmarks were funded afforded virtually no oversight as to how the public's money was being spent, and did not reveal who was requesting these earmarks, or for what purpose. 

"This broken system resulted in the Duke Cunningham and Jack Abramoff scandals, in which some lawmakers were literally trading earmarks in exchange for campaign contributions and political favors.  These gross violations of the public trust exposed the need for extensive reforms to make the earmark process more open and accountable.

"Last year, the new Democratic majority in the House of Representatives passed sweeping earmark reform rules to make the earmark process more transparent.  The new rules required that every earmark signed into law include the name of the member of Congress who requested it, and required the member to publicly declare that they had no financial stake in the earmark.

"Furthermore, earmarks in the Fiscal Year 2008 budget were cut nearly in half, which represented the first such decline in the last 10 years, and the dollar amounts for projects that were funded were slashed across the board. And, President Bush, who did not veto a single earmark during his first six years in office, has now signaled his willingness to work with Congress to further reduce the number of earmarks in the federal budget.

"While these are good first steps, I believe that more must be done to bring greater accountability to this process and to regain the public's trust on how the government spends their money.  It is for these reasons that that I have taken this extra step to list all of the community investments I have asked the Committee to make, instead of only disclosing the funding that becomes law for projects in the Fifth District.

"It is important to note that the majority of the projects members of Congress have submitted will not receive funding due to the intense competition for funds and the constraints of the federal budget this year.  I will, however, do all that I can to ensure that the Fifth District receives a fair share of federal funding and I will be fighting to address these needs both through the appropriations process, federal grant process, or in any other way I can provide assistance.

"For any projects from this list that do become law and receive funding, I will make that information public, including the specific dollar amount that is received.  However, the following list does not include the amounts requested.  In today’s world of growing deficits and shrinking budgets it has become increasingly difficult for organizations to compete for limited resources.  Since many of these organizations are competing for other sources of funding from additional public and private entities, I do not want to do anything to undermine their efforts.  Furthermore, due to tight budget constraints, some of the requested dollar amounts may end up being significantly scaled back.  I wouldn't want these reductions, made because we are facing very difficult budget choices, to be misinterpreted as a criticism of the project itself.

"Of the 75 requests for funding that are on the list, 33 are for amounts under $1 million, 10 are in the $1 – 2 million range, and the other 29 range from $2 – 7 million.  Furthermore, I supported the President's request for funding for three major defense projects (the PATRIOT missile, the construction of the next generation Naval destroyer, and eye scopes for soldiers) which provide thousands of jobs in the Fifth District.

"While earmarks make up only about 0.6 percent of the federal budget, it is the duty of Congress to ensure that each dollar is spent wisely and properly.  The investment of federal resources in carefully vetted projects can be a valuable asset in advancing community development, reducing the tax burden for local cities and towns, and helping to create outstanding local jobs.  It is equally important that the constituents I represent know the projects I am asking the federal government to fund, that no hidden agendas are being served, and how their tax dollars are being spent."

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