{"id":28660,"date":"2023-09-20T13:47:10","date_gmt":"2023-09-20T20:47:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/occupysf.net\/?p=28660"},"modified":"2023-09-20T13:47:11","modified_gmt":"2023-09-20T20:47:11","slug":"earmarks-have-been-rebranded-but-they-still-divide-california-senate-candidates","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/20\/earmarks-have-been-rebranded-but-they-still-divide-california-senate-candidates\/","title":{"rendered":"Earmarks have been rebranded, but they still divide California Senate candidates"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/joe-garofoli\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Joe Garofoli<\/a><em>,&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/shira-stein\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Shira Stein<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sep. 19, 2023 (SFChronicle.com)<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dialog\/feed?app_id=137086563877087&amp;link=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fpolitics%2Farticle%2Fcalifornia-senate-earmarks-18367120.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dfacebook.com%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;name=Earmarks%20have%20been%20rebranded%2C%20but%20they%20still%20divide%20California%20Senate%20candidates&amp;description=California%E2%80%99s%20Democratic%20Senate%20candidates%20fundamentally%20disagree%20about%20the%20role...&amp;picture=https%3A%2F%2Fs.hdnux.com%2Fphotos%2F01%2F34%2F37%2F62%2F24247467%2F3%2FrawImage.jpg&amp;redirect_uri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fpolitics%2Farticle%2Fcalifornia-senate-earmarks-18367120.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3DUTMSOURCE%26utm_medium%3DUTMMEDIUM\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fpolitics%2Farticle%2Fcalifornia-senate-earmarks-18367120.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dt.co%26utm_medium%3Dreferral&amp;text=Earmarks%20have%20been%20rebranded%2C%20but%20they%20still%20divide%20California%20Senate%20candidates&amp;via=sfchronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"mailto:?subject=Your%20friend%20has%20shared%20a%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle%20link%20with%20you%3A%20&amp;body=Earmarks%20have%20been%20rebranded%2C%20but%20they%20still%20divide%20California%20Senate%20candidates%0A%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fwww.sfchronicle.com%2Fpolitics%2Farticle%2Fcalifornia-senate-earmarks-18367120.php%3Futm_campaign%3DCMS%2520Sharing%2520Tools%2520(Premium)%26utm_source%3Dshare-by-email%26utm_medium%3Demail%0A%0ACalifornia%E2%80%99s%20Democratic%20Senate%20candidates%20fundamentally%20disagree%20about%20the%20role...%0A%0AThis%20message%20was%20sent%20via%20San%20Francisco%20Chronicle\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"1-image-24247467\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/34\/37\/62\/24247467\/3\/1200x0.jpg\" alt=\"An Oakland parking lot will be the site of a Native American health center, expected to break ground in January, funded by congressional earmarks.\"\/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">An Oakland parking lot will be the site of a Native American health center, expected to break ground in January, funded by congressional earmarks.Santiago Mejia\/The Chronicle<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\" id=\"2-image-24248241\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/s.hdnux.com\/photos\/01\/34\/37\/76\/24248241\/3\/1200x0.jpg\" alt=\"Rep. Katie Porter, left, seen greeting people in San Francisco\u2019s Mission District on Aug. 29, has derided earmarks as a \u201cfancy Washington term that means funding for politicians\u2019 pet projects.\u201d\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<ul>\n<li><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>California\u2019s top Democratic Senate candidates&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/politics\/article\/california-senate-candidates-votes-17885242.php\">agree on most issues<\/a>, but not on earmarks \u2014 the once derided, then revived practice that Congress uses to steer money into hometown projects without going through the normal appropriations process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earmarks, which returned in 2021 after a decade-long hiatus following some high-profile scandals, are now subject to increased transparency rules, are capped at 1% of the annual discretionary spending in the federal budget, and can\u2019t be funneled to for-profit businesses.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>As the Republican-led House internally battles over spending bills, California\u2019s Democratic Senate candidates fundamentally disagree about the role earmarks play in how federal tax dollars fund local projects.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rep. Katie Porter of Irvine called earmarks \u201ca system with a history of corruption and backroom deals that waste tax dollars,\u201d and she is the only House Democrat to refuse to request them. But Reps. Barbara Lee of Oakland and Adam&nbsp;Schiff of Burbank embrace earmarks, saying they bring needed federal dollars back home for local projects that House members can best target to their districts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Porter, however, left the door open to reconsidering whether to use earmarks if elected to the Senate. A senator would be able to compare the impact of projects across the whole state, she said, instead of \u201ctelescoping\u201d the needs of their own district.