Emerson defends earmarks in meeting with community leaders

Finding money for local projects will be tougher this year and in the future because of public reaction against earmarks in federal budget bills, U.S. Rep. Jo Ann Emerson told a gathering of community and business leaders at the Cape Girardeau Area Chamber of Commerce.

The most recent spending plan for operating the federal government through October included 9,000 separate items earmarked by members of the House and Senate for their states and districts. Combined with the Defense Department appropriations passed separately, the total is 12,000 projects.

The public in general, Emerson, R-Cape Girardeau, noted during her meeting Friday morning, is against earmarks. But when asked about a specific project in their area, the reaction reverses, with the public generally supportive, she said.

Earmarked items approved in recent years for this area include the Bill Emerson Memorial Bridge, the westward extension of Nash Road and money for levee repairs as well as the new East Main Street/LaSalle Avenue interchange on Interstate 55.

"Everybody is all nervous about the concept of earmarks," Emerson told the gathering of about two dozen leaders from Cape Girardeau, Sikeston and other communities.

Emerson defended the earmarking process. "I feel very good about it," she said. "I am very proud of it because it is the way we bring tax dollars back home."

The alternative, Emerson said, is to turn much more power over federal spending over to the executive branch of the federal government. Under the constitution, she noted, Congress is responsible for appropriations and that is the way it should remain.

One change in the process, she said, is that earmarked items will now carry a note indicating who is requesting the money, whether it is an organization or a community. "The climate is going to be a bit different," she said. "Hopefully you won't mind having the city of Cape Girardeau or the city of Sikeston listed as requestors."

The process, she said, will require extensive justification of the requests. "We need to be able to thoroughly justify the requests we make."

While earmarks comprise less than 1 percent of federal spending, she said, the items are important for making sure local priorities receive proper attention. "I don't want to offend the Office of Management and Budget, but they don't understand what we here in our local community need."

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