To provide constituents with more information about his efforts to secure federal funding for 2nd District priorities, Congressman Rick Larsen (WA-02) has made public the list of earmarks he has requested for Fiscal Year 2009. The earmarks Larsen has asked the Appropriations Committee to fund reflect a range of local needs in all of the six counties he represents, including funding for transportation, law enforcement and national security.
“In the past several months, I have received an overwhelming number of requests for earmarks from local communities, constituents and organizations,” said Larsen. “After careful consideration, the earmarks I am requesting this year reflect a range of local needs and would make a real difference for Northwest Washington families and communities.”
Larsen has received over 140 requests from constituents and organizations asking him to request earmarks for the next fiscal year. In reviewing these requests, Larsen considered whether the project is located in the 2nd Congressional District and reflects 2nd District needs and priorities, whether the project is prepared to use federal funding effectively, and whether the project can be funded in an earmarked account. Of the over 140 requests he received this year, Larsen chose 59 to pass on to the Appropriations Committee. The Committee will evaluate all the requests they receive to determine which merit funding.
By releasing the earmarks he has requested for Fiscal Year 2009, Larsen is going beyond House disclosure rules in a personal effort toward greater transparency for his constituents. Rules put in place by the Democratic Majority last year require that any earmark included in an appropriations bill will be made public and attributed to the member who requested it.
“I have decided to share my earmark requests with the public to provide constituents with more information about my work to secure federal funding for local priorities,” said Larsen.
Following are the earmarks Larsen has requested for Fiscal Year 2009:
$2,000,000 to help Bellingham Technical College construct a new facility for their Fisheries Technology Program which trains technicians to restore, expand and sustain habitat and wild salmon runs and aquaculture in Puget Sound
$300,000 for the Benaroya Research Institute to help convene an Autoimmune Disease Research Intervention Conference
$2,000,000 for the City of Blaine to construct a new wastewater treatment plant to improve water quality and reduce environmental impacts to fish and shellfish
$350,000 for the Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center to purchase and outfit a mobile laboratory bus to improve science and health education for more than 9,000 K-12 students in Washington state
$1,500,000 for Children's Hospital and Regional Medical Center in Seattle to help expand a cystic fibrosis national clinical research program
$36,000,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to deepen the federal navigation channel from the Mouth of the Columbia River to the Portland/Vancouver area
$1,025,000 for a feasibility study of the Elliott Bay Seawall to be conducted by the City of Seattle in cooperation with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
$392,000 for Everett Community College to fund the Early College High Schools Program, which provides students with the opportunity to graduate from high school with both a high school diploma and an associate’s degree or two years of transferable college credit
$8,500,000 for the Floriculture and Nursery Research Initiative conducted by the U.S.D.A. Agriculture Research Service
$300,000 for Washington State University to conduct research to improve grape plant stock to achieve virus-free vineyards
$50,000,000 for Impact Aid Alliance to support school districts which serve military families including those in the 2nd Congressional district
$6,000,000 for Intermec Technologies to modernize supply chain management on Navy hospital ships
$80,000 to purchase and install additional laptops and software for the Island County Sheriff’s Office to use in their patrol cars
$1,000,000 for the National Clean Plant Network for Fruit Trees, Nut Trees and Grapes Vines, a program to eliminate viruses and improve plant stock conducted jointly by Washington State University and the University of California
$1,800,000 for the National Potato Variety Development Program at Washington State University
$250,000 for three pilot projects in Washington state to use bamboo to offset carbon dioxide emissions, provide erosion control and develop a sustainable agricultural commodity
$3,300,000 for an Academic Fire Instructional Facility at Naval Air Station Whidbey Island
$3,000,000 for Diamond Nets, Inc. to develop high-strength deck-edge netting to protect sailors on Navy ships
$2,000,000 for the Naval Sea Cadet Corps to conduct summer training programs for youth interested in maritime activities
$4,500,000 for Electronic Warfare Associates to supplement joint electronic warfare training efforts at NAS Whidbey for service members across all the Armed Services
$7,374,000 for Agilent Technologies to develop technology to help protect our troops in the field in Iraq and Afghanistan
$6,200,000 for Alliant Techsystems, Inc. to upgrade the Navy’s electronic warfare capabilities which will help the Prowler and future Growler communities at NAS Whidbey
$200,000 to conduct a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Federal Environmental Impact Statement on North Cascades grizzly bear recovery
$500,000 for the Northwest Center for Small Fruits Research (The 2nd District is home to 60% of U.S. raspberry production)
