Berkley not shy in earmarks hunt
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Shelley Berkley was not timid about compiling a wish list of earmarks for Congress to consider this year, including some national ones based outside Nevada.
Berkley, D-Nev., asked the House Appropriations Committee to review her requests for 74 projects totaling $450 million for the fiscal year that begins in October, according to a list posted to her Web site over the weekend.
The lawmaker acknowledged Tuesday that she will likely gain only a fraction of what she requested. Last year, she obtained $49 million in directed spending for Southern Nevada school and transportation projects.
"Asking and getting are two different things," she said.
Still, the Las Vegas lawmaker's bid for earmarks outstripped the other two members of the state's House delegation. Rep. Dean Heller, R-Nev., requested 27 projects totaling $22.5 million, while Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., requested $99 million for 39 projects.
Among Berkley's requests for Nevada spending:
• $1 million for the "Innocence Clinic" at UNLV where law students investigate claims of wrongful conviction by Nevada prison inmates.
• $2.5 million for a tissue imaging system at the Nevada Cancer Institute.
• $4.25 million for Nevada National Guard drug enforcement, including integrating Predator-type drones in narcotics investigations.
• $7 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to start a comprehensive drought study in the Southwest.
• $1.5 million for the city of Las Vegas to conduct energy audits in low-income neighborhoods.
Several of Berkley's larger requests were for national education programs. Seventy to 80 House members might endorse funding for such programs based on local experiences, according to House records.
Berkley said she endorsed funding for the programs at the request of educators in Clark County. The list included:
• $25 million for Teach for America, a teacher recruitment program based in New York.
• $10 million for Reach Out and Read, a literacy promotion program based in Boston.
• $28 million for Reading is Fundamental, a Washington-based literacy project.
• $30 million for the National Writing Project, based in Berkeley, Calif.
The earmark requests are coming under scrutiny because House and Senate lawmakers, for the first time, are required to disclose all the projects they are asking the appropriations committees to single out for special funding.
The disclosure "must include the purpose of the earmark and why it is a valuable use of taxpayer funds," according to the guidelines.
Committee leaders adopted new transparency rules as a response to criticism that spending on earmarks -- grants for local interests that bypass the normal reviews and competitions by federal agencies -- has grown out of control.
Most of Heller's earmark requests were directed to projects in Northern Nevada. Among his Southern Nevada requests:
• $800,000 for flood control studies in Pahrump.
• $1 million to widen portions of state highway 160 from Las Vegas to Pahrump.
• $1 million for renewable energy projects at Nevada National Guard outposts in Carson City and Clark County
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760.
BERKLEY TAKING CONGRESSIONAL TRIP TO EUROPE
WASHINGTON — Rep. Shelley Berkley, D-Nev., will depart early next week on a trip to Europe for meetings between U.S. lawmakers and counterparts from the European Union, her office announced.
Berkley is the only member of Nevada’s delegation to Congress who is traveling overseas during the current two-week recess.
The meetings of the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue are scheduled April 18-20 in Prague, in the Czech Republic. Berkley is chairwoman of the U.S. delegation consisting of 10 members of Congress.
Berkley and several other U.S. members are scheduled to travel to Estonia and Lithuania and meetings with high-ranking officials in those NATO countries. Berkley said the visit is intended as a show of U.S. support for the nations in the shadow of Russia.
“They want to be in the Western camp, and they are thrilled that they are getting some attention from the United States Congress,” Berkley said Tuesday.
The Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue meets twice a year, usually once in the United States and once overseas. Its members compare notes on defense and economic issues of mutual interest.
The agenda for the upcoming session includes discussion of Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Middle East peace process, the worldwide financial crisis, climate change and civil liberties including the Guantanamo Bay prison.
STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU