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI will cross that bridge when I come to it,\u201d Porter said. \u201cThe argument about regional planning is different when you\u2019re in the Senate.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Earmarks are now referred to as Community Project Funding to shake off the stink of their reputation as the epitome of political corruption. Their potential for malfeasance was famously exemplified by $223 million Alaska legislators earmarked for a project derided as the \u201cBridge to Nowhere,\u201d and former San Diego Republican Rep. Randy \u201cDuke\u201d Cunningham, who served seven years in prison for taking $2.4 million in bribes for steering earmarks to defense contractors nearly two decades ago.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Porter\u2019s top rivals&nbsp;\u2014 both of whom were first elected two decades ago, when earmarks were commonplace&nbsp;\u2014 criticized her stance as performative, and one that hurts her constituents by not doing all that she can to fund projects that could help them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lee believes in them so much that she highlighted recent recipients of her earmarks at an Aug. 30&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/lee.house.gov\/news\/videos\/watch\/congresswoman-barbara-lee_-district-download\">town hall meeting<\/a>&nbsp;at the Oakland Museum of California. Afterward, Lee criticized Porter\u2019s refusal to ask for earmarks, telling the Chronicle it was a sign that \u201cshe will not deliver for her district.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To not be able to obtain funding for projects that are \u201ccreating jobs, creating services, green infrastructure \u2014 to me that would be a dereliction of my duty,\u201d Lee said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Schiff feels similarly. He pointed to how Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass, who served in the House for a largely earmark-free decade, asked members of the local House delegation to direct one of their 15 allotted earmarks requests to a project that addresses housing or homelessness. Schiff has requested $850,000 for a Housing Authority of Los Angeles project.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He, too, indirectly took aim at Porter for refusing to ask for earmarks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf a California senator decides they\u2019re not going to do it, that means hundreds of millions of dollars are going to go to other states,\u201d Schiff told the Chronicle. \u201cI think Californians are looking for results, not rhetoric, and want things done on these problems and want their representatives to fight to bring more resources back home.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Porter, who was first elected in 2018 while earmarks were banned, defended her stance. She doesn\u2019t pursue earmarks for the same reason she said she doesn\u2019t accept contributions from lobbyists. She feels that it can be corruptive and isn\u2019t the best way to determine where to distribute federal tax money.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In an&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/katieporteroc\/status\/1683946318132310017?s=20\">online video posted<\/a>&nbsp;in July, Porter derided earmarks as a \u201cfancy Washington term that means funding for politicians\u2019 pet projects.\u201d She said neutral third-party experts \u2014 like, say, at the federal Department of Transportation \u2014 should decide which bridge repairs to spend taxpayer dollars on instead of politicians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cTime and again, we\u2019ve seen politicians abuse this power and direct tax dollars toward projects that help them politically and even financially,\u201d Porter warned in the video.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The whole concept of earmarks can put lawmakers into a position, Porter said, where they can become vulnerable to corruption.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Say a House member gets three earmark requests for a child care center from three different cities. \u201cOne of those mayors endorsed you, two of them didn\u2019t. Where are you going to put the child care request, right?\u201d Porter said. \u201cIt\u2019s inevitable it\u2019s about personal relationships, not about need.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Lee, however, sees earmarks as a way for her to direct federal dollars directly to local organizations that need them. She told her town hall audiences that one of the few times that she disagreed with former President Barack Obama was when he said in his 2011 State of the Union address that \u201cif a bill comes to my desk with earmarks in it, I will veto it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Natalie Aguilera, the interim chief executive officer of the 51-year-old nonprofit Native American Health Center, said the $1 million that Lee secured last year will help pay for an expansion of the center in Oakland\u2019s Fruitvale neighborhood that is scheduled to break ground in January.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When the facility opens in mid-2025, it will enable clinicians to see 3,700 more low-income and underinsured dental patients annually. Now, Aguilera said, patients have to wait up to six months to get an appointment. The new facility will also include a meeting area that can hold 300 people, 10 times what it can accommodate now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The center had to come up with $20 million for its share of the funding of a new five-story building, most of which will be an affordable housing complex. (The housing developers were responsible for the rest.) Raising that kind of money is a challenge for the organization, which has its hands full taking care of its 14,000 members at 14 different sites.