$750,000 for the Northwest Discovery Project to support architectural and exhibit design and engineering for the Terraquarium, an education, research and entertainment center located on Bellingham’s waterfront
$1,800,000 for the Northwest Straits Marine Conservation Initiative to protect and restore the marine waters, habitats and species of the Northwest Straits region
$500,000 for Washington State University to help develop a comprehensive organic farming research and education program
$548,300,000 to repair P-3 Orion Patrol Planes, some of which are based at NAS Whidbey, and accelerate development of P-8A multi-mission aircraft; this is the U.S. Navy’s top unfunded priority not included in the President’s budget request for Fiscal Year 2009
$3,500,000 for the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission to support port sampling on behalf of the National Marine Fisheries Service in all major West Coast ports
$3,000,000 for the Partnership for a Drug Free America to fund “Police and Communities Together”, a community education program which coordinates with local law enforcement to prevent the abuse of methamphetamine and emerging drugs
$136,000 for the Agricultural Research Service to conduct research at Washington State University and other institutions to develop specialized breeding lines and improve potato yields
$5,000,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to fund projects identified by the Puget Sound and Adjacent Waters Initiative
$1,900,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to study habitat decline and pollution in the Puget Sound Basin and develop solutions to these problems
$10,000,000 to build a U.S.D.A. Agricultural Research Service facility to be located at Washington State University’s Pullman campus
$2,500,000 to begin San Juan Island National Park’s acquisition of Mitchell Hill from the Washington State Department of Natural Resources
$1,000,000 to help the Seattle Cancer Care Alliance build a cutting-edge cancer treatment center utilizing proton beam therapy
$25,000 to help the Skagit County Drug Enforcement Unit purchase surveillance equipment for their counter-narcotics operations
$1,300,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to continue the Skagit Flood Control General Investigation Study
$2,000,000 for Skagit County to construct a new arterial roadway connecting South Laventure Road, an existing north-south arterial in eastern Mount Vernon, to the Anderson Road freeway interchange
$1,700,000 for Skagit Transit to complete the Chuckanut Park and Ride, Skagit County's first major park and ride
$50,000 to purchase new equipment for the Snohomish Regional Drug Task Force
$1,500,000 for the Washington State Department of Transportation to construct safety improvement projects on the U.S. Highway 2 corridor between Snohomish and Skykomish
$3,000,000 to help the City of Snohomish upgrade their wastewater treatment plant to improve Snohomish River water quality
$3,000,000 for Snohomish County to help complete an alternate route for truck traffic to bypass downtown Granite Falls, improving safety for drivers and pedestrians
$3,300,000 for Snohomish County to complete design and site work for an Emergency Operations Center
$1,355,000 for St. Joseph's Hospital to enhance emergency power, water and air supplies and increase hospital security capabilities
$400,000 for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge the Swinomish Channel in Skagit County to keep the channel navigable for local commerce
$2,000,000 for the Tulalip Tribes to make major improvements to the Interstate 5/ 116th Street NE interchange in Marysville to improve traffic flow and enhance driver safety
$2,000,000 for Washington State Department of Transportation to manufacture propulsion systems for four new passenger-auto ferries
$2,000,000 for the Washington State Methamphetamine Initiative
$700,000 for a University of Washington / Washington State University partnership to increase export opportunities for Washington state agriculture products in the global market
$3,000,000 for Western Washington University to establish the Northern Border University Research Consortium to study the impact of U.S. and Canadian border policy on U.S. economic prosperity and security
$500,000 for the Whatcom Council of Governments to continue the International Mobility and Trade Corridor Project, a bi-national, public-private planning coalition focused on cross-border transportation and trade between the United States and Canada
$350,000 to expand and improve information sharing between Whatcom County law enforcement agencies through the Whatcom Exchange Network (WENET)
$400,000 to initiate a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers General Investigation study to develop management and storage strategies for the naturally-occurring asbestos in Whatcom County’s Swift Creek
$2,150,000 to improve the water quality of Lake Whatcom, Whatcom County’s largest source of drinking water
$3,000,000 for the long-term cleanup of the Foothills Recycling Facility in Whatcom County which threatens to contaminate the Nooksack River and endanger public health and safety
$16,000,000 for the Department of Homeland Security to fund a temporary emergency operations center in Whatcom County, conduct training exercises and ensure interoperable communication among law enforcement for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver, B.C.
$1,000,000 to help the Whatcom Transportation Authority replace their 33 aging buses with bio-diesel compatible buses
