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Contact: Peter Kovar (202) 225-5931  
News release from Barney Frank

_________________________________________________________

Congressman, 4th District, Massachusetts

2252 Rayburn Building · Washington, D.C. 20515 · (202) 225-5931

STATEMENT OF CONGRESSMAN BARNEY FRANK ON HIS 2009 EARMARK REQUESTS

April 8, 2008


“In light of the ongoing interest expressed by many people about the local projects or earmarks that Members of Congress include in federal appropriations bills, I am disclosing, as I did last year, a list of the earmarks that I am seeking in the Fiscal Year 2009 appropriations bills. 

“Under Congressional procedures, only some of the earmarks I am requesting will actually be included in the 2009 funding bills.  My practice in the past had been to announce details on earmarks that were actually approved, but starting last year, because of the heightened interest in the overall earmark issue, I began disclosing all of my earmark requests, in advance of any decisions being made about whether the requests are actually approved.  When the various appropriations bills are finalized near the end of this year, I will then announce which of these 2009 requests have been approved, with the specific dollar figures in each case.

“For 2009, as in past years, the projects for which I am requesting earmarks are mainly for state and local government initiatives, along with projects sponsored by non-profit organizations and institutions located in the communities I represent in Congress, plus in a few cases local companies.  All the requests are for projects which would either be located in one or more of the cities and towns I represent, or for activities that are substantially in those communities.  They all would provide valuable benefits in the local area, with a focus on economic development and job creation, transportation, health care, community and social services, environmental remediation, and education.  Neither I nor any of my relatives or members of my staff have any personal financial interest in any of these projects, which has been true for all of the earmarks I have sought over the years.

“The list I am releasing does not include specific dollar amounts for the various requests.  I have taken this approach because, in a tight budget period like the one we are in now, in which some of the dollar figures for these requests may end up being scaled back significantly, I wouldn’t want reductions -- for overall budgetary reasons -- in the amount that is approved for given projects to be misinterpreted as criticisms of the projects themselves.  For this reason I am keeping the actual dollar figures of the requests confidential (though, again, when any of these earmark requests are approved, I will at that time make public the specific amount that is included in the appropriations bill).  For 2009, I have made a total of 25 requests (a number that is below last year’s list of 33).  Of these, 9 are for amounts under $1 million, 7 fall between $1 and $2 million, and 9 are in the $2 - $10 million range.”

For a list of Congressman Frank’s 2009 earmark requests click here.

 

 

 

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