Appropriations
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Appropriations Dear Friend: As your representative in Congress, one of my foremost duties is to help ensure that South Texas receives our fair share of federal funding. As you may know, each year Congress passes budget and appropriations bills to fund national priorities such as infrastructure, education, law enforcement, and defense. These funds may be disbursed in either of two ways: through block funding to government agencies or through direct funding of specific projects. Each method serves an important purpose. Money provided to agencies accounts for approximately 99% of discretionary federal spending, and it provides for the day-to-day financing of most federal activities. The remaining 1% is directed by lawmakers to specific projects, a practice that dates back for centuries and that allows Members of Congress – who are directly accountable to local voters – to give their communities a voice in federal spending. One of my priorities in Congress is to ensure that all federal taxpayer dollars are spent as effectively and accountably as possible, and in the case of direct appropriations, also known as “earmarks,” this requires lawmakers to be forthright and transparent throughout the appropriations process. In early 2006, I supported rules requiring every earmark enacted into law to include the name of its sponsor and requiring Members of Congress to sign sworn declarations that they have no financial stake in the appropriations that they request. Together, these measures have helped to cut earmarked spending by over 40% in just the last two years. These were major first steps toward accountability, and the attached document represents the next step forward. It lists all of my office’s appropriations requests for the 2010 fiscal year, including the name of the project, the amount requested, and an explanation of why the project would be an effective use of federal funds. These requests were submitted to me by government and nonprofit agencies across the Texas 28th District and are now pending before the U.S. House Appropriations Committee, which will decide which projects to include in the final 2010 appropriations bills. Thank you for taking the time to learn more about our district’s requests for federal funding. I appreciate your participation in the appropriations process. Sincerely, Henry Cuellar, Ph.D. Related Documents:
Press Release
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Cuellar, Blue Dogs Unveil Statutory PAYGO Bill
4.29.2009
Related Files:
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