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis (earmark) is huge for us because we\u2019re a smaller clinic,\u201d Aguilera said. \u201cWe just don\u2019t have a lot of those funding streams that might support these types of projects.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, the earmark stigma remains. One earmark recipient at Lee\u2019s town hall meeting said, \u201cWe were told we weren\u2019t supposed to say the word \u2018earmark.\u2019\u2009\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But that request didn\u2019t come from Lee.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>For \u201cthose who don\u2019t think earmarks are good,\u201d Lee said, it is short-sighted to believe that the \u201cworst case makes bad law. Yeah, there were two or three cases (of abuse), but I mean, we made sure that the transparency is there for those who have applied for earmarks.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Porter told the Chronicle that while individual congressional members may be good at knowing what their districts need, \u201cwhat we\u2019re not good at is how that compares to everywhere else.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cFew of us are structural engineers,\u201d Porter said, \u201cand even if we are, we don\u2019t know which bridge needs repair more.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Reach Joe Garofoli: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @joegarofoli. Reach Shira Stein: shira.stein@sfchronicle.com; Twitter: @shiramstein.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written By <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/joe-garofoli\/\" target=\"_blank\">Joe Garofoli<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SFChronicle\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/joegarofoli\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Joe Garofoli is the San Francisco Chronicle\u2019s senior political writer, covering national and state politics. He has worked at The Chronicle since 2000 and in Bay Area journalism since 1992, when he left the Milwaukee Journal. He is the host of \u201cIt\u2019s All Political,\u201d The Chronicle\u2019s political podcast. Catch it here:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>He has won numerous awards and covered everything from fashion to the Jeffrey Dahmer serial killings to two Olympic Games to his own vasectomy \u2014 which he discussed on NPR\u2019s \u201cTalk of the Nation\u201d after being told he couldn\u2019t say the word \u201cballs\u201d on the air. He regularly appears on Bay Area radio and TV talking politics and is available to entertain at bar mitzvahs and First Communions. He is a graduate of Northwestern University and a proud native of Pittsburgh. Go Steelers!<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/shira-stein\/\" target=\"_blank\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Written By <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/author\/shira-stein\/\" target=\"_blank\">Shira Stein<\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SFChronicle\/\"><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/shiramstein\"><\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Shira Stein is The San Francisco Chronicle&#8217;s Washington correspondent, covering national politics and policy with a particular eye to the impacts on California. She was previously a health care reporter and received several awards for her work covering the COVID-19 pandemic for Bloomberg. She also covered the fall of Roe v. Wade, including being the first to report President Joe Biden\u2019s consideration of a public health emergency for reproductive rights; the Trump administration\u2019s efforts to lower prescription drug prices; and the third legal fight to overturn the Affordable Care Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She previously interned at the Washington Post, Bloomberg Law, and the Colorado-based Durango Herald. She is a native of the Bay Area and a graduate of American University.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.sfchronicle.com\/img\/core\/hearst_newspapers_logo.svg\" alt=\"HEARST newspapers logo\">\u00a92023 Hearst Communications, Inc.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Joe Garofoli,&nbsp;Shira Stein Sep. 19, 2023 (SFChronicle.com) California\u2019s top Democratic Senate candidates&nbsp;agree on most issues, but not on earmarks \u2014 the once derided, then revived practice that Congress uses to steer money into hometown projects without going through the normal appropriations process.&nbsp; Earmarks, which returned in 2021 after a decade-long&#8230; <a class=\"continue-reading-link\" href=\"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/2023\/09\/20\/earmarks-have-been-rebranded-but-they-still-divide-california-senate-candidates\/\"> Continue reading <span class=\"meta-nav\">&rarr; <\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[1107,1106],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28660"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":28661,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28660\/revisions\/28661"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28660"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28660"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/occupysf.net\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28660"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}